Sunday, March 20: The Second Sunday in Lent

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’ - Genesis 12:1-4a

After seventy-five years, the Lord still had a lifetime’s worth of work for Abram and Sarai, as they were still called.

Now, the Lord wasn’t yet specific about the work this couple was to do. They would have to go on a journey to discover God’s purpose for them. In this case, the journey was all the way from Haran in modern-day Iraq, across the Fertile Crescent, down into the land of Egypt and back. They became discouraged and weary along the way. More than once, they doubted the Lord’s promise to them. But they persevered by faith. Eventually, a son, Isaac, was born to them in the new land to which the Lord had led them. Isaac and Rebekah, in turn, bore Esau and Jacob; and Jacob and his wives gave birth to twelve sons whose offspring became the twelve tribes of Israel. A great nation, indeed.

Regardless of our age, God always has work for us, some purpose for our lives. To discover that purpose may require us to go on a journey. An interior journey. This purpose, this work, may not be immediately apparent. It will surely require the perseverance of faith to discover it.

Why not spend some time today reflecting on God’s purpose for you? There may be someone in need of your forgiveness. There is undoubtedly someone in need of your compassion. Extending these gifts to others is as great a purpose for your life as founding a great nation.

—The Rev Lex Breckinridge

Wednesday, March 16: Harriett Gill

"Except a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." - John 2:23-3:15

When a child is born, that child’s main interest is its own comfort and well-being. Infants get into a literal rage when their needs are not met. So what does Jesus really mean when he tells Nicodemus that he must be born again? Does that mean kneeling at the altar and confessing what a sinner we may be and praying for our guilt to be removed?

Perhaps, but it could also mean that we are to put God first in our lives and look at our fellow human beings and all the world we live in with a more compassionate attitude. This doesn’t mean only feeling the compassion, but acting on it. To live in a more unselfish and less self-centered way and to serve others as we would like to be served.

The hymn we sometimes sing before communion says it very well. “All to you I now surrender, all to you I freely give. I surrender all.”

—Harriett Gill