Today, we look at a Day 3 text from this year’s summer curriculum, “Boundless: God Beyond Measure.”
Reading For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Romans 14:17-19) Reflection Have you sorted out your priorities this Lent? If not, let Paul help you today. As he writes to the Roman community, he is at work demonstrating to them the priority of their calling. While it seems the community of faith is getting caught on a particular sticking point surrounding the propriety of maintaining food and drink standards, Paul does not want the people to lose the forest for the trees. Does the maintenance of a ritualistically proper diet help some people make meaning? Sure, Paul says. But if your food and drink only impede others in this journey of faith, if they become a stumbling block to the more hefty matters of faith, then it’s time to sort out the proper order of things. It’s time to remember that the scope of God’s kingdom is more than what is maintained and ingested, it’s about the scope of God’s mission being carried for God’s people! As we approach the back end of our Lenten journey, consider this an audit, of sorts. What things have we mistaken for being paramount in the kingdom? Because spoiler alert: the kingdom of God is not food and drink. The kingdom of God is not lutefisk and sauerkraut. The kingdom of God is not bricks and mortar. The kingdom of God is not steeples and stained glass. The kingdom of God is not the red/cranberry hymnal or the green one. The kingdom of God is notstreaming services or pew pads. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is setting ourselves to the work of God’s unfolding mission of radical and redemptive love. The kingdom of God is following the Spirit’s call to embody and advocate for that way of divine love, just as surely as the Spirit has met us with love’s way. May all else that follows, all the food and drink and accoutrement, be in service to that kingdom of God. Under that call, with that realignment of priorities, let us then pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding. --Justin Lingenfelter Prayer Good and gracious God, save us from our own devices. Where we mistake our means of piety for the purpose of your kingdom, offer us the cross of your love as interruption. On this Lenten journey, grant us the strength to follow your Son in the ways of your kingdom, setting ourselves to righteousness, peace, and joy you offer. Amen. ___________________________________________________________________________ Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Lent, we focus on baptismal identity and the consequent amendment of life.
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