Responses from Lent

Second Sunday in Lent

Title: The Germination Miracle

Scripture: John 3.1-17

Once you have chosen the land, have cleared it and prepared it for sowing, then it is time to plant the seed and wait for it to germinate.  A seed will germinate just if it is good and healthy.  If it is not there will not be fruit.

a. How does a seed produce life?

A good and healthy seed bears life from within itself.  That is the way the germination process occurs and produces more life.  The seed that God has sown in this world and into the human heart is always good and healthy, so it always will bear fruit.

b. Is it possible that a seed could produce a different kind of fruit?

A seed can never produce a different kind of fruit.  Something like that is contrary to the natural law.  Badness and injustice among us are fruit of different species.  These are not fruits from God’s seed.  It means that a seed of a different kind has been sown in the human heart; the seed of sin.

c. If we take Jesus as a seed, what is his fruit?

We find that the fruit of God’s seed of Jesus is love, happiness, communion with our neighbor, hope, patience, faith, the reverence of God and the wish to share about Jesus with others.

We find God’s good seed in Jesus.  Daily we cultivate the seed through prayer, studying the Bible, fighting for justice and keeping communion with everyone.

1st Sunday in Lent

Title: Danger in the Field of Life

Scripture: Gen. 2.15-17; 3.1-7

There is danger around in our lives; it comes basically as a consequence of our sin and lack of justice among us.

A. What was the role and what were the responsibilities of Adam and Eve in the original creation?

Adam and Eve’s role and responsibilities were to take care of themselves and the rest of the creation. They were put in charge of everything. What God asked them to obey (both to do and not to do) was for their own benefit.

B. What does Satan use to tempt Adam and Eve?

Satan offered them that they could be like God. That can mean to have power, knowledge and control of everything without depending on anybody else.

C. Do they have any other options?  What are they?

Yes, they had the option to say no. They had the option to accept themselves and live as they were originally made, as human beings, and not try to be something different.  The worst danger we face today is the intent of humanity to be something different from what was made originally by God.

Ash Wednesday

Title: Selecting a Field to Sow

Scripture: 2 Peter 1.16-21

God has chosen the human heart to sow God’s love and justice.  Every one of us is like a little hole in the field of this world where God puts the seed.

A. What is the foundation of the Christian experience?

The personal knowledge and experience of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior are the foundation of any Christian practice.  It is like a seed that will produce the fruit of God’s will within us as a community.

B. What does God’s revelation mean to you personally? How does it affect your life?

God’s revelation means:  1) the possibility to find light in the middle of the darkness of this life.  2) The opportunity to have communion with God and with the rest of God’s creation.

C. What is the role of the community of faith in the interpretation of God’s revelation?

We are not called by God to stay separate; God is calling us to become part of God’s people.  So, the community of faith is the foundation for the interpretation of God’s revelation.  We are on more secure footing when we are able to agree about what God is telling us.