Items for the week of Sunday, March 1st

This past Sunday, March 1^st, the Second Sunday in Lent, we heard the following scripture readings, introduction, and prayer of the day during the worship service:

Scripture Readings

Genesis 12:1-4a The blessing of God upon Abram
Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills; my help comes from the Lord. (Ps. 121:1, 2)
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 The promise to those who share Abraham’s faith
John 3:1-17 The mission of Christ: to save the world

Introduction for the Day

During Lent we journey with all those around the world who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. In today’s gospel Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born of water and Spirit. At the font we are given a new birth as children of God. As God made a covenant with Abraham, in baptism God promises to raise us up with Christ to new life. From worship we are sent forth to proclaim God’s love for all the world.

Prayer of the Day

O God, our leader and guide, in the waters of baptism you bring us to new birth to live as your children. Strengthen our faith in your promises, that by your Spirit we may lift up your life to all the world through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Devotion for the week

A New Thing is Underway

“How can anyone be born after having grown old?” asks Nicodemus (John 3:4), articulating a question that we as the church continue to ask today. Change is hard. Transformation seems impossible. And yet, Jesus responds that in baptism we are made as new as if we had been born again, with a new heart able to perceive the reign of God. All things are possible with God!

Nicodemus is justifiably perplexed by this proclamation. We may resonate with his confusion as we look at the world around us and in the mirror before us, wondering if anything can ever truly change. Can the violence and suffering of war ever truly end? Can this broken relationship be mended? Can this illness be healed? Can hatred, oppression, and abuse be thwarted, transformed by the power of love? When we look around us, change may seem in short supply.

And yet, when we get curious, we may also become aware of signs of change, transformation, and rebirth emerging all around us. In northern regions, we can see the melting snow and first shoots of green from rousing plants, signaling the change from winter to spring. We can see mutual aid networks, community care efforts, and collective action emerge in response to social and political chaos. We can sense the tug of the Holy Spirit on our hearts, calling us toward deeper humility, compassion, and solidarity as we live in the hope of Christ.

The Lenten call—to set down what we can to attend more fully to God—draws us into a posture of curiosity that may deepen our awareness of the small but potent ways God’s kingdom is already breaking in all around us. “Do not be astonished,” says Jesus (v. 7); a new thing is underway.