Musings for the first week of Lent

Sunday, February 26, 2012
First Sunday in Lent

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Karen Grover

INTRODUCTION
On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved Noah's family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW)

Holy God, heavenly Father,
in the waters of the flood you saved the chosen,
and in the wilderness of temptation you protected your Son from sin.
Renew us in the gift of baptism.
May your holy angels be with us,
that the wicked foe may have no power over us,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

FIRST READING

Genesis 9:8–17

Today’s reading is the conclusion to the flood story. Because of human sin, the Lord destroys the earth by flood, saving only Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. Yet divine destruction gives way to divine commitment. As in the first creation, God blesses humanity and establishes a covenant with all creatures.

⁸Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹"As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." ¹²God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." ¹⁷God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

PSALM (ELW)

Psalm 25:1–10

Your paths, O LORD, are steadfast love and faithfulness. (Ps. 25:10)

¹To ^| you, O LORD,

I lift ^| up my soul.

²My God, I put my trust in you; let me not be ^| put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph ^| over me.

³Let none who look to you be ^| put to shame;

rather let those be put to shame ^| who are treacherous.

⁴Show me your ^| ways, O LORD,

and teach ^| me your paths. R

⁵Lead me in your ^| truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all ^| the day long.

⁶Remember, O LORD, your compas- ^| sion and love,

for they are from ^| everlasting.

⁷Remember not the sins of my youth and ^| my transgressions;

remember me according to your steadfast love

and for the sake of your good- ^| ness, O LORD.

⁸You are gracious and up- ^| right, O LORD;

therefore you teach sinners ^| in your way. R

⁹You lead the low- ^| ly in justice

and teach the low- ^| ly your way.

¹⁰All your paths, O LORD, are steadfast ^| love and faithfulness

to those who keep your covenant and your ^| testimonies. R

SECOND READING

1 Peter 3:18–22

As God acted through Christ’s suffering and death to bring us to God, so God acts through baptism to save us from a sinful existence. This spiritual cleansing marks our new life in Christ.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. ²¹And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

GOSPEL

Mark 1:9–15

The Spirit that comes upon Jesus at his baptism sustains him when he is tested by Satan so that he might proclaim the good news of God’s reign.

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
¹²And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news."

Musings Reflection Mark 1:9-15

"You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." What wonderful words to hear amidst the negativity over the airwaves. The Republican candidates are creating such a negative aura with their attacks on each other in their ads and debates. There is a constant barrage of statements that are accusatory and so negative. One can almost get caught up in that and turn that negativity inward resulting in feeling those attacks personally. God's loving statement in Mark's gospel dispels all of that negativity. His father's love sustained Jesus during his trials with Satan, just as the Father's love sustains us during difficult times. I tend to tune out all of the negative hype and I tune in to God's loving message. During Lent we renew our faith through prayer and meditation, actually feeling Christ's pain. I usually give something up during these 40 days of Lent to keep me aware of his pain, but my pain is nothing compared to the pain suffered by Jesus and his father, but it at least keeps me in tune to how much God loves and blesses me.

Let us pray:

• in thanksgiving for our blessings
• for those suffering under harsh leadership
• for the homeless children who suffer
• for the parents of those children
• for God's guidance to serve them

Quote:

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope Psalm 130:5