For
Sunday, February 25, 2018, 2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B, Readings: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm
22:22-30, Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared...and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. ...No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham...And I will make my covenant between me and you...to be God to you and to your offspring after you. [Genesis 17:1-2a, 5a, 10a]
My praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him...My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever. [Psalm 22:24, 29]
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith...[Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God...For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all...who share the faith of Abraham. [Romans 4:13, 16, 20b]
But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things...For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? [Mark 8:33, 36]
In this second week of Lent, Abram and Sarai become Abraham and
Sarah, and the Psalmist instructs us in the praise of God and the reasons for
it. Paul is explaining Abraham's righteousness of faith. In other
words, his moral and virtuous faithfulness in the presence of the God
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the
things that do not exist. [I underlined because I like that image
of God!] Paul then says that Abraham, hoping against hope, believed
what God told him about all that was to come. Swiss theologian Heinrich Emil
Brunner [1899-1966] once said that “What oxygen is for
lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life.” And so with hope in place, Abraham
and Sarah, with a few hiccups along the way, yet giving glory to God, journeyed
on. Abraham, giving witness to his faith repeatedly, and hope and meaning to all
our lives, has ultimately become the patriarch of the three Abrahamic religions.
For Christians, he is the prototype of faith in the God that brings us to Jesus.
In the Gospel reading from
Mark, Jesus gets serious with the disciples about his imminent future. Peter
decides to challenge these notions of the suffering and death to come and Jesus,
in a stunning and stern moment, rebukes Peter, calling him Satan! We also are reminded by this that we all go about setting
our minds on human things and not divine in everyday life, and this is a direct
cue to stop for a moment and think about the words of Jesus: For what will it
profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Because we are
so tied to “this” life, losing it for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of
the Gospel is neither comfortable nor comforting. Speaking of our faith publicly
~ as in witnessing ~ is even more difficult for many of us. But, our human
sojourn is brief, and we know not the day or the hour that it will end, no
matter who we are or who we think we are.
The gift of Lent is the
time to reflect, repent, and re-start our true and faithful life. As
disciples of Christ in our own day, we are called to bear witness to the glory
of God in Jesus and live out our days by and for the sake of the Gospel. If we
do, we are the recipients of the full protection of God’s everlasting
covenant. Otherwise we can try to take our treasures with us when we go
but, well, good luck with that...
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~
O God Almighty, fill us with the faithfulness of Abraham and guide us to seek
the names You give to our souls. Open us to receive, and accept, the bond of
Your everlasting covenant, as we give witness to Your saving deeds with praise and action.
O
Lord of Presence and Promise
RESPONSE: We
turn our penitent hearts to You
~ O God
Almighty, infuse the leaders of our world, our country, and our
community with reason, justice, and humanity, that they may govern with clarity
of judgment and charity of spirit. We
pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord of Presence and Promise
We turn our penitent hearts to You
~
O God Almighty, let all who are ailing in body, mind, or spirit experience
Your healing grace and the constancy of Your affection; and grant respite for
those who tend to their needs. We
now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
O
Lord of Presence and Promise
We turn our penitent hearts to You
~ O God
Almighty, in sorrow and with love, we commend to You our faithful departed, to
live again in the peace and glory of life everlasting. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord of Presence and Promise
We turn our penitent hearts to You
~ O God Almighty, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt
thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
O
Lord of Presence and Promise
We turn our penitent hearts to You
~ O God
Almighty, nourish all who lead us in Your Church with the unchangeable Truth of
Your Presence within and without, as they walk with us toward salvation in
Christ. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord of Presence and Promise
We turn our penitent hearts to You
The Celebrant adds:
Living and Eternal God, You promise us life unending and love without
limit for the mere price of our enduring faith. We come to You imperfect, yet
willing to use these days of Lent for resisting the temptations of this life in
exchange for bliss and blessedness in the next. We ask this through Your Son,
our Savior, Jesus Christ, and Your Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier, who live and
reign with You, One God, forever and ever. Amen.
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