Christ Church Rockville Lenten Devotion
Jer. 26:1-16
Rom. 11:1-12
John 10:19-42
Lately I’ve been throwing myself into my “works.”
At first it happened quite accidentally. On a day fraught with the potential for tremendous turmoil, I was knee deep in a volunteer job to help organizations raise needed funds. I was so busy, I didn’t have time to be upset. What could have been a bad day for my spirit, turned out to be a day filled with a wonderful feeling of success.
When I was a child, my minister suggested we add an activity during Lent to make God’s world a better place. He encouraged us to think about the good effect we could have on others, instead of giving up a favorite treat.
Two of today’s lessons speak about “works.” In the book of John, Jesus says, “Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
This passage reminded me of the idea from my youth about helping others, but it also made me think that my actions should reveal that the Lord is within me and therefore in the world.
As it says in the Romans passage for today, even if you can’t do such works, there is grace, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
As the days grow somber, there is grace, the unmerited favor of God. Our Lord is embracing all people with his love. Often people return this love with their good deeds toward others.
Therefore in Lent, I’m seeking to tend to my little piece of the world, as if it’s a spring garden, by helping people and encouraging our world to flourish.
