Reflections for Lent

Mark 11:15-19 NRSV

Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him, for they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

God’s Special Place

For the first 17 years of my life, every Sunday morning just before 9am, I was either carried, or I walked, up the steps, through the big wooden doors and into the vestibule of Benton Methodist Church. It was my second home! I LOVED it! Inside the little vestibule, an usher would smile and quietly whisper GOOD MORNING as he handed me a bulletin. Then I would walk through another set of doors into the quiet sanctuary – GOD'S SPECIAL PLACE. Whether there were 40 folks or 70, it was always very quiet. 

It was GOD'S SPECIAL PLACE, and we all seemed to know the importance of just being quiet with God. Even Mr. Crawford, who sat in front of us, would silently turn in his pew and hand my brother and me a peppermint candy. No words were needed. We were in GOD'S SPECIAL PLACE where silence was our way of saying “GOOD MORNING GOD. We have come to be with YOU!” As a child, the big stained-glass windows mesmerized me as I waited for the organist to play the prelude, a sign that worship had started. 

In the silence, I remember staring at Jesus in those windows knowing that everything I had done or not done, good or not so good, HE HAD SEEN. Uh-OH!!! However, in this place, I knew I was both forgiven and loved. These days of Lent are intended for us to SLOW DOWN and be intentional in finding GOD'S SPECIAL PLACE in our lives. A place where we are both forgiven and loved. It could be in the sanctuary during worship, a quiet space at home or a bench in the local park. As you finish this devotional, just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and be with God....Amen. 

~Reverand Cindy Raski Fuller~