Lent Day 5
by Kim Romig
Genesis 9:8-17, “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.
Psalm 25:3-9
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
1 Peter 3:18-22, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
Mark 1:9-13 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
Trinity and the Crucifixion by Daniel Bonnell
We find ourselves in the midst of much suffering, evil, and temptation…as did Noah, David and Jesus in our Scriptures today. They offer us guidance and hope.
Genesis 9 describes God’s unconditional covenant with Noah and all creatures to never again destroy all His creation with a flood of water. This is a story not only of well-deserved judgment & cleansing of evil, but also of God’s great provision and mercy!
O Lord, we need your justice, mercy and provision in these trying times.
Ps. 25 is David’s cry to God for help from his enemies, referencing God’s conditional covenant with Israel (if Israel is faithful to God, He will bless and protect them). David reflects on God’s attributes recalling who this God is to whom He cries. He gains perspective & faith in the process. Take a moment to underline the descriptive words of God in this Psalm, then cry out with David:
Guard my whole being and deliver me. Redeem our country from all its troubles. (see vss. 20-22)
Mark 1 is the story of Christ’s baptism. Mark opens his Gospel not with the birth of Christ, but with Christ’s official “ordination”. “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased” came a voice from heaven (God’s voice often was heard with the establishment of covenants). This marked the beginning of the New Covenant, the unconditional covenant of God’s grace to be poured out through His Son who is the perfect and complete, freely given, sacrifice for our sins. The waters of Baptism here reference the total cleansing of evil that Jesus will accomplish for us, just as the waters of the flood once cleansed the earth of sin. God once again provides a way out, and this one is for all people and all time.
Lord God, thank you for your “once-for-all” provision in Christ that no suffering, evil, or temptation can ever take away from us.
In our final passage, Peter explains further what this “Son of God” accomplished and what our response is to be. Jesus “suffered” as a vicarious sacrifice for our sins to the point that he was “put to death in the flesh”. He patiently endured suffering that led to His death, but then came Resurrection, freeing us from the well-deserved consequences of the evils within us. When Jesus struggled, He cried out to God just as David did in Ps. 25. As Christ-followers, we too are called to suffer for something beyond ourselves.
Almighty Father, empower us to face and overcome the suffering, evil and temptation we encounter, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Kim Romig is a follower of Jesus in the Anglican way. She is retired from teaching math, Biblical studies & spiritual formation. She enjoys family & grandchildren, the outdoors, mentoring, and all things with my husband of 43 years.