Community of Joy

Lutheran Church

We have just entered the season of Lent - a time in which we prepare for and contemplate the suffering and death of Jesus and the eventual glorious resurrection of Christ!  The mood of this season is normally somber.  It

Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!”

 

She had never known when she had been so galled,

And sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,

Refusing to look back at the “thieving ingrate.”

 

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,

Then sought her book, which was almost complete.

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise.

There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!

 

“If mine is here,” she moaned with despair,

“Then the others were HIS and he tried to share!”

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,

That SHE was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!

 

(Attributed to Valerie Cox)

 

In the weeks ahead we might want to consider that maybe, just maybe, we are “the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.”  We can focus on going the “extra mile” to make sure that we are bending over backwards to assure that we are caring for and sharing with our neighbors.  We might consider realizing that “maybe I was the one who was wrong.”  We can ask ourselves, “Am I doing everything I can to insure that I reflect God’s love in the way I conduct myself in my daily life?”

 

Our Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Now is the time for us to say, “I am truly sorry God.  Forgive me and help me fix what isn’t right in my life.”

Lent is a time for introspection, but remember, it is also a time during which we can JOYfully realize that, “Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus loves us!”

 

In God’s Love and Peace,

110 Balboa Road   Hot Springs Village, AR  71909

501-915-9569

is a time of repentance, remorse, and contrition.  It is a time to admit to and regret our sinful nature and wrongdoing, and also a time for us to resolve to change our sinful ways!

 

In our lives there are things that are just not right - they are not God-pleasing.  If we don’t

recognize them and fix them (with God’s help) they will just get worse and worse.  Lent is the perfect time for us to refocus our lives.  It is a time to realize that we are not always caring and sharing people as we relate to our neighbors.  It is a time to realize that sometimes we are wrong - even when we think we are right.  The following poem/story points out our tendency toward always thinking it is the other person who is wrong.  Consider this:

 

The Cookie Thief

 

A woman was sitting at the airport one night,

With several hours before her flight.

She hunted for a book in the airport shop,

Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

 

She was engrossed in her book, but appeared to see,

That the man beside her, as bold as he could be,

Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,

Which she tried to ignore - to avoid a scene.

 

With each cookie she took, he took one too.

When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.

With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,

He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

 

He offered her half, as he ate the other.

She snatched it from him and thought, “Oh brother,

This guy has some nerve, and he’s also RUDE,