[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Saturday, March 21

SATURDAY,  MARCH 21
 
1 Corinthians 6:20  For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
 

One of the few areas where Visually Impaired people were ahead of the curve is in access to recorded books.  We’ve had them in some form since the 1930’s.  I mention that because when I attended the residential school for the blind, where I received my K through 12 education, one of the things some of us did on rainy afternoons on weekends was to listen to a book.
 
When in the sixth or seventh grade, one of my favorites was PT 109, the story of John Kennedy’s time in the Pacific during World War II.
 
In one scene in the story, after his boat is cut in half by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy tows a badly burned mechanic several miles to an island where they and the remainder of the crew hope to find safety.  Although I remember the efforts of Kennedy, I was more impressed by the efforts of the mechanic whose hands were very badly burned, and who could not swim.

What I remember is that he kicked while being towed.  Maybe it helped a little, maybe not – who knows.  But it let Kennedy know that the mechanic was doing and would do all he could to help.
 
I know that in my life with God, I really want to be the dashing hero.  But our scriptures and tradition tell me that most, if not all of the time, this isn’t going to happen.  Though like the burned mechanic, I can do what I can, knowing that our God is responsible for sorting out our efforts.  When I remember this story, it reminds me that I don’t have to do it all, that I can’t do it all, that God is towing me along and I’m not doing the towing.  It is a reality check, something I and maybe some of us all need.
 
Praise God we aren’t responsible for everything!!
 

Prayer:  All praise and glory to you, O God, for being our Savior in this time of uncertainty.  Amen.

Terry Chaney

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Friday, March 20

FRIDAY,  MARCH 20
 
Jeremiah 29:5  Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
 

“Oh, the Lord’s been good to me,
And so I thank the Lord!
For giving me the things I need:
the sun and the rain and the appleseed.
The Lord’s been good to me!
Johnny Appleseed.  AMEN.”
 

This has been the grace we have sung, while joining hands at our cottage at mealtimes, for as long as the oldest grandchildren can remember.  Only rarely is it used outside of the Canadian confines of our beloved gathering place: our sanctuary built from scratch in 1974 by their Grandfather, Jim Munson, with a lot of help from his friends.

One day, as our son David and his family were returning home from Canada to the Boston area, they stopped for lunch at McDonald’s.

When they started to eat their five-year-old, Lucas, reached for the hands of his family on either side of him, and proceeded to sing our cottage grace!

He had learned it well.  In only a few days it was already a common practice for him.
 

Prayer:  Would that our thanks to thee become a regular habit, Dear Lord.  Amen.

Janet Munson
 

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Thursday, March 19

THURSDAY,  MARCH 19
 
Genesis 1:31  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.  And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
 
Genesis 2:2  And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
 

Holy Father, give us the intelligence to follow your pattern in our very busy lives.  Let us examine each day, to look at what we have accomplished (or have not), to take stock of the precious time we are allotted and how we have used it.  Do we balance our days giving time to family and friends, our activities at church, helping out the less fortunate, taking care of our homes?  If so, our lives are very full and we should take the “seventh day to rest”, to take stock of where we are, to go to church and thank God for his benevolence, to enjoy family and life in general.
 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, please don’t let the days you have given us here on Earth slip by without our acknowledging all the blessings you have bestowed upon us.  Amen.
 

Barbara Buchanan

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Wednesday, March 18

WEDNESDAY,  MARCH 18
 
Psalms 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear.
 
Boom!  There my two year old brother was lying on the ground with a gash on his forehead!  Mother dashed to rescue him and I ran to the outhouse, trembling with fear that I had killed my brother!  At five years old I had placed him on the sack-swing and given him a good push.  My heart was racing, and I felt helpless so for the first time ( in my ninety-three year old memory) my mind remembered that Jesus loved children so I immediately fell down on my knees, folded my hands and prayed for Jesus to save my brother.
 
After serving in WWII and Korean War he is still living!  God still has a plan for him.
 
God is good to me and I often ask for help.  His advice gives me confidence.  There have been times in my life when family events have happened which were almost more than I could bear so I turned to my faith for help.
 
One event was in 1973 when the neurosurgeon came from the operating room and said to us, “I am so sorry, your son has an incurable brain tumor.  I tried my best.”  And then he hugged me.  Again I was devastated– helpless– where to go?  Soon after getting home, we turned to our church and prayer circle.  Rev. Morgan Roberts appeared immediately at our door!  By telling our relatives and friends, we had several local churches and out-of-state faith groups calling and praying for our son John's recovery.  He lived two more years and we were grateful.  At that time very little brain tumor research had been done so our family was fortunate to have our twenty-eight year old son that much longer.  We don't always understand God's plan but we know John left us our third daughter, Pamela, with whom we are still very close.
 
I think I have some feeling now how God agonized when His Son was being crucified.  This was a very heart wrenching time for our family.
 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us your Son, who has shown us that your Holy Spirit is always with us.  Amen.
 

Fran Merker

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Tuesday, March 17

TUESDAY,  MARCH 17
 

John Wesley  “I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us beyond an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to the broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our back yards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth.”
 

Sitting in our living room with snow everywhere, I look beyond the picture window and a temperature only slightly above zero, and I see a squirrel busy climbing the oak tree with several dried leaves in its mouth.  Soon it returns and does another lap with more leaves.  It isn't hard to know why it is doing that.  A nest is being constructed up there in the tree so baby squirrels can be born without threat of predatory raccoons eating them for lunch.  Speaking of lunch, our cat Stormy is watching the arctic drama with interest, longing for a lunch of her own, kept from that feast by a quarter inch of plate glass.
 

I recall a picture kept for posterity showing my grandson Jeff at age four hugging a trout he caught in the Au Sable river.  Can you imagine a human being hugging a flopping slimy fish?  Speaking of lunch, that trout was destined for a frying pan and lunch for a family of four.  But meanwhile, I have never seen a grin like the one on the face of that boy.
 

My mind returns to the evening of January 27 in a seating alcove at First Pres when a peaceful moment was being shared after "lunch" by Mary Austin, Chris Gannon, Cindy Merten, and Obie.  Obie represents the third generation of Lab puppies nurtured in the Merten household in preparation for going to work.  Grown up and well trained as a leader dog, Obie will be earning his lunch getting non-sighted people to and from lunch and countless other places they will need to go.  In the meantime Obie is a cute little ball of fur.  I hunker down, reach out my hand and place it under his muzzle so he can decide whether or not to relate to me.  He starts to lick my fingers, not for his lunch although he nibbles on my middle finger just a bit.  That little furry one has fed me in a way I cannot describe, other than that it was "of God."
 

Prayer:  We offer thanks for creatures you send to teach us about your boundless grace and convince us of the basic goodness of your creation. Give us the willingness and resources to support and love these creatures and receive them as our partners and friends. In the name of Christ our eternal friend.  Amen.

Henry C. Borchardt

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Monday, March 16

MONDAY,  MARCH 16

Psalm 46:1-3  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
 

I marvel that these words, written possibly three thousand years ago, can speak so clearly to us today! What calamities, what events beyond the control of mere mortals, have people experienced over the centuries? Wars, epidemics, crop failures, etc. Some scientists suggest that the introduction of European diseases to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s killed 60 million people, 9% of the world population. This resulted in a land area about the size of California reverting to forest. And world temperatures cooled. In 1816 it snowed  about a foot in New England. Crops failed, food prices rose, death rates increased: a little ice age.

Today, we talk about what we should do to prevent such disasters. To prevent global warming, we need to get the people of Central and South America to stop farming and let their forests return. We seek to prevent disease by increasing the usage of anti-bacterial substances ... and this simply increases the effectiveness of bacteria resistant to such substances. I can no more stop people from using anti-bacterial soaps than I can affect the farming practices of native peoples in central Brazil. I have strong beliefs about what is right and wrong for me, for my country, for my world, but it is other people who decide. My fate rests on the collective decisions of those with whom I share this country, this earth.

Or does it?  Paul says this in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” This is assurance that, in all things, it is God working out His purpose.  God is my refuge and my strength: He will be there to support me in the tumult of life as His purpose unfolds.
 

Prayer:  I wait for You, Lord, in silence. You alone are my hope, my strength, my refuge. Guide my feet, my heart, my hands in your service that all people may come to know and take refuge in You. Amen.
 

Charlotte Fischer

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[LENTEN DEVOTIONAL] Sunday, March 15

SUNDAY,  MARCH 15
 

John 13:35  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
 

        A Prayer of Love

        My God, my Father, You created me with your Divine Love.
        In accordance with your Divine Order You have created the seasons.
        Winter is ending and spring will soon come again.
        I ask that You thaw my chilled spirit.
        I ask that tender buds of relationships fully flower.
        I ask that gentle rains wash away my doubts and strengthen my faith.
        I ask that a warm breeze take away all unkind thoughts.
        As spring is a renewal, I ask that You renew my soul.
        I ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ.
 

Prayer: Father, make me an expression of Your Love.  Amen.
 

Nancy Therasse

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