St. Mark's Lutheran Church

Posted: March 06

Devotion – 1st Week in Lent Changes Jesus says, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’ John 12:24, NRSV “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” C. S. Lewis This Lenten season, I want to reflect on changes – in fact, ‘Changes’ is also the theme of the mid-week evening services at St. Mark’s. Why ‘changes’? Lent is a time of repentance, and the Greek word for repentance that we find in the New Testament, ‘metanoia’, actually means ‘change of heart/change of mind’. Repentance means to look at things in a new and inspired way, and to adjust our thinking and actions in order to fulfill our calling as the body of Christ in this world. Now change can be scary. We like our comfort zones, we like the safety of our habits. Change at times can seem threatening. But then we see constant change all around us. One just has to look at nature to see that change happens all the time. Growth and maturity would not happen without change. Life would not be possible without change. Jesus points this out in his words about a grain falling into the ground and dying, before it is transformed into a plant which bears fruit. Jesus here refers to his own death, and hints at the abundant life that will only be possible through his death. C.S. Lewis, in his own inimitable and humorous way, talks about the necessity to change as well and draws on an example from nature: an egg. The egg cannot remain an egg forever – its purpose is to be hatched, and to bring forth new life (or to end up on our breakfast plates). Again, change is understood as a pivotal life force; if change is hindered, there is death and decay (and in case of the egg, quite a sulfurous stench, too, which might come straight out of hell). My prayer for this Lenten season is that we be given the courage to accept and embrace change, and to understand it as a life-giving and life-enhancing gift from God. And to remind ourselves that God, throughout the Scriptures, says to us: Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I want the best for you, my children. Life abundant, life eternal.