|
View as Webpage
Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent
February 21, 2024
Invitatory
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: O come, let us adore him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 9-13
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.
Meditation - Winnie Smith
I’ve said before that I love working with young people. One of the most enriching parts of my ministry at the Redeemer has been with RYG, and the one day of this past weekend’s Work Trip to Washington, DC that I spent with the group reminded me of this fact.
While I hope that I always bring my authentic self to any interaction with any group, I know that among teenagers I have nowhere to hide. They will call me out if I speak over their heads, or - more likely - if I misspeak and embarrass myself. Priest or not, with the Youth Group, I am Winnie first. Similarly, they are not the rowing recruit, the basketball captain, the stage manager, or any other persona they might inhabit at school. They are individuals. When we come together on Sunday evenings for a meeting or in buses driving down I-95 for a weekend of service and learning, we are our most authentic selves.
In Paul’s writing to the Corinthians, he described coming to Corinth not with “lofty words or wisdom,” but in weakness. The message he is carrying - the Gospel - is not about the messenger, but is about the power of God. Paul does not want to be the focus of his ministry, but rather wants to point to God. And, he explains, the real power of God comes not from great oration and polished presentation, but from the Spirit working in and through us. This Spirit is what I feel with RYG. When we come together, we leave behind a lot of the traps we fall into in our normal lives. We don’t focus on the things that separate us - on what makes one kid “cool” in school and another less so - we instead focus on building the community we have and on allowing the Spirit of God to lead that. Now, I’m not suggesting that the average high schooler would articulate the group this way, but I think the adult leaders might. At RYG, the Spirit directs us - the Spirit unites us and creates the bonds that overpower differences. It is what allows us to let our collective guard down, to stop trying to impress one another, and to just exist together. When we do that, we are able to authentically grow and serve together.
A Prayer for Young People (BCP p. 829)
God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
| 
