Ukrainian citizens traveling by train arrive in Przemysl, Poland, on February 25. The train from Odessa, was delayed more than three hours when it was stopped at Mostyska at the Ukrainian border, where only women and children were permitted to continue on to Poland. Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are currently prohibited from leaving the country. Beata Zawrzel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor"
Deuteronomy 26:1–11
Why Go to Church?
Our forebears knew how great their need
To say their thanks with such a creed
As this, reflecting whence they came.
They gave their ancestors a name:
Not smarter or more powerful
Than those who sheared them for their wool;
Not self-reliant, needing none,
When by themselves they'd been outdone;
Not conqu'ring heroes who were pure,
And strangers made them insecure;
Not brave, or strong, or hardy stock,
But "wandering!" - like some lost flock
Where someone had to show the way!
That someone was the LORD, portrayed
By how they thanked; and still it's true,
And still why we should sit in pews.
Scott L. Barton
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lordyour God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
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Romans 10:8b–13
What Does It Say?
It seems to me Paul doesn’t say
That only those who say these words
Will see salvation come one day,
As if it’s something they deserve.
It’s clear he simply reassured
Those worried they’d not done enough
For blessings that are now ensured
By Christ, who all our fears rebuffs.
Is it enough to feed the poor,
Or must I do - or have - it all?
Is it enough God’s love endures,
Or must I all life’s ills forestall?
What does it say? Christ demonstrates
To need, and simply know you need
You never ought to underrate:
When knowing you’re no god, you’re freed.
Scott L. Barton
But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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Luke 4:1–13
Who’s That Knocking at My Door?
"He departed from him until an opportune time.”
What a strange line.
We assume Luke meant the Garden of Gethsemane;
But we only have the story's bare bones, after all.
What if the devil chose other times that we just don't know about?
"Opportunity knocks," we say;
And maybe the devil does, too.
As maybe he did for Jesus.
But, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock," John writes later.
So when I hear it, I say, "Who's that knocking at my door?
"Is it the devil - or the Lord?"
Maybe Luke knew it's never an easy question,
Even for Jesus.
Certainly not for me.
Probably, I daresay, not for you.
Lenten Christians recognize this -
Thus, we have our seasonal temptations;
But not whether or not to eat that piece of chocolate,
Rather, whether or not to think we know it all.
So we go to the door.
And the only way to know if it's Jesus
Is if the choices offered aren't easy.
So he keeps reminding us,
Year after year (if we read between the lines), that
"Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
Scott L. Barton
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
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Lectionary Poems, Year C: Even More Surprising Grace for
Pulpit and Pew, which has all these poems for the year, 150 of them, including
seven new hymn texts, with two indices of scriptural references and titles, is
available from Wipf and Stock, Amazon, or, the least expensive, from me, signed
and inscribed, for only $11 (which includes tax) and $3.19 postage. Check or
Venmo. Write me at scott.l.barton[at sign]gmail[dot com]! —S.L.B.
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