[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Saturday, March 7

SATURDAY,  MARCH 7
 

Matthew 22:37-39  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
 

As I start my third year as a member of session, one of the things that has surprised me most is that I, who thought I disliked meetings, actually enjoy attending session meetings. The reason is the pleasure I feel sitting in a room full of people who are truly acting responsibly.

Apparently, being responsible is not as common as it should be. We’ve seen that dramatically in recent months as the painful results of irresponsibility by people in business and politics have come to light.

The new President has called for a return to responsibility, but here at First Presbyterian Church, it seems to me we’ve never left it.
 
I see the elders, even when they disagree on strategy, working hard to spend our money wisely and realistically, making sure we can support the programs we want with enough left over to be generous in helping the community around us. They understand these are hard times, but they’re also creative and energetic in finding new sources of funding and encouraging the congregation to offer as much as they can. To see this in action is a beautiful thing.
 
To me, this way of being responsible is really a form of love – and a sign of following our faith. It’s caring both for ourselves and for other people. It’s a living out of Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.
 

Prayer:  Dear Lord ,thank you for making us a caring community where we are truly responsible to ourselves and to those around us. Give us the wisdom and strength to continue our work for this church and the larger world.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Barbara Hoover

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Friday, March 6

FRIDAY,  MARCH 6

Romans 12:4 In Christ there are many members, yet one body.

Today is World Day of Prayer, which means people are praying in 170 countries around the globe from first sunrise to last sunset, giving thanks and proclaiming the message of oneness in Jesus Christ.  Faith stories and prayers for a world of justice, peace and love will be shared.

Whether considering the care of the earth, the economy, hurting people, or the pursuit of peace, all humanity shares common concerns and questions about which way to turn for a better life.  Whether rich or poor, helpless or hopeful, adult or child, educated or illiterate, we share this one earth and must learn how to live with diversity of cultures, languages, and religions.  We are all in this world together and must listen to one another and to God’s guidance for living and loving.  

In my involvement with Church Women United, an ecumenical movement, I always remember the unique opportunities I have had to travel and experience the challenges of Christians in countries such as Cuba, Guatemala, and Pakistan, where it often takes courage to openly express one’s faith.  Though differences in culture and language were obvious, as we laughed, sang, and worshipped together, a feeling of Christian community developed that indeed we were one in Christ.  

The hospitality offered and the eagerness to share openly and witness their faith remains as a reminder to me of the need to make the world a safe place where people can live together, peacefully and in harmony with God’s creation, regardless of circumstances.  Let us particularly pray for the children of the world, whether in far away places or in our neighborhoods, who need food, shelter, and someone to love and care for them.  We must strive to build a world fit for all of God’s children.  

Prayer:  O Lord, we live in a world where it is often forgotten that everyone is your child.  Give us the strength and faith to embrace all peoples and to live each day as one family.  Amen.

Lois Poston

Today, an ecumenical World Day of Prayer service is being presented by members of Church Women United at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Name Catholic Church.  For information, call Eileen Schrot, 248-642-5493.

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Thursday, March 5

THURSDAY,  MARCH 5

Psalm 121:1-2   I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

This psalm was given to me in the form of a bookmark by my mother-in-law, Betty Fisher.  Betty was a firm believer in the power of prayer.  After she moved away from FPC Birmingham, we had many quiet conversations about her faith as she sat in her rocking chair at Lost Lake Woods. The following story took place before I met her or my husband, David.

David was in the Air Force stationed in Spain in 1971 when he became seriously ill.  The doctors could not come up with a diagnosis and as his illness became more critical he was air-lifted to Germany and then to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.  Betty and her husband, Chuck, got a call from the doctor asking them to fly to Texas and to “prepare for the worst.”  David had endocarditis and was not expected to live.

One day, as was her custom, Betty took the bus to Detroit to do some banking.  She walked into the main branch of the National Bank of Detroit downtown and stood in the middle of the floor of that bustling institution.  Somehow she got everyone’s attention – tellers and customers halted their transactions and listened to this desperate woman calling out to them.  She said her name was Betty Fisher and she had a son who was critically ill in a hospital in Texas.  She begged them all to pray for him.

Years later while telling me the story, Betty would smile and marvel that she found the courage to do such a thing, but in reality she always knew her help came from the Lord.  After her visit to the bank, David slowly improved and was sent home to Michigan to convalesce.

Prayer:  Lord, Thank-you for the members of this congregation who teach us that scripture is not just printed words but the way we live our lives.  Amen.

Colleen Fisher

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Wednesday, March 4

WEDNESDAY,  MARCH 4

Psalm 22:27  All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.

For something like a 25-year period in my life, although I was raised as a young lad in a Presbyterian church, I was indifferent to religion and was a member of no congregation. Yet I often felt a compulsion in those years to attend Good Friday services. For an 11 year stretch, I worked in downtown Detroit, and it was an easy walk to Fort Street Church; I would drop in on the Tre Ore services there. Such a visit might be my only religious participation of any kind for a whole year.

I have never really questioned the miracles wrought by Jesus, and as to the culmination of the Gospel story, the resurrection, it has seemed to me a logical and predictable sequel to the crucifixion and to the miracles God was working during Jesus’ life on earth. But it is the three hours on the cross to which my thoughts often return. Just imagine: a God so loving and concerned with us humans that he would actually suffer his Son to be persecuted and put to an agonizing death on the cross. For the three hours on Good Friday, God and man suffer together. What other god in human history could do that?

One of my favorite figures in all of literature is Piscine Patel in Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Young Pi begins life in India as a dedicated Hindu, though his parents are not at all religious. But soon Pi meets a Catholic priest, and then a devout Muslim, and thereafter he avidly pursues being all three at once: a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu. In his enthusiastic search for God, it doesn’t bother Pi that he has to make leaps of faith. The important thing is that he wants to believe. 

Let me conclude this Lenten message with what Pi has to say about doubts – the doubts that we all experience:

“I’ll be honest about it. It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics.  Doubt is useful for a while.  We must all pass through the garden of Gethsemane.  If Christ played with doubt, so must we.  If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, if He burst out from the Cross, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ then surely we are also permitted doubt.  But we must move on.  To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.”

Stanford Evans

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Tuesday, March 3

TUESDAY,  MARCH 3

Matthew 6:28-29,34  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Six years ago last fall, my mother moved from her home of 63 years to our home. It was difficult to sort items she would move, items for the rummage sale, items for other family members.  Grandchildren made it easier by telling which of her possessions they would like for their own homes. The dining room furniture moved to Dallas while the bedroom set went to Memphis along with the wonderful cookware that cooked every meal of my life when I was "at home."

Ultimately, we loaded a U-Haul for Michigan. Contents included a small cigar box decorated with the lining papers from envelopes made about 90 years ago, when she was a child. Her ancient Christmas cactus was nestled into a corner of the back seat of my car.

If you ask her, she will say she has had the cactus for 50 years. I will remind her that it is older than that – given by her sister-in-law before my birth! She nurtured it for all of my lifetime. Some years it would show its blossoms at Christmastime; other years it would show a flower or two at Easter, just to remind us that it didn't have a schedule we managed. The finest shower of blooms was photographed along with my daughter 38 Christmases ago. There were no blooms the year we moved the plant to Michigan, but a few weeks before that following Easter, I saw a tiny bud on the end of a branch. The day before Easter, the bud erupted into one perfect bloom.

This year, Mother has moved to St. Anne's Mead, but the Christmas cactus is spending the winter in my kitchen. It bloomed at Thanksgiving, again at Christmas, and then in the snowy, blustery January! Now there are more buds! It is always a reminder that God manages. We may expect blooms at Christmas, but Easter flowers are also a blessing.

Prayer: God of grace, shower us with your blessings and remind us that we don't need to worry as long as we are seeking your kingdom.  We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Marilyn Donnelly

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Monday, March 2

MONDAY,  MARCH 2

Matthew 28:20  “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

On the evening news, our families watch nations at war.  On the front page we read of murders and suicides.  On our cell phones, we hear from family members and friends fighting cancer.  On the internet we find churches and communities that preach discrimination and intolerance.  Is it any wonder that some of us wonder where God is in all of this?

Throughout scripture we find Jesus restoring sight to the blind, helping the paralyzed woman to walk, healing the child suffering from a debilitating disease, rescuing a man from the lion’s jaw, calming the stormy seas.  Jesus was a healer, a great physician—a miraculous spiritual superhero—converting water to wine, multiplying loaves and fishes, walking on water.  Surely he could have healed our neighbor’s eight-year-old son who died of leukemia.  Surely he could have prevented our grandmother’s dementia.  Surely he could help us find a cure for AIDS.  Surely he could have stopped this war.  Where is this God?

If we think about it, though, God never promises a life without challenges.  Noah had the flood; Daniel, the lions; Jonah, the whale; Jesus, the cross.  God does not spare the pain even of his only son.  Think of the 23rd Psalm, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.  For Thou are with me.  Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

God does not promise that each day will be sunny and bright in green pastures, beside still waters.  God does promise, however, that we will always have God’s presence—even in the valley of the shadow of death.  Never alone, God is with us every step of the way.

Prayer:  Thank you for being with us on our perilous journey through this life.  Amen.

Tom Trenney

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Sunday, March 1

SUNDAY,  MARCH 1

Psalm 118:24  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms and Songs

The children in CrossWalks hear these words each week they attend, and probably most have no idea that they come from the Book of Psalms.  The songs and prayers of Psalms have nourished and fed the souls of Jews and Christians alike for centuries and have been woven into the fabric of our lives often without our even knowing it.  Jesus prayed the words of the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” while hanging on the cross.  We read, recite, and sing Psalms in part because they are an expression of almost every possible emotion we experience from deepest sorrow and raging anger, to tumultuous confusion and extravagant joy.

Our journey through Lent is not unlike the images reflected in the Psalms.  We wonder where God is in our times of trial, when the economy bottoms out, when the security of our future is seriously threatened, when our loved ones and others are desperately hurting.

This year, our FPC worship and education emphasis on the songs and prayers found in Psalms will lead us through a gamut of emotions and places which hopefully bring us back to that place of hope and joy as we learn to “Sing to the Lord a new song” along the way.  The children will learn that when we feel angry and frustrated with people and God, it’s okay to express that in our conversations with God.

A prayer wall similar to the concept of the Western Wall in Israel will be constructed in the hallway running from the Fireside Room to Knox Auditorium.  Find some time this Lent to sit in that hallway on the benches provided, to read a few Psalms and to write or draw your prayers of thanksgiving, lament, petition and praise and slip them into the “rock” pockets.  Your prayers are private and will not be read but will collectively be offered to God in worship.

Prayer:  O God, as we travel through this season of uncertainty, please guide us in our wilderness wanderings, our waiting and our watching, and draw us ever closer to you in the midst of all that life brings us.  Amen.

Cindy Merten

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