Listen

However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-7

Think

Brother Roger, founder of the Christian monastic community called Taizé in France, had an intriguing definition of the season of Lent: “forty days granted us in which to marvel at a love too great for words.”

He didn’t talk about giving something up or taking something on. He didn’t say anything about a “season of repentance and self-examination.” He asked, in essence: What better way is there to draw closer to God and God’s purposes for us than to simply step back and be astonished by how much God loves us?

That’s the kind of shock and awe (the good kind) that the writer of Ephesians is going for here. Yesterday’s readings dwelled on “the things you did wrong and your offenses against God.” Now, just a couple verses later, we see what’s so amazing: despite our offenses, “God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus.”

Out of the depths. Onto Christ’s heavenly throne. Not because of our actions, but because of God’s love. Marvelous.

Kyle Matthew Oliver

Pray

God of mercy, allow me to be surprised anew by the breadth and depth of your loving-kindness. Help me breathe it in —  moment by moment, day by day. Amen.

Go

God’s mercy endures forever.

We are imperfect,

yet we are called:

to freedom, to risk, to love.

God’s mercy endures forever.