Lent: Monday, March 20, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Genesis 44:18-34

Love sometimes causes us to make hard decisions. Today, Judah knew that if he did not bring Benjamin back with him, Jacob would grieve himself to death. So, not knowing what would happen, he tells Joseph, let me stay as your slave, and my brother return to our father. He was willing to lay down his own life for that of his family. Jesus says that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends (John 15:13). Our faith call us to lay down our lives for others. There are times when that may mean our actual lives. But, it also means our desires, our wants, and even our pride. We must lay these down and serve others. We are place others above ourselves. Jesus said that the greatest must be the least and must serve (Mark 10:43-44). We are called to life of service, and in that service we find life that the world cannot give. In Jesus Christ, and in obedience to Him, we find the life we were created for.

It is from the line of Judah that Jesus Christ comes. The book of Revelation calls him the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In Christ, we see that same love that knows that the only way we can be reconciled to the Father is through the power of the cross and the empty grave. He laid down His life for us. We are called to do the same; for God, and for each other.

New Testament Lesson

1 Corinthians 7:25-31

This passage is Paul's main teaching on marriage and on a lot of issues. The time is short. We should not live to comfortable in the world, for our Lord will soon return. We should not fix our eyes upon this earthly realm, but rather we should wait for our Lord return.

We as Christians cannot live to engrossed in the world. However, we should not be in an ivory tower, either. As much as I love monastic spiritually, we cannot withdraw from the world. We are to be in the world, not of the world. But, our values must be different, our lives must be different, our dreams must be different, in short, we must not live life the world. We must to conform to this world, but be transformed by God (Romans 12:2). Too often, we as Christians want it both ways, we want to live for God, but live like the world. We cannot. We must be different. If we are seen as odd and peculiar, that is actually the way it is supposed to be. We must stop seeking praise from our culture, and seek praise from our God, for that is all that matters in the end.

Gospel Lesson

Mark 5:21-43

This passage has one of my favorite quotes in the bible, "she had suffered a great deal under many doctors." I imagine some of us can relate to that. In this passage, we Jesus heal to people Jarius daughter and the woman that was bleeding. In both cases, he was right on time. For the woman that was sick, to her, he was right ton time. But, for Jarius' daughter, he looked to be late. But, it was all as it should have been. Jesus was where He need to be at the time.

In our lives, we can think that God is late; that God is not answering our prayers the way that we would like. He is right ton time. He is where He needs to be, and He is placing us where we need to be. Even when we think God is late, keep praying. He is at work, and He is doing something great. Don't give up, don't stop praying. He is at work. We just have to keep that faith.