Lent Day 15
by Marcia Smith
Genesis 22:15-18
Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
Psalm 16:5-6, 10-11
Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Mark 8:31-35
Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.
Romans 8:31-32, 35, 37
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
In Joy by Marcia Smith
In the past few years I’ve taken a dive into the lively world of gardening, a generous portion of which has involved learning to make compost. I still find it fascinating that with some time and proper care, the pungent, unsightly mess of food waste, old leaves, and grass clippings can be alchemized into gardener’s black gold. The rich, earthy mixture teeming with beneficial bacteria is ultimately given back to the soil, where it generates abundant growth and flourishing.
When I first started learning about compost, a major shift happened: “food waste” became a misnomer, scraps now glimmered with new purpose, and the question of “Does this really belong in the garbage can?” was now a startlingly frequent one. What I’d once considered useless, unclean, or past its prime had become significant. My unwanted, inedible food had changed in neither taste nor form, but seeing its essential role had utterly illuminated and redeemed it.
When we read today’s Scriptures, it’s far too easy to absorb the familiar message of “life through death” as some sort of “light at the end of the tunnel,” “grin and bear it” platitude. We are told that our failures and suffering will be used for good someday, but unfortunately, what we often hear is, “life is hard but at least heaven will be great.”
Surely the reality of a full life found in Jesus means something much more profound and wonderful and present to us today.
What if we learned to look at our own stories, particularly the bits where we’ve lost or sacrificed something or had to watch a part of us die (good or bad), to see them with Christ’s own eyes? Instead of harboring shame, discontent, or apathy towards that soured relationship, unfulfilled dream, bad habit, or unideal job, taking a different perspective altogether. Not false positivity, not glossing over the hardship or difficulty; rather, in humbleness entrusting Him with each scrap or waste, knowing He is renewing it today, turning it into hallowed soil to grow our souls.
As He “composts” these wasted, unlovely moments, we can trust that new gratitude and joy will begin to flourish. And as our eyes open to see the abundance of God’s kingdom even amidst the rubbish, we will learn to receive the gift of life in its fullness each day.
Prayer: Lord, You are my inheritance, my overflowing cup of blessing. Amidst my sufferings and failures, grant me a spirit of humble trust, that my eyes may see the abundance all around me in Jesus, and to flourish in gratitude. +
Marcia Smith lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, and works as a hospice caregiver. She loves theology, art, witty exchanges, music, making food, gardening, and learning virtually anything else inherently creative, which lately happens to be making sourdough bread and--separately--felted animals. Something that especially brings her joy is helping friends wake up their particular creative gifting, flourish in it, and bless others with that gift.