IN THIS SEASON

Welcome to In This Season! Our series of devotions appears Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week.

TODAY: SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

Today’s Devotion Was Written by Zach Osmundson

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Time is something that is so elusive, never enough of it when we want it most, and it never seems to end when we want things to finish up. I don’t think I hear that more than when summer is coming to a close. Kids are saying how it feels like summer just started, and almost every parent says with a tired smile that they’re ready for school to start again. It’s all about perspective, I guess.

In my weekly youth discussion group called Lighthouse, we have been talking about what it means to build strong lasting relationships and why they are so hard to maintain. And that’s because it’s difficult to live in the present with the amount of time we have, it never seems like quite enough. We work hard to give 100% to everything that crosses our path during the day but I, for one, am often sidetracked by another thought that I think is more pressing or more important. We spent an entire evening in Lighthouse talking about why it’s important to be like Jesus and be present with those around us, and then once the hour was over, we go back to living on social media, the internet, our work calendars … everywhere that’s not “here and now.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not telling you that we should tell our colleagues or teachers, “Sorry, this month I’m giving up my calendar and just going with the flow.” But what I am asking is that when the calendar is done for the day, you give your undivided attention to the people around you and grow deeper with them. Because before we know it people will have moved away or moved on, and what we wouldn’t give for one more day with them. Well, we’ve got today, and what a gift it is.

Make sure to find time each day to live when and where you are. It’s not easy to do, believe me. But that’s where you find God as well. God is greater than time or space, but if we want to form a relationship with him it takes intentionality, a little sacrifice, and it takes presence. Don’t be afraid to ask God to make himself known to you, just make sure to keep an eye out because he shows up in mysterious and wonderous ways. So today, live for today’s sake and experience all and who it has to offer. Tomorrow will come soon enough.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Today’s Devotion Was Written by Evan Lieber

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God… ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Exodus 20: 8 – 11

Like any functional workspace, Mount Calvary is always months ahead on planning, prepping, idea crunching, and event dreaming. Because of this I found my attention pulled to the upcoming ofrenda.

For those who don’t know, the ofrenda is a Mexican tradition that comes from the melding of Catholic All Saint’s Day traditions and the native traditions surrounding the celebration of ancestors. This has over the last few hundred years evolved to something foundational to many Mexican families and their love for those who have passed. Setting a table with food, decorations and the photos of loved ones serves to invite the memories of family since passed into their homes annually on November 1.

At Mount Calvary, we set up an ofrenda each year, designed to celebrate our church family. Congregation members are invited to place photos of those they love on the table, and take a moment to simply be in thought or prayer with those they’ve lost.
So there I am, later that night sifting through photos of an aunt and grandmother whom I hope to add to the Mount Calvary ofrenda, and I can’t help but be filled with the memories and joys of time I spent with each of them. I realized that, although I find my self thinking about them throughout my life, this moment spent just sitting in their memories hit me profoundly differently.

I began to wonder how many things that I do every day could use the kind of care to give them my full focus. How much fuller could my life be if, in the same way I sat with my memories, I gave my whole being to them. How likely am I to be eating meals while focusing on work or scrolling on my phone; what really are the flavors I’m tasting or the textures I’m feeling? When do I ever drive anywhere without the radio on? How many evenings do I greet my roommate and ask about his day while glued to whatever I’m watching on TV?

Perhaps there is more to God’s Sabbath than just resting, maybe it has something to do with taking some time, even if just a little, to be fully in the moment. If you’re up to the challenge, why not try to find one place in your world to turn up 100% this week. Let’s find out together what it could mean to each of us.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

Today’s Devotion Was Written by Kara Paulson

⁹“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹²‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ Matthew 20:9-2

Isn’t it the truth that we all want things to be fair? Have you, or someone you know, seemed to be hit with more than your fair share of misfortune, while others seem to get more than their share of the good stuff? Sometimes it’s hard to remember to be grateful because things don’t seem even.

I remember during the COVID 19 lockdown, thinking about how I couldn’t wait to get together with people. I thought about meeting friends for breakfast at the Original Pancake House, inviting my family over for dinner, and how I couldn’t wait to get back to church to sit next to others, to worship and sing without a mask!

Now that the lockdown is over, I am trying to remember to appreciate the things I have now, and the things I can do. Last time I met my two buddies for breakfast, I asked them to toast with me, and to think about how we’d missed each other when we couldn’t get together. When I sit in church now, I remind myself how great it is to be back.

I read that studies have shown that feeling thankful can improve sleep, mood and immunity, and after lockdown those things can use some improvement! Now as we approach fall, the season of abundance, it feels like a good time to practice gratitude, even if life may not always seem fair.

Almighty God, we humbly thank you for your goodness to us and to all that you have made. We praise you for your creation, for keeping us and all things in your care, and for all the blessings of life. Above all we bless you for your immeasurable love in redeeming the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies that with thankful hearts we praise you. Amen. LBW p 74

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Today’s Devotion Was Written by Trina Volbrecht

A Story About Workers
Matthew 20: 1-16

“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some others hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. “He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’ “They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “He told them to go to work in his vineyard.

“When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’

“Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’ “He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’

“Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”

How does comparative living hold you back? Who are you comparing yourself to? Any of us who have helped shepherd teenagers through life know that this can be the center of our universe. At church, I’m pretty sure the right answer is Jesus. Comparing myself to Jesus feels completely unattainable. So many of us try to be good people who make good decisions and hold up what is fair. However, I don’t think Jesus is using this parable to teach us about fairness, I think he’s asking us to consider what it might look like in our life to be generous even when we feel the urge to be a bit stingy. What does generosity look like for you today?

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