By Deacon Timothy Siburg
Lectionary reflection, Second Sunday in Lent, Year B
February 25, 2024
Key Verse: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.” -Psalm 22:27
Our Lenten journey continues this week with an invitation to remember. To remember why we do what we do. To remember who God is and why God does what God does for us. To remember that Jesus calls and invites us to follow and grow as disciples. To remember that the life as a disciple and steward is not always easy and can be quite hard, as it is very much a life and death matter. To remember that this life together as a follower of Jesus is deeply meaningful.
If I am being honest, I sometimes struggle in Lent. I struggle because of the minor keys of the hymns and the absence of hallelujahs. I struggle because the penitential time can feel quite dreary and not a time of joyful gratitude and awe for the saving love of God in Christ that we know is central to the season’s journey. I struggle because I am a pastor’s spouse and a deacon myself, and the busyness of the season is wearing.
But the struggle fades when I hear words like those of the psalmist this week. With them, a calm smile usually comes back to my face. The psalmist sings, “The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him” (Psalm 22:26-27). I love the reminder of why we do what we do here, and more, what God has done, will do, and promises to do for God’s beloved.
Reflecting on the psalmist’s words, I wonder what it really means to remember. To recall our experiences of the past? To recite the words of our story, our family’s stories, our ancestor’s stories, all stories which are part of God’s ongoing story? To remember why God has done what God has done, so that we might also remember again what God has promised and what God does and will do.
When we take time to remember, stories come to mind. Stories of faith, hope, pain, and new life. Stories of generosity and abundance. Stories of discipleship and stewardship. Stories like how a dad shared his love of baseball with his son, a love that he began with because of his own mom, and now a love that is being shared with at least the fourth generation of baseball fans. Or stories like how a grandpa served in war and then went to seminary, answered a call to ministry, grew a family and moved cross-country serving God’s call that has since inspired at least five family members to go into formal ministry.
Stories that we remember that begin with words, like that of God’s people wandering in the wilderness: “Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous…” (Deuteronomy 26:5). Or we remember the story of God coming near to Abram and changing his name to Abraham with a promise: “I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7). The promise that we remember is at the heart of God’s declaring that Abraham and Sarah’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars. The promise too that God would remember God’s people and never leave them.
Or the story that is central to our life as disciples – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. A story that has at its center a cross. A story we remember this week where Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?” (Mark 8:34-37).
With stories like these, we remember. We remember who we are and whose we are. We begin to remember why we do what we do, and more importantly, who God is and what God has done, will do, and promises to do, for us. From this act of remembering comes the life of discipleship and stewardship. Flowing in response. Flowing out of memory. Flowing as an-ongoing part of God’s on-going story today.
In Worship and Congregational Life
Invite people in your context to remember for a few minutes, perhaps prompting them with a question or two. Perhaps to remember their first memory of coming through the church doors. What did they feel? What do they picture in that memory? Or perhaps their first memory when someone told them a story about Jesus. What story was it? What do they remember? Questions like these invite responses and invite everyone to engage and share. This could fill any sort of Bible Study, Faith Formation, or Sunday School time rather easily, or they could make for an interactive time as part of the sermon. Either way, it could be framed as a way to connect the dots. To take some time to remember, and then to remember the words the psalmist gives us this week, as we remember who is at the center of all of this, and who makes it all possible. Whatever this practice might look like in your context, open it with words of affirmation and close it with a simple prayer that gives thanks for the one who remembers the covenant always, who remembers us each by name better than we know ourselves, and who by grace gives the gift of life we could never earn or deserve.
Worship with Youth and Children
Building off the theme of remembering, if your congregation has a children’s time during worship, invite them to lead by example. Ask them, “What story do you remember about Jesus?” It could be a bit risky to ask them such an open-ended question, but I suspect that ultimately you will have at least one child who says that Jesus loves her. The Gospel will be proclaimed, and you as a leader will have a ready-made example of the art of remembering that God’s love is real and is made known daily for us and through us. And that all of God’s beloved are all recipients of this gift.
Previous reflections for Lent 2B:
2021 – Holy Disruption
2018 – God now interrupts your regularly scheduled life
2015 – This is good news?
2012 – Of saints and sinners
Photo: Creative Commons
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