[re]imagine Lent: 3/9/2023
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.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’”
I remember being at Glacier National Park as a teenager, and the awe I felt climbing to the top of the mountain, a valley of wildflowers and lake below, surrounded by even taller mountains, all sorts of wildlife, and a clear blue sky – it is one of the holiest places I’ve experienced. Of course, there have been many moments since then: on another mountain in Guatemala, twice in the hospital room holding my newborn, sitting in the audience of a broadway play… It is certainly true that we can and do experience God’s presence in worshipful moments anywhere in the world. Maybe you have experienced something like this – where God’s presence was palpable and you were filled with awe and praise – and you weren’t in church.
I wonder if Jesus, in his conversation with the woman at the well starts to speak to this very reality. It’s not about where you worship, but how you worship. In his conversation with the woman, we hear him asking us: how and why do you worship?
Being together in community, gathered in a sanctuary or bar; alone on a mountain, or even on the golf course – God is already there. I think this reality is ever so important for the church today as many congregations wonder, “How do we get people to come back?” Maybe rather than waiting in our sanctuaries and fellowship halls, lamenting those who just don’t come in, we can begin to get curious about how and where people meet God if we go out.
Prayer
Oh God, you meet me everywhere in my life. On the road, in my challenges, in my joys, and in all the places I come to worship you. Grant me the imagination to see the ways you are working in the world. Help me encounter those you place in my path, and be open to the Spirit’s leading me to share the saving love I have found in your son, Jesus Christ, who so loves the world that he gave his life to people like me, the woman at the well, and all of your beloved children. Amen.
Journal Prompt
As we reimagine worship and God’s presence in our world this week, reflect on the following:
When have you felt closest to God?
What story do you have of how God’s love or forgiveness has impacted your life? Have you ever shared that story with anyone?
For what are you thankful? In your life? In your church? What do you still hope for? How can you bring all this with you to worship?
Week Two Devotions by Rev. Erika Uthe, uthe@seiasynod.org