Lent Week 2—Tuesday: Psalm 68:1-20 Genesis 42:1-17 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 Mark 3:19-35
My father used to tell me about a childhood friend he had had and loved. They walked to school together, they played ball together, they rode their bikes all over that small Georgia county in the early 1920s of their youth. This boy came from a family of unrest. There were lots of children, the same as in my father’s family, but these children were under a disgruntled father, an unhappy father, and things were ugly there. Consequently, my father’s friend spent most of his time at my father’s house. What sorrow that boy must have felt. I wish I knew what his life became. What burdens did that father bear? In that rural area, it could have been many things. I often wonder how we humans get so sidetracked.
Yes, it is hard work to try and live the life that is asked of us as Christians, but that IS the work for us. C.S. Lewis said that once we declare that we are Christians, that we believe in Jesus Christ as our savior, we must do something about it. That is tough, but it is true.
God wants us to see HIM in our fellow humans, and it is so very hard to do when unrest is the norm. God shows us again and again that he wants us to love one another as he himself loves us. In the portion of the Psalter for today we read, ‘…A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling…. Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens…’
In Mark, after Jesus names his Apostles, the crowds are pressing in on all of them, and for some reason, Jesus’ own family thinks he is out of his mind. After being accused of being a demon and fighting that demon, Jesus says ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand…’ It is demanded of us to follow Jesus’ example. We must pray each day that he will help us do this very thing.
- Kathryn Gaiennie
The Carpenter's Nail 