Reading
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. (I Corinthians 10: 1-13) Reflection The Corinthians were simply a mess and Paul calls them out on it yet with a word of healing and hope. You might think a new church would be a pious community but, oh no, not them. Paul calls them idolaters, sinners and complainers who put Christ to the test. Then he adds don’t even go on about your suffering because that is nothing new. It’s not unique to you. Suffering goes way back. And he reminds them of all the Israelites went through during the time of the Exodus. Yes, know your history. We have been and are still broken, sinful and complaining people. There has been and still is suffering. But also know God’s history. God has a remarkable history of patience, faithfulness, graciousness and persistence. So, we lay our messy history next to God’s history of mercy. We see how God relentlessly pursues us in our hurts and sorrows with grace and forgiveness. God has been, still is and always will be with us. That is very good news. That is the reason we can step into the world each day. We know that whatever struggles are in front of us, God steps into that world with us. In fact, in Christ Jesus, God leads us into that world with the grace and strength we need to face whatever lies ahead. --Ruth Gates Prayer Dear God, thank you for going with us and not letting us go. Help us to bring a word of healing and hope to those who need it. 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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