Lenten Drama III
Dear siblings in Christ,
I’m praying for health, peace of mind, love, and connection for each of you however you can find them in this challenging time.
I wish we could be together in Endter Hall this evening for our Lenten service as we have been the last two weeks, but I hope the materials in this email will help you find a few moments of reflection and conversation with God.
Scene
The splendid Our Redeemer acting troupe has graciously recorded their performance of this week’s scene for us. This is Act III of Sparks around the Fire.* In each scene, some of Jesus’ disciples sit around the fire as they are traveling toward Jerusalem and the cross. They argue, analyze, and interpret one of Jesus’ parables or teachings in each scene.
The first week, they discussed the Prodigal Son parable in Luke 15:11-32. They came to the conclusion that the remarkable thing about this parable is not the son’s prodigal nature, but the father’s prodigal, abundant love for his son. This tells us about our abundantly loving God, a Prodigal God.
The second week, a Samaritan woman joins the conversation about Jesus’ parable The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Even though we read in Genesis that all humans are made in the image of God, she feels “least in the image of God,” because of the way the world treats her. But in this parable, she discovered God’s love in the care the Samaritan gave the injured Jewish man. So this caring, Samaritan God shows love—dare we say prodigal love?—regardless of the boundaries we put around ourselves and the categories we put others in.
This week, the disciples try to understand Jesus’ teachings about separating sheep from goats and caring for the “least of these” (Matthew 25:31-40). I recommend that you take a minute now and read the text (use a Bible or a Google search), then watch the video of the scene.
The sheep and the goats can be a scary text, seemingly full of “who’s in and who’s out,” but Jesus’ disciples in this scene come to the conclusion that Jesus does not want us to worry about Judgment Day, but about how we treat other people today. The point is more about the compassion we have for each other as equals made in the image of God.
Reflection
Where are you seeing Jesus right now? Are you able to see Jesus in the person walking down the street coughing? In the person with an overflowing shopping cart? In the person who cuts in line? In the frazzled customer service associate?
It’s not always easy to see Jesus in other people, especially in times of anxiety and stress like this. I invite you to find a piece of paper or a journal and write down a few ways you might help “the least of these” right now in ways that avoid physical contact. (Can you give someone a phone call? Can you run an errand for a neighbor and leave their groceries on their doorstep? Or connect that neighbor with someone else who can help them?)
Prayer
Gracious, Prodigal, Samaritan God, please help us see your image in each of our neighbors. Help us care for them as we would want to care for you. Help us to love each other the best we can, even when that means interacting with people differently than we’re used to. Please give us courage, strength, creativity, and compassion to love our neighbors well. In your name we pray, Amen.
Activity
The scene ends with the disciples contemplating sheep and goats and Jesus as the Lamb of God. Mary Magdalene observes that Passover is not a safe time to be identified as the Lamb of God. As you contemplate the perils Jesus is about to face in our journey through Lent, I encourage you to print out the Lamb of God coloring page attached to this email and color as you reflect.
Peace to you, dear friends. I am thinking of you and praying for you constantly.
Pastor Jennifer