[re]imagine Lent: 3/2/2023
We encourage you to sign up for the 40-40-40 Lenten Challenge, a challenge with our partner Southeastern Iowa Synod to participate in Lenten practices, including these daily devotions. Just signing up counts as participation! More info here.
“[Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’”
If faith for Abram looked like taking the next right step into an unknown future, then Nicodemus coming to ask about Jesus was certainly a great act of faith – stepping out in the dark of night to learn more about who Jesus was. And the question of who Jesus was, was directly linked to what Jesus did (no one can do the signs you do apart from God). Nicodemus going to Jesus at night, at least in John’s gospel, is significant because here ‘darkness’ signifies a lack of understanding, or maybe even a lack of imagination about God’s action in the world through Jesus, God made flesh.
Yet even in his lack of understanding Nicodemus bravely steps into the night, seeking Jesus, the light of the world. Sometimes the dark feels scary and uncomfortable. And sometimes the dark feels like the safest place, a space where we have the freedom to ask the questions we are afraid of, or admit to things we aren’t yet ready to share in the light of day. Sometimes it is in these dark moments of inklings whispered in the night that the truth springs forth, the light of Christ dawning with understanding and courage.
If you find yourself in a night of faith – questioning, wondering, unsure about if and where God is active in our world today, know that you are in good company with the saints. And just as Jesus met Nicodemus right where he was, he is there, waiting for you. Perhaps the bravest, most faithful thing you can do is courageously step into that darkness, trusting that God is there, waiting and beckoning with the light that is Christ.
Prayer
God of everlasting promise, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus you have called me to a life of grace and faith. By your Spirit empower me to believe and so believing to act, that living in your salvation I might leave behind all that no longer gives life and step into a future you are calling into existence. Join my faith and gifts with others in my life so that together our faith becomes your gift living in the world. Amen.
Journal Prompt
Lent calls us to practices of faith. Reflect on your own life of faith. When has God called you to take a step into something new? How did you respond? Or, ask yourself if God is currently calling you, like Abram, to leave something behind so that you can start something new, even if that new thing has yet to be revealed. How does that call make you feel?
Week Two Devotions by Rev. Erika Uthe, uthe@seiasynod.org