40 Words of Lent: Renew (3/26/2021)

  "Its' time to renew"  your subscription to....

         Most of my "subscriptions" nowadays are either to my prescriptions or to online streaming services for my tv.  Most of them renew automatically and I don't give it much thought until I get a notice and/or there's a debit in my bank account.  Life just continues on at its regular pace without much thought as to what I am renewing and why.

    Sometimes, I think our faith can be the same - we "have it" and don't think too much about it until we need it, often in a crisis of one type or another.  As Lutherans, our original "subscription" came at baptism, for many as infants.  Maybe we "renewed" it a bit at confirmation, but most of the time we don't think much about it - the what and the why of our faith.

    In worship, we recite the Creeds (Apostle's & Nicene) which remind us about what we believe about God as God comes to us as the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We read scripture to remind ourselves about how God has acted in the midst of the world and in relationship with others.  We pray,  often doing more talking than listening, for all that is going on in our lives.

Yet, what is our commitment to this faith beyond the reminders and the prayers?  

Like vows that are renewed between couples, how might we renew our commitment in our relationship to God?  We could use our Affirmation of Baptism promises: 

You have made public profession of your faith.  Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in Holy Baptism:
 To live among God’s faithful people,
To hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper,
To proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
To serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
And to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
 
If so, please answer:  I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.

Much of this is about how we will live out our faith, our covenant with God.   It is the "doing" of that relationship.

What about the renewal of  that relationship?

What might you say to God in your own words about the importance of this relationship?  Beyond the words of the Creeds or scripture, what is it about God that touches your life?  How does the character of God shape your own life?

The song "Ten Thousand Reasons" gives a sense of this as it lifts up praises to God.  Verse 2 sings "You're rich in love, and you're slow to anger.  Your name  is great, and your heart is kind.  For all your goodness, I will keep on singing ten thousand reasons for my heart to find." (All Creation Sings hymnal; text: Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin)

I invite you to renew your relationship with God, praising those characteristics of God that impact your life and that you want to live into daily.