Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent
One of my favorite hobbies is researching ancestry, looking at old family photos, and spotting similarities through generations. Scripture, at times, can take on the qualities of a family photo album. You can’t help but, as you turn the pages, notice a family resemblance that we share with our faith ancestors: Abraham’s dishonesty, Sarah’s jealousy, Jacob’s sons’ scheming and betrayal. Our stories are different, yet the family resemblance comes through. We know we struggle with the same things as our ancestors did, all the way back to Adam and Eve. By now the ashes of Ash Wednesday have faded from our foreheads, but not from our hearts. This human family tree is covered in dust—all the way through.
However, the mercy of scripture is that it is not just our story, it is God’s story. In today’s scripture from Genesis, we can catch sight of God’s hand in this complicated family story.
Jacob’s blessing to his heirs carries the promise that “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” …”and to him shall be the obedience of all peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes” (Genesis 49:10-11).
This sounds like a strange inheritance, until a son of Judah, and Son of God, is born into this sin-filled family, fulfilling Jacob’s blessing as a king like the world has never received before. He is the Savior and eternal vine from which all of humanity will be redeemed. As Jesus turns the pages of His own messy family album, He doesn’t recoil from the sin and suffering it carries. He chooses to enter right into the midst of it all, even into death.
Jesus will redeem this family tree on a new tree on Golgotha’s hill, making it possible for these sons of Adam and daughters of Eve to call upon a better inheritance; to be sons and daughters of God. The inheritance that Jesus rightfully fulfilled is now our own. Not by the schemes of man, but through God’s mercy. Praise be to the Lion of Judah and King of kings!
Prayer: Merciful Savior, You are all-powerful, and yet humble, all-worthy, and abounding in love and grace. Uncover the patterns of sin in our lives, in our families, in our history, and lead us to repentance and new life. Remove the branches that do not bear fruit and redeem our broken places. Help us to live not according to the old story of sin, but according to our inheritance found in You, as sons and daughters of the King Almighty. Amen.
Devotion written by the Rev. Alliyah Greaver
Morning Psalms
Evening Psalms
This daily prayer and Bible reading guide, Devoted to Prayer (based on Acts 2:42), was conceived and prepared by the Rev. Andrew S. Ames Fuller, director of communications for the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). After several challenging years in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been provided with a unique opportunity to revitalize the ancient practice of daily prayer and Scripture reading in our homes. While the Reading the Word of God three-year lectionary provided a much-needed and refreshing calendar for our congregations to engage in Scripture reading, this calendar includes a missing component of daily devotion: prayer. This guide is to provide the average layperson and pastor with the simple tools for sorting through the busyness of their lives and reclaiming an act of daily discipleship with their Lord. The daily readings follow the Lutheran Book of Worship two-year daily lectionary, which reflect the church calendar closely. The commemorations are adapted from Philip H. Pfatteicher’s New Book of Festivals and Commemorations, a proposed common calendar of the saints that builds from the Lutheran Book of Worship, but includes saints from many of those churches in ecumenical conversation with the NALC. The introductory portion is adapted from Christ Church (Plano)’s Pray Daily. Our hope is that this calendar and guide will provide new life for congregations learning and re-learning to pray in the midst of a difficult and changing world.