Devotional 3-5-12

John 2:13-22

Recently I visited and attended church with my parents. It was the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the preacher spoke to the children about Lent during the children’s sermon. The “congregation” was small - just one little girl, but she listened intently as Preacher Pam explained the upcoming season.

“We will take all the pretty, shiny things out of the sanctuary,” she said, pointing out the golden cross and candlesticks on the altar. Pam described a plain, wooden cross that would be placed at the front of the sanctuary. “You will make symbols for it during Sunday School in the next few weeks,” she told the young lady. “And we will not sing any alleluias,” she said solemnly.

No “alleluias.”

Pam observes Lent like no one else I know. A normally exuberant, boisterous lady, she is markedly reserved during Lent. She truly mourns the absence of alleluias. When I see her at Easter each year, she is noticeably thinner, and I am convicted of my lack of observance. I want to be like Pam, but I am more like the Jews in this passage of John, missing the point until Easter arrives.

John 2 -- ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ²⁰ The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" ²¹ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Prayer: God of all seasons, be with us. Help us use this season as You intend. Let us honor your sacrifice, the yielding of Yourself and of Your son. In His name, Amen.

Marcia Canterbury