2020 Wesley Community Lenten Devotional

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Wesley Theological Seminary is denoted as WTS throughout the Devotional.

The Devotional contributions have been offered as original submissions and represent the views of the authors and may not reflect the views of Wesley Theological Seminary.

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ctivist, author, and theologian Gardner C. Taylor once said, “Cut flowers don’t grow!” We can all debate the true meaning of this phrase; however, it could also simply mean that in order to grow in life and in ministry, we must “Stay Connected.” Even though this phrase has become overused, in the case of Lent, it is absolutely appropriate. As Christians, we must always stay connected with God and each other.

Lent is a perfect time to stay connected with God. Traditionally, the season of Lent has been marked as a time of prayer, reflection, and fasting. These practices were adopted to replicate the sacrificial sojourn of Jesus Christ in the desert for 40 days. It is an ideal time to quiet the everyday distractions of life and focus on God’s will.

Lent is also a fantastic time to stay connected with each other. It is our hope that this devotional will help you connect with your Wesley family, because it was created by the community. In fact, the theme of this devotional is “Community.” We want you to use this book to journey with us as we grow in God together.

Finally, commit yourself to daily reading, prayer, and reflection as we seek God’s wisdom during this Lenten season. Allow God to change your life.

God wants to stay connected from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday!

Thank you for staying connected with us!

The Development Office Wesley Theological Seminary

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Veronice Miles Community Connection: WTS Associate Professor of Preaching Superpower: Infinite Hope

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Real Deal Piety ~ Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

ost days I give the impression that living toward a God-centered harmonious existence is as common to human life as breathing, eating, or sleeping. I teach and preach about the radical possibility of a world defined by health, wholeness, and prosperity. I write about Hope as that which fuels or capacity to imagine this world and talk with family, friends, and colleagues about the social, political, economic, and ecclesial implications of such imaginings.

Then Ash Wednesday arrives, reminding us that living toward such harmonious existence requires faith unambiguously oriented toward God. Ash Wednesday ruptures our visions of consonance with the stark yet grace-filled reminder, “remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return!” (Gen. 3:19b).

Stark because it reminds us of our fallibility and tendency toward idolatry. Yet grace-filled because resonating just beneath fallibility are echoes of our identity as imago Dei—beings purposefully created to love as God loves.

Today’s Gospel reading brings us face-to-face with our dustness—fallibility and immense potential. It reminds us that though we desire to please God, we often become distracted or enamored with the appearance of faith rather than the actuality of it. Jesus cautions against ostentatious appearances of faith—give to the relief of the poor in secret, pray for each other and the world in secret, fast in secret—reminding us that God who sees in secret will sufficiently reward.

Today, many will receive the imposition of ashes. May Jesus’ words guard our hearts against confusing the appearance of piety with its actuality.

Day 1

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Kevin Highfield Community Connections: WTS M.Div., 2018, UMC Baltimore-Washington recommended for provisional elder, working in Cambridge circuit for The Methodist Church of Britain (Cambridge UK).

Superpower: The Encourager, helping you in your journey to take the next affirmative step

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Go Where? ~ Luke 9:18-25

his passage in Luke reminds me of a passage in the Gospel of John, when the disciples asked Jesus “where” he was staying, and instead of telling them, Jesus answered, follow me.

This Luke passage explains to disciples “who,” “what,” “when,” “how,” and “why” they follow, but not “where” to follow. “Who” the disciples are following is at the beginning of this passage (Messiah, suffering Son of Man who is raised). “What” is required of disciples is laid out next (deny selfishness, taking up cross of loving actions), along with “When” (daily). “How” is explained as losing their lives (doing what Jesus said and did during his life). And, “Why” we follow is explained as liberating (saving) the world. One basic question remains, “Where?” As in the Gospel of John, Jesus just says, follow me. But, I want to know where. Where am I going next?

In the military I learned a follower must trust the leader to know the way and the destinations. Jesus insists on this type of trust and obedience with two simple words: follow me.

Recently, I have found myself across the world, not where I expected to be just a year ago. It took a lot of discernment to trust God in the midst of this journey, really look hard at Jesus, and follow him. I had to then move, towards Him, before I found out where. Do we really need know anything else? Are you moving, following Jesus wherever he leads?

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 2

Karen Santiago Community Connection: WTS Director, International Student Service, WTS Adjunct Professor, International Student Seminar; WTS Staff Council Co-Chair Superpower: Raising fierce little humans.

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What the fast are we doing? ~ Isaiah 58:3-4

don’t fast. The closest I have ever come to fasting is riding on the “intermittent fasting” diet fad bandwagon. I have broken fast with many a Muslim friend. I have fostered inclusive environments for loved ones who do fast. But no, not me. I don’t fast. I was the kid in high school whose doctor had to write a note requesting a change in lunch period from the end of the day to midday so my hypoglycemia (aka the hangries) wouldn’t kick in. I’m sure I’m physically capable of fasting. It’s just not a cultural or religious practice I was raised with.

And, without that connection – or the proper intention associated with it – I have no impetus to begin.

To me, that’s what’s at the heart of this passage. INTENTION. What is the intention behind our actions? Whose purpose is it serving? It gets us to think about the hypocrisy of our behavior and the emptiness of our actions. In the passage from Isaiah, God essentially says, “great job, you fasted, but you were a selfish monster in all other parts of your life.” Ain’t that the truth. I know I will be the worst parent if I start parenting for kudos instead of for my kid’s wellbeing.

The same can be said of my work. So, will I fast this Lenten season? No, I won’t.

Instead, I will eat. I will eat with the intention of eating with someone I’ve never eaten with before. If that person is you, email me so we can eat together. And, if you happen to be fasting, we can make that work too.

Day 3

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Rev. Lauren Bennett Community Connections: WTS grad 2019; Community Engagement Fellow 2015-2018; Associate Pastor at Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis Superpower: Engagement

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Stretch fully before God ~ Isaiah 58:1-12

few days ago, we began our Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday. We acknowledged, from ashes we are created and to ashes we will return.

God’s breath brings creation into life from the ashes of the world. Each ash was a part of something larger: a tree, a graham cracker, a chair, a blanket…and each ash might again birth a new form of creation. Like a pile of ashes taken from a bonfire shared amongst friends or collected from a house fire, each pile of ashes contains both commonalities and distinctions, just like creation.

In worship, we offer praise and thanksgiving to the God of the universe who knows us by name and is as close to us as our own breath. Stanley Hauerwas, reflecting on Marva Dawn’s writing, says worship for God is character building because it requires truth-telling; truth of ourselves as we present ourselves before God and truth as we practice the embodied disciplines of worship.

For me, worship provides a place of accountability so that we can “stretch fully before God” in seeking and sharing truth. In worship, we remember the tenants of our faith, which we boldly proclaim in community. We creatively consider how the text that spoke to a people thousands of years ago still speaks. We stand, sit, sing, kiss, eat and drink through our bodies to honor the God within and likewise the God who surrounds. As we live in a world where the bodies around us often experience violence, we may not divorce justice from worship. They tangle together because of the nature of our creation.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 4

Claire Coker Community Connections: WTS M.Div. anticipated ‘20 Superpower: Propagating too many houseplants. Let me know if you want a cutting!

Community of Creativity Inspiration: “You Do Not Have to Be Good” Exhibit, by Cheryl Agulnick Hochberg.

“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver.

“For Longing” by John O’ Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us.

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had the honor of photographing this exhibit in celebration of Wesley’s Luce Center for the Arts and Religion. These photos represent Wesley community for me in two ways. First, these photos remind me of the consistent invitation to creativity at Wesley. Even the opportunity to grab my camera and capture this moment marks something special about Wesley’s values. I’ve experienced a readiness to affirm talents even if they feel shaky, collectively maintaining profound trust that we all have something to offer.

Second, these photos represent Wesley because they capture communal moments of reflection. Observing members of the Wesley community react to art, I see a celebration of different perspectives while responding to this shared invitation to curiosity. Our time together is often marked by meaningful wondering and admiring, celebrating how our unique stories enrich that wondering together.

I’m thankful for the sense of belonging at Wesley in the midst of asking questions, whether about art, religion or everything in between. In the words of Mary Oliver (whose poetry inspired the artwork in the photograph), the community at Wesley has continually announced we each have a “place in the family of things.”

John O’ Donohue captures my prayer for Wesley this Lenten season: “May the forms of your belonging – in love, creativity and friendship – be equal to the grandeur and call of your soul.”

Day 5

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Stacey Cole Wilson Community Connections: WTS, M.Div. ’03, WTS Board Member and Donor; Ordained Elder in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church. Birthplace, Baltimore, MD. Superpower: Love that Heals

Because of God (I Am), We Are ~ Inspired by the South African concept of Ubuntu and Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18; Matthew 25:31-46; Psalm 19:7-14

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here is the evidence that God exists and that God’s existence substantiates our own? Who is this Force called God and what is God’s nature? Is God the Creator of humankind, the heavens and the earth; and if so, is God limited by the laws it creates? Is God fragile and finite? More specifically, why would God (YHVH, the Eternal One, I am Who I Am, I will be Who I Will Be, Hashem, the Name, Love) invite me, you, us into existence as a part of God-self for such a time as this? Why would God create us as a human family (community) and intricately connect our lives to God, one another and the rest of God’s creation?

Our scripture readings offer responses to these questions. They remind us that because God is, we are. They remind us that God is Eternal (has no beginning, end or death), is Holy (set apart from all that exists), and that God is the Human’s Redeemer, Rock and Soul Reviver. Furthermore, God gives imperfect beings power to transform our selves and God’s world.

In some way, these texts point us to God’s highest law which is Love in action.

This Love correlates love of God, neighbor and self. It is an ethnorelative kind of love. Because of God’s love, we are… here, loved, respected, claimed and now we must go and do likewise. This love makes no room for any hierarchy of human value. This is our why. This is our lifework and prayer for this glorifies God. Eternal Word, Thank you for the gift of your presence. Thank you for being mindful of us and for interpreting the groans of Your children here and around the world.

Reveal Yourself to us and cause us to love one another as you love us. You know everything. We are Your Creation. Let your will be done as it is in heaven. In the Name of Jesus, we ask it all. Amen.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 6

Wm. R. “Mac” McKenney Community Connection: WTS M.Div., 2018; Associate Pastor, Good Shepherd UMC, Dale City, VA Superpower: Center, Varsity Basketball, Wesley Theological Seminary (undefeated since 1882)

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If necessary ~ Isaiah 55:6-11

saw an image on Facebook the other day – a picture of St. Francis in a rough tunic surrounded by animals captioned – “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use memes.” The admonition to preach the Gospel and “if necessary, use words” is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, but there is no evidence that he ever said it. In fact, the earliest published source for this quote dates all the way back to the 1990s.

As much as I would like to think that anyone who has seen me separating my recyclables from my trash – or noticed that I am kind to animals and patient with children – would immediately leap to the conclusion that a loving God entered history in the person of Jesus Christ to redeem creation, I’m not going to hold my breath.

Come to think of it, Jesus himself, whose life provides the strongest testimony of anyone who ever lived, shared the Good News in words. Lots of them.

So, while we want to live in such a way that “they will know we are Christians by our love,” we also need to share the Good News in words. To be sure, people will watch what we do, but if we walk the talk, they will listen as well. And if we are worried about choosing just the right time or place or words, we can find comfort in Isaiah’s assurance that God’s word never returns empty, but always accomplishes God’s purpose.

Day 7

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Marci Matthews Community Connections: WTS Admissions Office staff; M.A. anticipated ’20; member at First UMC Hyattsville Superpower: Mother of twins born three years apart. My 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter look and act “lovingly” similar…and I have the good pleasure (and superpower?) of raising them up.

Renewal

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ent reminds us to meditate on our promises to God. Psalm 51:11-18, relieves us of our stubborn notions, and calls us to come plainly before God for the purifying of our hearts. On our unique campus I am reminded daily of the contrite hearts that have gone before us in faith to adorn our surroundings.

The Trott building, corporate home to our Oxnam chapel and administrative offices, beholds Jesus with his right hand reaching out to the world at-large; his left hand raised in praise to God. Norman Trott—former seminary president for whom the building is named—and the sculptor of the Christ statue (artist Leo Friedlander) were both left-handed. As a mother, it makes me think of our kinlikeness, of our children in gesture, right/left handed-ness, and our hereditary dispositions. To create in our image is our genetic divinity which demonstrates the beloved nature of God to connect with those whom He’s created. Outside of our nature, in our humanness sometimes we wrestle with our divine image.

When he was 10, my son broke his elbow. In agony, he suffered through two surgeries, and the fiery sting of torn ligaments. During his physical therapy I observed how painful it was for him to turn his right palm face up. For many Sundays during worship, I would catch my son’s struggle to match his right hand, his dominant hand, with that of his left. Years later, as we would sing “praise God for whom all blessings flow” and his palm no longer quivered, I discerned the shared pain of all of our experiences and how agony can turn to praise.

So when the psalmist asks “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” it is not unlike what is created in our imagination—except in power. It is by the power of God that we in our broken hearts may be re-created in His likeness to behold a right Spirit. In our sorrow we find the joy of the Lord. In our grief we teach the Way. In our anguish we cry out for the deliverance, and in our remembrance of the agony and the grace we give the praise.

We are renewed by our prayer Miserere mei, Deus, “Have mercy on me, O God.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 8

Ellie Crain Community Connection: WTS M.Div. anticipated ‘20; Intern at American University Methodist-Protestant Ministry; member, Madison Street UMC, Clarksville, TN Superpower: Cleaning my entire house when I have an assignment due.

Practicing a theology of enough in a culture of scarcity ~ Matthew 7:7-12

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ver the J-Term this year, I had the opportunity to travel to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

In our orientation session, the director of the Pine Ridge Reconciliation Center, Pastor Karen, gave us a bit of advice: “If someone tries to give you something during your time here, take it. In many parts of the United States it is customary to compliment someone’s appearance based on what they are wearing. In Lakota culture, when you compliment what someone is wearing, your comment may be perceived as you saying you want that thing, and then the only appropriate response would be, of course, to give it to you.”

She followed this by going more in depth about the ways that the Lakota people, especially in their traditional way of life, were an incredibly communal people.

Pastor Karen said that normally when she tells that story, the number-one rebuttal from immersion participants is an insistence that we, too, are communally minded.

She continued; we are only communally minded when it works in our favor. When someone asks us for $20, we first think about our own needs and wants before ever considering letting go of that $20.

I have spent a lot of time since that moment thinking about the ways this is true for me. My challenge for all of us in this season of Lent is that we might begin to consider what our lives might look like if we really started to live into a theology of having more than enough rather than looking out for others when it is convenient for us to do so.

Day 9

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Asa Lee Community Connections: WTS Associate Dean for Campus Life/Director of African American Church Studies; M.Div. ‘05 Superpower: Ability to see through walls

The Perfect Partner ~ Matthew 5:20 ~ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

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erfectionism is something that many of us suffer from. We set professional and personal barriers high and work hard to attain them. There is nothing wrong with setting goals and working hard to reach them. Perfectionism is a slippery slope. Goal setting is great, but perfectionism is dangerous. There is something even more dangerous about faith perfectionists— the practice of being a perfectionist when it comes to living as a disciple.

Matthew’s Jesus in this fifth chapter teaches to a gathered throng on the side of mountain. There he emphasizes the importance of the law and the teachings of the prophets. Yet, Jesus is not setting up a pattern of perfection as most would believe. Instead, this teaching is about connecting this message of hope to the teachings of the Hebrew Bible. But Jesus is not a perfectionist. Nor is Jesus hoping that his followers become perfectionists. Instead he points to the power of grace— for no one can ever reach the goal of being more righteous than the Pharisees.

Instead Jesus’ sarcasm is meant to point us to him. In him, Jesus, we will come to know the grace that calls us, not to our own attainable righteousness, and that is the good news for you, there is release from the faith perfectionism.

This Lenten season, I invite you to offer your sense of perfectionism. Let go of the high bars of your Faith and instead, embrace Jesus. It’s his message, his witness, and his power that is able to transform you for the journey ahead.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 10

Dr. Sherri E. Wood-Powe Community Connections: Pastor, Oak Chapel UMC; Presiding Elder, Greater Washington District, Baltimore Washington Conference; Chair, Worship Team, Baltimore Washington Conference Superpower: Extreme hearing

Exceeding Expectations ~ Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Ps. 119:1-8

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he Lenten season is always a good time for reflection. An opportunity to look inward and evaluate ourselves. Are we simply going through the motions? Are we like the Sadducees and Pharisees, more concerned about the letter of the law than the spirit of the law? Are we operating for form and fashion or are we living in spirit and in truth?

In the Deuteronomy text, we are reminded that we should keep the Lord’s commands and statues with all our heart and all our soul. If we look back through the preceding chapters of Deuteronomy, we know that there were a lot of commands and statutes given. Could the expectation have possibly been to keep ALL of them? And really, “with ALL our heart and ALL our soul”?

If we are putting ALL our heart and soul into something, we are not concerned with the bare minimum. We go above and beyond what is required, exceeding expectations. Psalm 119 reminds us those who keep the laws of the Lord are blessed and won’t be put to shame. Daily, as children of God, we are called to exceed expectations. We are called to live lives worthy of our calling.

Being in community, especially Christian community, we are challenged to live in accordance with the spirit of the law. This does not mean forgoing the letter of the law; instead, exceeding the letter of the law to walk in the ways of Jesus, who came to fulfill the law.

Day 11

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Rock Jones Community Connections: WTS Board of Governors; Ohio Wesleyan University, President Superpower: Hope

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The Habit of Community ~ Psalm 121

ne of the formative events of my college years was participation in an 18-day excursion from central Arkansas to Shiprock, New Mexico for two weeks of volunteer work at a United Methodist mission. I traveled with eight fellow students, the majority of whom I had not met prior to boarding a church van for the 1000-mile trip. For two weeks we worked together; we cooked together; we sang together; we played together; on a weekend we hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon together; we learned together as we experienced the Navajo culture.

As our time together ended, we reflected on the extraordinary bonds we had formed. A group largely of strangers had very quickly become a living community.

Forty years later I find myself thinking about that experience of community as I contemplate today’s world. In a world where hatred, bigotry and fear of those who are “different” leads to devastation and turmoil among individuals and nations alike, the gift of human community is nothing less than a gift of the living God. It is a reminder that we are most fully human when we care for one another, and spend our days watching over one another in love.

Community is a gift of grace. The habits that form community reflect the psalmist’s description of the habits of God.

“The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for evermore.”

What does it mean for us to do the same?

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 12

Brenda Girton-Mitchell Community Connection: WTS alum, 2004; WTS Board Member Emeritus, Wesley Council donor; Metropolitan Baptist Church Superpower: Faith

Does Anybody Want to be Holy?

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary Pure and holy, tried and true With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living Sanctuary for You It is you, Lord Who came to save The heart and soul Of every human (man) It is you Lord Who knows my weakness Who gives me strength, With thine own hand.

Lead Me on Lord From temptation Purify me From within Fill my heart with Your holy spirit Take away all my sin.

“Holy” is a challenging word. Holy means to be set apart. Holy means to live to a godly standard. Jesus challenges us with specific imperatives in the gospels. God commands us to be holy because God is holy. Would God ask us to be something that is impossible?

During my time at Wesley, “Sanctuary” became one of my favorite songs. The words we sang were only the chorus. I was blessed when I discovered the existence of these additional verses.

So, in this season when our culture is overexposed to negativity, I am lifting this song as my prayer. I am evaluating my behavior. It is hard not to be judgmental towards people who perpetuate injustices in our society. It is my faith that keeps me as I strive to become a living sanctuary for the Lord, in the midst of life’s conflicts that seem insurmountable. My faith can keep me focused. My faith leads me to know God is still in control.

Day 13

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Elijah Ferebee Community Connections: WTS M.Div. ‘19; WTS Staff (Recruiter Office of Admissions); Emory Fellowship UMC, DC Superpower: Making the most of what I have

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Be Like Our Planet ~ Isaiah 1:16-20

rom the dawn of our creation we have been told that we are the reflection of our creator. Every fiber of our being, pleasing to the one who from which all life finds its source. *Pause* Take a moment and look or walk outside. See the blades of grass, the trees, the creatures, the people, the Earth. All these things valued and significant to God. Humanity possesses a diversity as numerous as the different kinds of flowers that grow. As numerous as the fish in the sea. Yet, we’ve learned to despise, demonize, and deplore that which makes us good in the eyes of the one who made us, and made us good.

Community requires caring for one another. *pause and take another look outside* Just as the trees provide us with oxygen, the sky with a barrier from the harshness of space, and the land beneath our feet provides us with structure and food. So are we called to care for one another.

Isaiah 1:16-20 reminds us of our responsibility to one another. God calls us to care for and love one another with all our might. As we walk throughout today, let us be reminded of the unwavering way in which our planet cares for us, and let us do the same for one another.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 14

Nick Works Community Connection: WTS Alum, 2012; WTS staff since 2012, lately as the Assistant Director of the Practice of Ministry and Mission.

Superpower: I possess (none). The best power I offer is the power of friendliness to all.

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GOATs ~ Matthew 20:17-28

he term GOAT (Greatest of All Time) has become popular in the last few years. Social media has encouraged us to proclaim our choice of GOATs, whether we are naming our GOAT singers, quarterbacks, and even GOAT theologians. We can debate GOAT status between Beyoncé or Aretha, Brady or Montana, Jordan or Kobe, Serena or Federer, Pele or Messi, and even Hauerwas or (insert your GOAT theologian here!).

The Gospel of Matthew tells a story about a mother who believed her sons qualified as GOAT disciples. She requested that Jesus solidify their position as GOATs among the disciples. GOAT status in the kingdom, Jesus proclaims, is based on different markers than the kingdoms of this world. The princes and presidents we normally encounter measure greatness in terms of influence and power. Jesus reminds us these rulers enjoy exercising authority over their subjects.

GOATs today are lauded as figures we look up to. Children grow up wanting to be like them and wear their jerseys or seek their autographs. I even have a special section on my bookcase where I have autographed copies of Hauerwas’ and Moltmann’s books.

Even in our academic community we have our own way to measure greatness. We strive and seek for positions of honor and title. We yearn for rank and status. But I think we do well to remember that when it comes to our place in the kingdom of God and the community of Wesley seminary, we must heed the words of Jesus. We must remember that we have only one option for greatness. We must be committed to servanthood. We are called to serve the church, the wider Wesley community and ultimately God’s Kingdom. That is the only path to GOATness!

Day 15

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Tonya Miles Community Connections: former WTS Executive Assistant to President David McAllister Wilson & Secretary of WTS Superpower: FAITH

Prayer for Our Hearts ~ Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 16:19-31; Psalm 1

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eavenly Father, hear our prayer. Lord, oh Lord, let our hearts recognize that there are only two ways of living – hearts that trust in mere mortals and hearts that trust in you, our LORD God. Blessed are we who trust in you as our Lord. You are our living water in which we will always bear fruit in its season. We cannot deceive you as you look at our hearts; so, Lord, cleanse our hearts so we might serve thee. Let not our hearts harden but let us realize when to render service with compassionate action. Let our hearts show concern for our neighbors and if not, let us quickly repent and serve those in need who are in our midst. Lord, bless us with wisdom to heed your call to follow the path of righteousness so we may obtain your blessings. Lord let us not follow the advice of those who rebel against you. Let our way be your way that which is pleasing in your sight; and, should it not be, let us move swiftly towards your way. Lord, let not our hearts be confused by practicing what we hate to do instead of practicing what we long to do. For Lord, we find delight in your way and with it being on our hearts night and day. We devote our hearts to you, Lord, for we know that you care for us.

We submit this prayer in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 16

Rashad Shabazz Community Connections: WTS Student, Staff, Association of Black Seminarians Superpower: Simplifying Complex Things

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Forgive ~ Genesis 37:3-4, 12-28, Psalm 105:16-22, Matthew 21:33-43 here comes a point at which no more inspiration, motivation or instruction is needed, we need to do, what we know to do.

FORGIVE! Grant, O Lord, that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Day 17

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Chip Aldridge Community Connections: WTS Associate Dean for Admissions; WTS Graduate — M.Div. ’85 and D.Min. ‘95 Superpower: Folding paper cranes

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What about the pigs?

he Gospel for today is “The Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32). We know all our scripture began as oral tradition. I bet that if you got together with three or four friends around a campfire, dinner table or sitting on the front porch as a “community of remembering”, that you could recite your best corporate version of this story by taking turns beginning with “There was a man who had two sons . . .” and ending with “rejoice . . . he was lost and has been found”.

Who would you name in the story? A younger brother, the parent (usually the father), the older brother, a servant. Do you remember those who don’t get named?

The other parent (probably the mother), maybe a sister and a cook or the wife of the younger brother. What about the people the younger brother partied with to squander his money? Or the citizen of that other country who hired the older brother to tend the pigs? What about the pigs?

A few years ago, the Luce Center for the Arts here at Wesley hosted an exhibit in the Dadian Gallery that was all images of “The Prodigal Son” parable. It included prints and illustrations going back 500 years and paintings as recent as 20 years ago. Many were a sequence of pictures showing the various scenes in this story.

I learned from this exhibit that of all the moments we remember in this parable, artists most enjoy portraying the younger son with the pigs. Why? Perhaps the pigs are more fun for artists than trying to show the human emotions and interactions.

Or, maybe because the younger son was with the pigs at his moment of realization that he could ask forgiveness and return home.

Gratitude today that we can remember in community that we have a generous and forgiving God who welcomes us back again and again.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 18

Gertrude White Community Connection: Epworth House Mission Project Committee; BaltimoreWashington Conference of United Methodist Women, Missioner-in-Residence Program of WTS. We are Donors.

Superpower: Sharing financial, spiritual support, and the love of God!

God the Living Water That Strengthens the Community ~ Exodus 17:1-7

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e are the community, creation of the most powerful God. Our arms are outstretched in love and support of the Missioner-inResidence. We lift her on wings of prayer. We are fed with God’s Word which is living water. Without it the community perishes.

God has a purpose for each one of us, a work for each one to do, a place for each one to fill, an influence for each one to exert, a likeness to His dear Son for each one to manifest.

Day 19

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Leven Chuck Wilson Community Connections: WTS Council Donor; Be U Nation; Renew Group, Inc. Superpower: Faith

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God’s Ways Are Higher hen we talk about God’s way, we must examine his higher ways. I suggest we investigate the spirit of healing.

First, we must identify what needs to be healed and why. It must be a mission.

Whether the pain manifests as physical, emotional, or mental, you must determine in your mind that you want to be healed. Sometimes there is no cure, answer, alternative treatment, or antidote to heal. However, there is something about the spirit that can heal us emotionally. Start the journey with that as your desire and hope.

Whether you were challenged in your home, work or community, ask our almighty God to heal and renew you and your community. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says if my people who are called by my name would humble themselves and pray and turn from their ways, God would forgive their sins and heal the land.

Each day we read about our communities that need healing and restoration. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.”

Corporately ask God to clean your heart and to give you a renewed and right spirit.

God’s higher plan is to bless his children in this manner. Pray for our national and global communities that we seek God’s higher plan. Walk in your freedom and bask in the knowledge that every day the spirit of healing is just a prayer away for your home and community.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 20

Michelle Bodle Community Connections: WTS D.Min. student; Pastor Philipsburg Grace/ Morgan Run United Methodist Parish (Susquehanna Conference, PA) Superpower: Thinking through things quickly and finding odd connections

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Longing Together ~ Ps. 42:1-7

rowing up, my church dipped a toe into a praise and worship service when I was in middle school. We had an old overhead projector with transparent sheets of words that were put onto a wall and a piano that led us.

One of the first songs I remember learning was “As the Deer” which is based on today’s Psalm.

While it is truly a meaningful song for many, when it is divorced from the entirety of the text, we end up missing something. Specifically, the deep sense of agony, searching and longing that the Psalmist is approaching God with. This year, my prayer during Lent has been to go deep and wide, deeper spiritually and wider in my reach in the community. That is the longing of my heart, and like the Psalmist it truly comes from the place of just pouring out my soul.

While the Psalmist is putting his prayer in first-person, singular language “I” and “my,” it can equally be our communal prayer during this six-week journey.

There is transformative power in praying, as the whole body, “Our souls long for you, O God” and “We pour out our souls.” Part of the beauty of being in a seminary community is just that, it is a place where we come together and share our longings, hopes, dreams, and trials. Wesley is such a place where we uphold and support one another on the journey, as we cry out together, during Lent and beyond.

Day 21

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Josie Hoover and Kathryn Sparks Carpenter Community Connections: Hoover: WTS Alum ’08 (M.Div.), ’15 (D.Min.), Wesley Council Donor, Staff and Adjunct Professor Sparks Carpenter: WTS alum MTS 2005, Donor Artist-in-residence 2005, Adjunct Faculty 2006-present Superpower: Hoover: Empowerment!

Sparks Carpenter: Building Community!

Optimistic, Encouraging, Devoted, Wise, A Presence, Big-hearted, Loyal and Fun...Pillar of the Community ~ John 14:27 Prayer-Dance by Josie Hoover and Kathryn Sparks Carpenter Performed in Oxnam Chapel August 27, 2019, in recognition of Raymond Washington’s Retirement, from 45 years of “ministry” to the students, faculty and staff of Wesley Theological Seminary Gracious God, We lift up your servant, Raymond Washington, with gratitude for his [45] years of service in this community. We thank you for his gifts, graces and talents. We thank you for the loyalty he has shown this community of faith and learning where we have learned, through his presence, what it means to be a faithful servant.

Devoted, A Presence, Loyal and Fun… When there was someone, be it a student, staff, faculty or a stranger in need, Raymond’s ministry of presence put us all at ease.

When the world was going awry, he created a safe space for all, and we now ask that You give him a space of rest in retirement. Keep him vigorous in body, mind and spirit for the new things that are on the way. Let others be blessed with the wisdom he has blessed us with.

Encouraging, Wise, Pillar of the Community… Dear God, we ask that You continue to bless Raymond’s family; we thank you for allowing them to share him with us. We thank you for letting us watch his children grow and witness the birth of his grandchildren. We thank you for the legacy he leaves within the halls and walls of this institution called Wesley Theological Seminary.

We give thanks today for Raymond Washington: Optimistic, Encouraging, Devoted, Wise, A Presence, Big-hearted, Loyal, Fun and Pillar of the Wesley Community.

In Jesus’ name we pray, AMEN.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 22

Lenora Whitecotton Community Connection: WTS M.Div. student; intern at Emmanuel UMC in Beltsville, MD Superpower: My superpower is my laugh!

By the Strings of Life ~ Ecclesiastes. 4:9-12 Chorus: By the strings of life, we are tied one to another By the strings of life, we must stay.

By the strings of life You’re my sister, you’re my brother.

By the strings of life Oh, day by day.

Verse One: If you should fall, I will pick you up and help you on your way.

Oh, for I know we are bound as one and so we all must stay.

Chorus Verse Two: And as we go along, God will bind our hearts granting faith, and hope, and love.

And with the three in one as our living guide we will seek the courts above.

Chorus

Day 23

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Monica Sharp Community Connections: WTS Director of Residence Life Superpower: Curiosity and Compassion

Sunday Dinners ~ Mark 12:33; Galatians 5:14 Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese Casserole This is a dish I’ve enjoyed since childhood. My granny would make it for major holidays and many Sunday dinners, but when she fell ill in 2014, that responsibility was passed to me. While the casserole itself isn’t unique, I’ve played with the recipe over the years, making it uniquely mine.

Ingredients 2 c. Brown Rice

1-2 c. Unsweetened Oat Milk

1 can Campbell’s Mushroom Cooking Soup not Cream of Mushroom

Salt

2 c. Vegetable Broth

Paprika

1-2 packages SteamFresh Broccoli

Parsley

8 oz. block Extra Sharp Cheddar

1 small Yellow Onion, diced

8 oz. block Monterrey or Colby Jack

1 tbsp. Grapeseed Oil

Pepper

Directions Preheat oven to 375°. Bring broth to a boil. Add rice, lower the heat to mediumlow, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Do not overcook. Microwave broccoli per the instructions.

To make cheese sauce: Heat the oil over Shred cheeses, putting aside ½ cup cheddar. Try not to snack! medium heat, then add the onion, cooking 3-5 minutes. Pour the milk, and let it come to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the shredded cheese until it has completely melted. Add more milk if sauce is too thick. Lower heat slightly, then add cooking soup. Stir until blended, and season as needed.

Combine everything in a baking dish, and top with reserved cheese, paprika, and parsley. Bake 20-25 minutes. Test a small corner to ensure everything is cooked, then put under the broiler until cheese is bubbling.

Enjoy!

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 24

Alfredo Santiago Community Connections: WTS M.A. Anticipated 2021; WTS Gente Latinx Seminarian Association Superpower: Compassion (Love in Action)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector ~ Luke 18:9-14

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e exalted, oh God, above the heavens. A line from the song, “Be exalted, oh God.” (Brent Chambers) God who looks down from heaven does it with loving and merciful eyes. God does not look down his nose at us, with indignation and judgement. Instead, God looks down and sees the day-to-day works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, etc.

In many churches, we see pews, windows, alters, works of art and other articles dedicated to an individual, family or an organization. This can be intimidating to the happy giver who may not give as generous as the people immortalized by having their names attached to objects in the church representing their generosity.

God measures in a more generous form than men and women.

How many of us are giving drink to the thirsty, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked? Some of you might be answering in the affirmative. Let us remember, that we are an extension of God’s love and mercy. Give some time, volunteer in the community or do random acts of mercy.

Remember, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:14.

Day 25

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Eshe Frett Community Connections: Metz Culinary Management Chef Manager at WTS Superpower: I have twins

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Psalm 23

salm 23 has always been one of the few scriptures I can recite from memory. In high school as a senior, I had it embroidered on my senior sweater. It is a scripture that evokes a sense of comfort and peace whenever I read or hear it. Comfort is also an element I try to include in my food. We often use food as an emotional item; when we are happy, we eat; sad, we eat; need comfort, we eat. One of my favorite comfort foods to make are soups. A soup that I have made here at Wesley that is always well received is my Creamy Sweet Potato Soup.

I’ve included the recipe below; I hope you experience the same comfort I do as you try it out!

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup Makes 10 servings Ingredients 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

.5 tsp ground cloves

2 qts heavy cream

.5 tsp nutmeg

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

.5 tsp ginger powder

Salt to taste

Directions Add all ingredients to pot and stir to combine Cook to a rolling boil Add more or less heavy cream to match your desired consistency

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 26

Sara Sheppard Community Connection: WTS M.Div., 2012; Director, Continuing Education; Managing Director Course of Study School; Program Administrator Doctor of Ministry Program.

Superpower: Making art of all kinds

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Isaiah 65:17-25

hat does it mean to leave it all behind and begin anew? The Lord says, “For I am about to create a new heaven and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered.” (Isaiah 65:17) Would it only be that easy to let go of the past and start a new thing? Letting go of past mistakes is hard. Those “things” in life, personal and professional, that we desired but we were unable to attain. In some instances, the choices we have made placed us on a specific path; for good or ill. Often these choices keep us up at night. What are those things for you? Do you go over in your head, on a sleepless night, the past that cannot be changed?

The past is done. It cannot be changed. And yet, because we are human it is always remembered.

Here the Lord is promising to create a new heaven on earth. A new Jerusalem full of joy, a bountiful harvest and peace between adversaries. The Lord wants to assist us in moving past the past. To live as Jesus lived helping our neighbor, feeding the hungry, being there when no one else will. God calls us to this work; to break through our disappointments, grief and humiliation to create a new, loving and supportive world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John1:5). Be the light, not the darkness.

Day 27

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Madelyn Campbell Community Connections: M.Div. 2014, Current D.Min. student (Cambridge Track C) Superpower: Boundaries

Surrender ~ Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, Psalm 46:1-8, and John 5:1-18 I surrendered myself to the water.

In the water there is life and there is death.

I surrendered myself to the water.

I surrendered, and you lifted me.

You healed me, held me, carried me.

I will look to you when the waters rage.

I will look to you when my tears mingle with the waters.

I surrendered myself to the water, and you lifted me.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 28

JaNice Parks Community Connections: WTS alum, 2014; Current D.Min. student; WTS Director of Enrollment Superpower: Drawing people into my space

Sign of Hope~ Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 40:5-11; Psalm 45; Lk 1:26-38; Heb. 10:4-10 We need a sign!

These are troubling times Outbreaks of viruses, fires, lawlessness, injustice Outright disrespect and disregard More concern for a newly wedded prince (who will never be king) Deciding to abdicate his place in the royal family Than for the young boy and girl Who decided to abdicate their seat in the classroom We need a sign!

The sign of our hope Lives within our young people The dreams which have been planted within them Dreams that must not be birthed prematurely Or shot down in the streets like animals Or smoked away in drug addiction or vaping Or drowned in alcoholism Fulfillment of the promise happens only As we protect the hope of our future We need a sign…

No, we are the sign!

Let us declare God’s righteousness, God’s steadfast love, God’s faithfulness in the public square Let us not be silenced Let us be willing to sacrifice self for the good of all Let us show forth Jesus’ character that resides within us.

God, give us the courage and strength to be the sign humanity needs.

Day 29

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Rev. Carl Ford Peterson Community Connections: Graduate of Wesley Seminary class of 1969 – M.Div. – Returned to Wesley last year for the commencement at National Cathedral – for 50th Anniversary; Member of the governing Board of Preachers’ Aid Society of Susquehanna Conference; Board of the New Cumberland Olde Towne Association, New Cumberland, PA. Superpower: Empathetic Listening

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Standing In The Breach ~ Psalm 106: 6-7, 19-23

n the wilderness, the Israelite people had abandoned the God who had rescued them from slavery and the Egyptians. The God of infinite patience had come to the end of the rope and was ready to destroy the entire nation. But Moses interceded with the Lord. “Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.” [Exodus 32:12] The Lord heard Moses and relented.

In the Christian community, intercession is glue that holds us together. “Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him.” [Psalm 106:23] I learned the power of “standing in the breach” when routine surgery, in the summer of 2019, brought many complications; and, I spent 19 days in Harrisburg Hospital. My family kept vigil at my bedside. When I was in the ICU several pastors surrounded us even as I was unresponsive and on a ventilator. The community of faith interceded with prayers, and cards, and evidence of support. During my road to recovery, all who stood in the breach with me sustained me, and I took renewed confidence to stand in the breach for others.

During this season of Lent, we focus upon Jesus Christ. In his journey to Jerusalem, in his arrest on the Mount of Olives, through his suffering and passion, his cruel death on the cross, and his lonely isolation in the tomb, Jesus “stood in the breach” for us. Through each day and in all circumstances of life we can experience the power of One who stands in the breach for us.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 30

Rev. Raedorah C. Stewart Community Connections: WTS Director of the Writing Center and D.Min. student.

Superpower: Pantone 266-2738 (or, the color commonly known as Purple).

Maker, Keeper, Lover Inspired by the writings of medieval mystic Julian of Norwich who names the anthropomorphic God with being sans gender.

God, our Maker Raises her arms wide open Beyond the expanse of her breasts Marveling at her holy handiwork in us.

God, our Keeper Holds the world in his hands Compassionately adoring our frailty Comforting earth’s groans and mothers’ laments through us.

God, our Lover Speaks to our hearts Hope—in spite of. Joy—because of. And Love—regardless.

Calling us God’s own and sending us out to welcome others in.

And so it is.

Ashe.

Amen.

Day 31

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Bruce C. Birch Community Connections: WTS Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology Superpower: Ability to see whole picture

The Enemies of Community ~ Jeremiah 11:18-20; John 7:37-52

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othing undermines the idea and the experience of community more thoroughly than the notion that some persons, by definition, stand outside of the possibility of community. When we begin to think in terms of the dichotomy of “us” and “them” we destroy community, not only with those we disparage, despise, or discount, but with the very community we are hoping to preserve. We begin to look at all of those around us thinking they might really be a part of or sympathetic to those who are “other” than us.

Jeremiah found even his friends and family turning against him, and even threatening his life, because he spoke out against the positions of the political and religious authorities of his time. But the failure to heed his voice or consider his message led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon.

In the passage from John for today, Jesus is despised by the authorities not because some view him as Messiah, or at least as a prophet, but because he is from Galilee.

He does not fit the narrow categories they have defined for those who teach, or lead, or preach. And in exclusion they have allowed their own community to be poisoned by hatred and rejection. They even turn on a member of their own circle, Nicodemus, who argued for openness. In the end they lend their voices to the violence that takes Jesus’ life.

Community cannot endure if it is defined by exclusion and fear of otherness.

Community thrives on openness, inclusion and love. Every generation seems to need to learn this anew.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 32

John Bowman Community connection: Natural Resources Defense Council; community partner with WTS Superpower: Positive Thinking!

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Collective Care for Creation ~ Isaiah 24:4-6 s this a biblical warning of climate change? It’s not yet too late to alter our course and work collectively to save the planet!

“The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.”

Journal prompt: How can I help sustain God’s creation?

Day 33

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Shaw Brewer Community Connections: WTS D.Min. student (Public Engagement Track B), and Lay Servant at Bethesda United Methodist Church.

Superpower: Encouragement.

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The Power of Community and Scripture ~ Psalm 23

etting ready for Lent, I have been thinking about how the disciples must have been feeling during Holy week. That week must have felt like a roller coaster to them. Palm Sunday at the beginning and Easter at the end with the Last Supper, trial, and crucifixion in the middle. I have been thinking about how much Jesus tried to comfort and prepare them with the same promises we find in Psalm 23. Jesus promising them that though he would face death, he was going to make a place for them (John 14:1-7). And telling them that he was the light and that this was supposed to happen.

However, as scary as I imagine this must have been. I also know that the disciples had each other. They were a community that had been in ministry together for three years. They ended up locked in the upper room together, scared, and leaning on each other until Jesus showed up. They ended up making it through that week in the community that they had formed.

May we find comfort in the things that they needed and hopefully had in that time during our faith journey. May we find a community of people who know us well and will stick by us. May we take comfort in the scripture. And may we be prepared to walk through the valley of death because of the support community and scripture give us.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 34

Techika Rhodes Community Connections: WTS M.Div. student; came to Wesley by way of alum Rev. Jana Green, Senior Pastor of Oak Forest UMC, Director of the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Wesley Foundation.

Superpower: I always keep a smile on my face.

Hope in the Midst of a Wilderness Experience ~ Num. 21:4-9

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ave you ever felt that you had been dealt a bad hand by God? How about the communities of which you find yourselves being a part?

What about your church body or denomination? If you have, then you are not alone. When reading Numbers 21:4-9 you will find the Israelites come to Moses because their plight seems to be anything but inviting. They have been traveling a number of miles, and just think, this travel was on foot. To add to injury, they are stuck in a wilderness with no water or food so it seems logical that they would go to the one who delivered God’s words to them. The Israelites had sinned by speaking against God and Moses; therefore, the Lord punished them by sending poisonous snakes and as a result there were many deaths.

Post the punishment of the Lord, the people had a heart of repentance.

Simplistically, repentance does not only mean to turn away from or to change direction, but it also means to change one’s mind. Moses prayed for the Israelites, and the Lord gave hope to the community. The passage ends with Moses being instructed to make a bronze snake and put it on the pole. When the people were bitten they could look at it for healing. Instead of assured death, he provided healing for those who were bitten by snakes. Even in such a difficult text let us be reminded as a community that though we may not always get it right, God gives us a chance to be reconciled and healed. There is always a glimmer of hope in a wilderness experience.

Day 35

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Kasongo Butler Community Connections: WTS Grad anticipated 2020; Wesley Council Director and Donor; Community Engagement Fellow 2016-2019; Hometown: all of the Sunshine State — Florida Superpower: Creative Engagement

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Hope ~ Romans 5:1-5

ast semester, I had the opportunity and privilege to embark on a journey with my classmates through the Rites of Christian Marriage and Rites of Christian Death and Burial class. When asked about my course schedule by family and friends, I always got the side-eye when I mentioned this course, especially when I told them I was particularly interested in the death and burial portion of the class. I understood their confusion. Because death is seen as dark and depressing, macabre and morose, no one likes to think about death, much less talk about it. Yet, I was intrigued and searching…searching to discover and capture the sacredness, the promise, and the hope that can accompany our death and those of our loved ones.

Our professor, Dr. Anna Petrin, had the task of leading our class through the pastoral opportunities and challenges of death. Admittedly, the challenges were often, well…challenging! But, we journeyed together as a community. We also built a puzzle together during our journey. Each connected puzzle piece representing our class, a community of faith, pursuing a path together, growing together, and learning how to share a story that is big enough, rich enough and hopeful enough to hold one through the suffering.

“Bridge of Hope” puzzle facilitated by Kasongo Butler and done in community by the WTS Christian Funerals and Weddings Fall 2019 Class, led by Dr. Anna Petrin

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 36

Marcus Jean Community Connections: WTS M.Div. Candidate 2022, Community Engagement Fellow; Kingdom Fellowship AME Church Superpower: Encouragement.

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Lord of All ~ Genesis 17:1-8

he body of Christ is represented in full color in the Wesley community and I am reminded almost every day just how big God is with the diversity seen in the classroom and the different cultures represented here on campus. I am privileged to be able to witness in 2020 a promise God made to Abraham in the Hebrew Bible.

Day 37

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Dan Albrant Community Connections: WTS Alum, 2017 Superpower: Assurance

Prayer of Confession ~ John 10:31-42

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Assurance of Pardon reator God, you have placed a treasure deep inside each of us: a moment of insight, a mountain of affirmation, a sense of your love.

Yet how often we treat one another with a harshness that bruises the soul, or an indifference that wounds the spirit.

We have been given the precious gift of caring for one another: guarding each other’s light and proclaiming the gospel of love.

Forgive us for handling this gift with heavy hands and hardened hearts.

Open our eyes to the wonder of each person, and to Your abundant grace that heals our brokenness and restores our faith.

Amen and amen!

Hear the good news! Through Christ himself our sins are forgiven!

Thanks be to God!

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 38

Teaira Parker Community Connections: WTS M.Div. ‘19; Senior Pastor, St. John’s UMC, Berlin, NJ Superpower: Enhanced senses

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Worship while trusting God ~ Ezekiel 37:21-28

n a day and time where these United States are divided, and souls have been rendered unto Caesar instead of taxes, it is always a welcome peace to know that the God of our ancestors, the God of the Bible has been here before and has a track record of healing nations. The good news is God’s glory dwells among God’s people. If we believers can remember that we have been claimed by God, then we can offer true worship in spite of what we see in front of us.

True worship lives in awe of God and leaves us interested and engaged. As we experience our worship more deeply, we begin looking towards God because in its purest form, worship leads us from an experience of awe into a moment of delight in God’s presence. A moment of joy, sometimes unspeakable, sometimes fleeting, sometimes surprising, makes worship authentic.

Awe and delight do not necessarily arise only in positive occasions. Even in difficult situations, when we practice gratitude, we find ourselves ushered into a sense of the “steadfast love of God.” As we worship, our sorrow turns to gratitude, and truth rises. As we bring all the circumstances of our lives into the presence of God; as we speak and pray honestly about ourselves open to the sense of God, worship becomes authentic and relevant. For, authentic worship is truthful worship.

As we continue to navigate these tumultuous times, let’s remember to worship God. Because we serve a God who is a covenant and peace-making God. A God who will remind us that regardless of what we see, God offers peace in the middle of the storm.

Day 39

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Joseph W. Daniels, Jr. Community Connections: WTS D.Min. 2000; Adjunct Professor – WTS since 2001; Lead Pastor, The Emory Fellowship UMC, Washington, D.C. Superpower: My Purpose

Who Is This? ~ Matthew 21:1-11 Who is this?

Who is this? Who comes into a climate of chaos and craziness to bring us healing and hope?

Who is this? Humble and innocent arriving on the scene to transform an atmosphere of brashness and arrogance.

Who is this? Gentle in greatness coming to us in a world of hate and division to bring peace.

Who is this?

Who is this? Who comes to us in honor and glory and praise to bless us, save us, deliver us from the corruptness of this generation?

This is Jesus. Lily of every valley. Bright and morning star out of every darkness.

This is Jesus. The one who came into a place known as good for nothing; who turned it into a place of possibilities.

This is Jesus. The one who comes to save us from our sins. To offer us life and life to the full.

Don’t rain on His parade. Give praise to Him and march with Him in glory!

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 40

Diane J. Wogaman Community Connections: WTS alum; staff member; United Church of Christ Superpower: God

Psalm 36:5-9 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgements are like the great deep; You save humans and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

I frequently have the privilege of escorting visitors throughout Wesley’s campus.

Almost without exception, exclamations of surprise and delight are shared when they experience the beauty and peacefulness of the courtyard and grounds, as well as the art throughout the buildings.

The highlight is when we reach the chapel and our guests learn about its deliberate architectural design: the brick wall representing God’s strength and protection and the windows looking out onto Massachusetts Avenue reminding us that there is a world beyond these walls.

Psalm 36:5-9 reminds me of the chapel. God is described as steadfast, faithful, righteous and a refuge who saves humans and animals alike; they feast in the abundance of God’s house and in whose light they (we!) see light.

The surroundings of the campus do not make up THE community, its students, employees and many friends do. However, we are fortunate to have such a place as Wesley to enjoy.

Prayer: God, give us fresh awareness of beauty surrounding us daily as well as discipline to be Your fountain of life and light wherever we are in a hurting world.

AMEN

Day 41

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Dr. Artie L. Polk Community Connections: WTS M.Div. (With Honors), Wesley Council Donor, Executive Pastor of Mount Gilead Baptist Church, Washington, DC Superpower: Prophetic Preaching Truth to Power

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Marathon ~ Hebrews 12:1-3 ife is a marathon that is set before us. It is not a sprint. Running a marathon requires endurance. It requires perseverance.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us by reminding us that the community triumphant, those named and unnamed in Chapter 11, who have transitioned to “a great cloud of witnesses” in the very presence of God, is cheering on the community militant, those of us who yet remain in the race. We are not in this race alone! The writer also reminds us that although Jesus has finished His race on this side of Zion, He continues to run the race with us to encourage us, to give us focus, and to remind us of the model of endurance that He left that landed Him on the seat at the right hand of the throne of God. As we run the race, we are to look only to Jesus, the focus of our attention. If we look away from Jesus, we will stumble. When we have finished the course, we will land in one of the many mansions prepared for us in the very presence of God. This is the joy that is set before us. Let us “…not grow weary or lose heart.”

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 42

Debra M. Whitten Community Connection: WTS M.Div.; WTS Program Administrator for PM&M; member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, serving as an extension minister at Wesley, 2003; member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, serving as an extension minister at Wesley; Program Administrator for PM&M Superpower: Insightful and Care-ful Love

Participatory Unity is Community ~ Galatians 5:14; Hebrews 12:1-3; Isaiah 50:4-9a For the entire Law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself. ~ Galatians 5:14

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s I walked toward the church, surprisingly, 8-year-old Janet approached me. Speaking to me seemed to be avoided previously. In the parking lot, I greeted her, chatted for a few minutes, then, invited her to help prepare for practice. My surprise? She accepted. We had a delightful time chatting, setting up, and talking about bells.

During rehearsal, we briefly talked about safe sanctuaries. Not until my drive home, did I recognize my mistakes with Janet. I created a rectifying plan, adjusted after receiving input from a wise counselor.

Often, we do something relatively harmless, moving on as if all is well. Reflection showed me the potential damage done—safe sanctuaries unobserved, Janet’s parental authorities overridden; and Janet more vulnerable to having fun with a relatively unknown person. How should I correct the potential damage?

Do we holistically think about the effect of the little errors we make and move to correct them? How do we continually fight against any action that creates disunity, disrupts harmony, potentially, takes another away from God’s Path, or increases vulnerability to evil? To enable unity and ensure healthy community, take time to reflect on actions, address unsound actions directly, seek needed guidance from wise ones, and take swift corrective action!

No matter how old the offense or whether we started or are heirs of it, we must be active participants in critiquing and correcting actions so that each person is empowered and enabled to learn from one another, grow, and be more like our Christ.

Day 43

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Maundy Thursday Sathianathan “Sathi” Clarke Community Connections: Bishop Sundo Kim Chair of World Christianity at WTS; Ordained Presbyter, The Church of South India; Assisting Clergy, The Church of the Epiphany, Washington D.C. Superpower: Passionately Christian and Compassionately Interfaith

Sometimes the buck stops here with me ~ John 13:21-32

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esus’ question echoes among us even today: “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And like the disciples, some of us might look “at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.” But others among us (I put myself in this camp!), will by force of habit quickly pass the buck of betrayal onto other Judas-like figures. It is easy to summon up several names and faces of those who pretend to be faithful disciples on The Way (keep in mind that Jesus was heading to the cross) but who conveniently take alternate paths when the demands are far too costly. The chief problem with this routine of passing the buck is that it saves us from self-indictment that might spawn thoughts of repentance, the nudge to turn around and courageously walk the Jesus way (even if it leads to the cross).

On this Maundy Thursday, instead of passing the buck of betraying Jesus onto others, let me confess that I have joined in the betrayal: Like John, I have claimed to be “the one whom Jesus loved” and yet my love has hardly flowed into loving others as I have been loved (Jn 13:34); Like Peter, I have enjoyed the honor of “reclining next to Jesus” and yet I have been reluctant to stretch out in service toward “the least of these brothers and sisters of Jesus” (Mt 25:40); and Like Judas, I have received the bread of life as a gift from Jesus and yet I keep wandering empty handed into the night to do what needs to be done (Jn 13:30).

Forgive me, dear Lord, and receive me back into the fellowship of faithful followers of The Way you carve out to bring abundant life for the whole world. Amen.

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 44

Good Friday Wasaba Sidibay Community Connections: WTS alum, 2019; serves at Metropolitan A.M.E. Church Superpower: To affirm the inherent worthiness of God’s creation through the arts.

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Showing Up Ain’t Always Easy ~ John 19:25-27 ary witnessed the death of her son on the cross.

Unless you have experienced it, many will never truly understand the depth of grief one experiences when losing her or his child. Before Jesus received his destiny to die on the cross, he appointed the disciple whom he loved to show up in community with Mary saying, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Can you imagine what the journey home that day must have been like? The images that replayed in their minds.

The stillness, the quietness, and the tension. It is when we find ourselves in these vulnerable moments that showing up matters most.

I can’t help but to think of the mothers of Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, who like Mary, grieved the lives of their sons due to the discrimination of an empire. As we reflect on this Good Friday, let us remember not to rush to that early Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the grave. Let us be in solidarity with the spirit of that time, and present in this time. Jesus died, he was buried, hearts were broken, hope was lost, and a mother lost her son. These moments matter. As community, let’s live fully into the call that is on all of our lives in the midst of grief, loss, injustice, tension, and that is to SHOW UP. No, it ain’t easy but it is necessary.

Our presence matters.

Day 45

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

Holy Saturday Anna Petrin Community Connections: WTS Assistant Professor of Worship and Chapel Elder; Elder in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church Superpower: Consuming oceans of coffee on a daily basis

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God’s Gone Fishing ~ John 19:38-42

oly Saturday has always struck me as one of the oddest liturgical celebrations: it’s a high holy day with…nothing but waiting. Which has always made me wonder: what is God up to in the middle of all that waiting?

One surprising answer emerges from the writings of the early Christian preacher Gregory of Nyssa, who describes Christ’s work on the Cross as a divine “fishing trip!” In his Catechetical Oration, Gregory writes: “God, in order to make himself easily accessible to him who sought the ransom for us, veiled himself in our nature.

In that way, as it is with greedy fish, [the Evil One] might swallow the Godhead like a fishhook along with the flesh, which was the bait. Thus, when life came to dwell with death and light shone upon darkness, their contraries might vanish away. For it is not in the nature of darkness to endure the presence of light, nor can death exist where life is active.” Gregory describes the Evil One almost comically, as a “greedy fish.” And he reminds us how God became a human to redeem our nature, “baited” the Evil One with his body on the Cross, and ultimately caught him in his own trap of death – thereby freeing all of us caught in that trap. We might say that, on Holy Saturday, God is going fishing!

Holy Saturday and fishing have more in common for us also than we might think: waiting, silence, the sounds of water, more waiting, and – in the end – a feast!

During our Holy Saturday celebration there isn’t anything scheduled. This frees us for a holy waiting. It frees us to remember the sound of water splashing over those who have been redeemed through baptism. And it opens space for us to prepare ourselves for the feast that awaits in the resurrection. May this Holy Saturday bring you quiet time in the waters of grace to prepare your hearts and appetites for the heavenly feast that comes with the dawning of tomorrow!

WESLEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Day 46

Resurrection Sunday William B. McClain Community Connections: Mary E. Joyce Professor Emeritus of Preaching and Worship, WTS, Washington, D.C.; Taught preaching and worship for 34 years at WTS Superpower: Supernatural eloquence in oratory skills

It’s Easter! ~ John 11:25

It is Easter

, the anniversary of his resurrection, the Queen of Festival days, the anniversary of the Lord’s rising as the shining sun and the Son of Righteousness.

It is Easter

, the day of the celebration of the most important claims the Christian faith makes: that sin and death have been defeated; that love ultimately triumphs over hate and evil; that truth – even though placed on the scaffold, lynched on a tree, denied by a Congress, and even though crucified, crushed to earth, and buried – will rise again!

The God of the Passover of Israel and the God of the Paschal Lamb of Calvary is but ONE GOD! The connection between the God of Sinai and the God of the empty tomb, is complete; the God of the Exodus is the same God of Easter: “I Am who I am, and who I will be” is revealed, fulfilled, and identified AS THE SAME ONE who claimed to be the Truth, — and not only claimed, but became the Resurrection: “I AM the resurrection and the life…” [John 11:25]. Death has been defeated; the grave is not an end but a beginning; the grave is not a dead end and an alley that goes nowhere, but instead is a broad street, Main Avenue, if you will! God has won the battle and we can claim the victory! Let the whole community, yes, let the whole world sing with joy Wesley’s Easter Anthem: “Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Alleluia!”

Day 47

WESLEY COMMUNITY LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

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