Lent Devotional February 29, 2024

Lenten Devotional February 29, 2024

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

12 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food," and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, "The two shall be one flesh." 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

Devotion

The Rev. Erin Morey ’22

“[Y]our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19b-20)

On our last youth confirmation retreat, we had scheduled time on the “King Swing,” where you are harnessed, hauled as high into the air as you are willing to go, and then released to drop and swing. At first, I thought I might skip the swing. But, I watched the nervous teenagers I was with gently encourage one another to push beyond their comfort zones to try it. Watching the videos later, I realized that no one was silent as they fell, and at some point everyone yelled involuntarily at the thrill of swinging. Each of the youth decided to be hauled up a little higher, and most chose to go all the way up. I realized that this was an intense experience, but it was a holy experience, too, and I finally mustered the courage to share it with them. I’m excited to report that I had to keep my eyes closed as I was hauled up, but I made it all the way to the top, and then shrieked “WOO!” as I swung back and forth.

How holy it is that we share this strange and wonderful experience of being in this physical world with one another, and with Christ. How beautiful it is that we can rejoice together in worship, work, and play! And I’ve found that I am often capable of doing so much more than I assumed was possible when I am asked to push beyond my own comfort. I am never grateful enough for the gift of this body that allows me to connect with others and with God. This Lenten season, I will focus on God’s call to glorify God in the sometimes mundane, sometimes intense, gift of being an embodied human being in the world.

Prayer

Creator God, all we are is yours. Let us delight in the gift of our bodies, that we may joyfully praise you in every gesture, every moment, and every step. Let the world know your goodness through us. Give us the strength to do the work you have created us to do: to love you, and one another. Amen.

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