Thirsty?

Scripture Passage: John 7:37-39

 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me…”

As I write this morning my diet coke is close at hand.  As a non coffee drinker, diet coke is my morning beverage of choice.  It quenches my thirst, but more importantly it offers a caffeine jump start to my day that helps me get up and moving. 

At the end of the festival, the time of year when Jerusalem was packed with people – tired, hungry, and thirsty pilgrims, Jesus cries out something seemingly absurd and out of place.  “Let anyone who is thirst come to me,” he says.  If the one speaking were not Jesus, the Son of God, we might wonder if the cries were coming from a concession seller at a ballgame. 

The beverage Jesus offers to us is not one filled with caffeine meant to jump start our days.  Instead it is one filled with the Holy Spirit meant to jump start our lives, our hearts, and our very beings.  We drink and then the rivers of living water – God’s compassion, love and mercy – flow out of us and into the world.  Filled with life giving water of Christ, we are sent out into the world to spread the Good news of the well that will never run dry and the water that will quench our thirst for an eternity. 

Let us pray, Gracious God, you are the one who quenches our thirst not for a moment, but for an eternity.  Thank you for this life giving gift.  May we drink of it freely and so that the rivers of living water flow out of us and into your world.  Amen.

That’s Grace!

Scripture Passage: Romans 3:21-31

“…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his graces as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood effective through faith.”

These words that the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans get at the heart of our Lenten journey.  As we continue to walk toward Jerusalem and the cross, Paul reminds us today why we are on this journey in the first place.  The reason is simple and straight forward.  We are sinners.  We are all sinners.  There are no exceptions.  Each and every one of us has fallen short of the glory of God.  We were created in God’s image and, therefore, in God’s glory.  But we have fallen short.  We have failed to live in ways that illumine that glory.

Knowing that we are all sinners, God sent Jesus Christ into the word to be a sacrifice for our sin.  We could not pay the price for our sin on our own.  But nothing, not even God’s own Son was too costly of a price to pay to save us.  So God put forward Jesus Christ to die on the cross.  Now, through his death and by his blood that was shed, we are saved.  We are recreated in God’s image and glory.  That’s grace! 

Let us pray,

Gracious God, we come before you today as those who have sinned and fallen far short of your glory in which we have been created.  We give thanks for your gift of grace that you freely give to us.  As we continue on our Lenten journey, turn our eyes towards the cross and the sacrifice of your son who brought your gift of grace into the world.  Amen.

Being Real with God

Scripture Reading: Exodus 5:10-23

I love Moses!  He is the only person throughout the history of the world to have actually received a burning bush from God.  In that bush he received a crystal clear message from God as to what he was to do with his life.  God told Moses that he was to go to Pharaoh to bring God’s people out of Egypt.  Moses was called by God to God’s work and God promised to provide him with all he needed to get that work done.  Really, does it get any better than this?

Anyone who has ever wondered what to do with their life has to be at least a little jealous of good old Moses and his call.  Many people can go their whole lives without such clarity about what their life’s work should be about.  Most of us have, at one point or another, begged and pleaded with God to send a burning bush to us. 

Yet here, in today’s reading from Exodus, we see Moses question God.  “O Lord,” Moses says, “why have you mistreated this people?  Why did you ever send me?”  The people to whom Moses is referring are the people of Israel who are now being forced by Pharaoh to make bricks without straw.  Making bricks with straw was hard enough.  Making bricks without straw, well that was nearly an impossible task.  So Moses questions God’s call.  Moses questions God’s plan for his life.  Even having heard God’s voice in the burning bush, Moses still isn’t sure he is on board with God’s plan.

This is really why I love Moses.  Moses stands up to God.  Moses talks back to God.  Moses lets God know how he really feels about things.  And, in doing so, Moses invites us to have that same kind of relationship with God.  We are given permission to stand up, to talk back, to question, and to let God know how we really feel.  Moses shows us that we don’t have to be prim and proper with God.  We don’t always have to be on our best behavior. We can be ourselves – frustrations, hurt, pain and all – with God.  We can be in an intimate relationship with God where there is real conversation.  And the best part, is that God will talk back to us! 

(If you are wondering how God responded to Moses, read the first few verses of Exodus 6.)

Prayer: God of Love, sometimes we strive to be prim and proper in our conversations with you and try to hide how we really feel.  We give thanks that you are a God who invites us into conversation with you just how we are.  That we can be real with you and that you will respond by being real to us.  We ask that you would give us this day not what we want or desire, but what we need.  Equip us to do the work that you have called us to do, even if we are still trying to figure out what that work might be.  We pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.   

Just a Quick Introduction…

My name is Rev. Meredith Lovell Keseley.  I am a  wife, sister, daughter, friend, and curious Christian.  When I married my husband, Ben, I also became the co-owner of a dog named Luther.  Adjusting to married life was easy.  Learning how to live with a dog, now that’s a whole different story!  Somehow, though, Luther and I are navigating our relationship as dog and owner. 

My Lenten journey this year coincided with beginning a new call as the pastor of Lutheran Church of the Abiding Presence in Burke, Virgina.  I lead my first worship service here on Ash Wednesday and loved it.  Now I’m settling into life in a new congregation and a new office.  There are still many boxes of books to be unpacked, but the office is starting to feel like home.

I look forward to journeying with you this Lenten season!