Lenten Devotion 3/2/2022

“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.” You may have sung this many times in church. It strikes a chord with the quaint rhymes and lilting tune. And, with a typo, the lead phrase can become “There’s a wildness in God’s mercy” and somehow that seems even more appropriate to our times as covid continues to plague the world and the economy, and the predictions about global warming become more dire, and Russia preps its nuclear arsenal. Let’s hope there is a wildness in God’s mercy to help us through all of this!

Lent is a 40 day season of preparation for Easter. It is a time of repentance. Of re-turning to God. For those of you who remember old TV sets, it’s like working the tuning to get the picture clearer. It’s a process of disengaging from all of the messaging we have absorbed that does not validate the reality of God and the wildness of mercy.

We can engage in this process of re-turning our lives to God trusting in the wildness of mercy. This is a time to let go and find you are caught, carried, and cushioned by the wildness of mercy. It is a time to shed all that is shielding you from Divine mercy. It is a time to root yourself once again in the God of wild mercy.

However you may envision God, whatever concepts of God resonate for you, scripture tells us of a God of love that never abandons us and is always present in us, in others, and in the world.

May this Lenten season bring us to Easter cleansed, renewed, and refreshed by the wildness of Divine mercy.

Prayer: In these quiet moments, reflect on how you have experienced the wildness of mercy. Trust those memories as you seek the mercy needed now. Amen.

Note: Lakewood United Church of Christ is having an Ash Wednesday service Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Bob and Emily Bell. This will be a service around the fire on the waterfront. It includes communion and the imposition of ashes. All are welcome. For details or transportation, please contact the Church Office. Call 727-867-7961 or email lakewooducc@gmail.com