Lenten Devotional March 14, 2022

Scripture

Mark 3:7-19a

7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; 8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; 10 for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!" 12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, 15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Devotional

The Rev. Andy Greenhow, Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Directors

One of the roles I’m pleased to have at PTS is the secretary to the Board of Directors and perhaps I had board business on the brain when considering this passage.

Much is rightly made of Lent as a time for us as individuals to spend time in prayer and reflection to better connect with God. The operative metaphor for so much of Lent is Jesus’ time in the desert, and the way that his 40 days alone mirror our 40 days of reflection.

But it didn’t take long after that solo desert sojourn for Jesus to appoint a board of directors, even giving some of them cool nicknames. When I think back to my own Lenten disciplines that failed to stand the test of time or be sustained in my life after Lent, I realize it was because I tried to do things myself. Never a good idea.

This Lent, I’ll spend some time reflecting on my own board of directors, those who encourage me, keep me on the straight and narrow, and provide me with much-needed disconfirming information. This Lent, I’ll be asking, “Who would Jesus appoint?”

Prayer

Triune God, thank you for appointing people to keep us company on our Lenten journey with you.

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