Blog Archives
Lent Devotions: Day 21
Read: Lamentations 2:5-8; Jeremiah 52:12-23
Center-less and Structure-less
He has destroyed his tabernacle. (Lamentations 2:6)
As a student, I find structure and identity in the weekly rhythms of reading, writing, and studying. I like having a syllabus to order my schedule and a constant flow of assignments to work on. During breaks this can fall apart, and it takes a lot of energy to return to the set rhythms of school.
In a similar way, the temple of God provided structure for Israel’s life. It was seen as the throne of God and the place where the people of God were reconciled to him and to each other. When the temple was destroyed, the center of life crumbled and Jeremiah felt as if the world had lost its gravity. At the same time, the walls of the city were also destroyed (Lamentations 2:8). Without walls, Jerusalem was defenseless. The city had no protection from external threats and no structure for internal order. Imagine how difficult it was for Jeremiah to find hope amid his ruined city.
At the cross, we feel Jeremiah’s same de-centered, de-structured agony. The crucifixion of Jesus was a crisis: once again God’s dwelling place was taken violently. Living on this side of Easter, it is easy for us to jump over the anguish and desperation the crucifixion must have caused. Part of our Lenten journey is getting in touch with the center-less and structure-less feelings between the crucifixion and resurrection. —Cody Raak
Prayer: Lord, help us find our center at the cross, and our identity in the suffering of your Son.
Lent Devotions: Day 18
Day 18 Read: Luke 14:12-24
Who Will You Invite?
Come; for everything is ready.” (v. 17)
My favorite parts of family gatherings are the meals. Thanksgiving feasts with all the fixings, Christmas buffets of sweets and snacks, three-course Sunday dinners: delicious! I was raised in a home where hospitality always involved food. Having company, whether friends or family, meant making a big “to-do” of it, and this is still how I play host.
Because I love hosting, I find the Parable of the Great Dinner compelling. The parable asks, who should you invite to your table? “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you” (v. 13-14). If I will get something back for my efforts, then this isn’t really a kingdom feast; only when I invite those who can’t repay me do I “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19).
Lent, however, is rarely a feast. If anything, Lent is a season of fasting, of giving up something. But this parable reminds us that the kingdom is like a man throwing a banquet, even during Lent. Hear today the Master’s invitation: “Come; for everything is ready” (v.17), and accept his invitation to experience Lent as a table shared with “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,” and in this sharing, dare to discover yourself as one of them, truly in need of the Lord’s gracious hospitality and entirely unable to repay him.
—Cody Raak
Prayer: Gracious Lord, host us at your table this Lent, and let us see your other guests clearly.
St Croix Reformed Church 