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Lent Devotion Seven – Choices

Each and every day we are confronted with a variety of choices. Actually, we might face a host of choices. Maybe hundreds if not thousands of choices. It’s no wonder people feel beset by decision-fatigue.

Each day we decide what to wear. Many of us have too many clothes, so there are many choices. One former church member did a stint as a missionary in Africa. The women of the village each had two dresses. So, the missionary limited herself to two dresses. For like a year. But was it confining or liberating?

And then we decide what to eat. Again, so many choices. Not just what is ripe now. But we choose from what is in season the world over. Then it’s on to what to buy. Or what to read. Or what to post on social media. Or what issue to be involved in. Or whether to visit the neighbor dying of cancer, because what will you decide to actually say to the person. We decide what toothpaste to use. And which exercise regime to do today. Or will we take the day off from exercising? And we decide whether to go to the carwash today or later this week. And will you forgive your friend. If so, when? And what color you will paint the bathroom. Which college should you will attend. And if you will dye your hair. What color? And we decide if we will go to church Sunday. And what movie to watch. Or will it be a miniseries? And we decide which ring tone to use on our phone. So many choices!

We recently had to choose a quartzite top for our kitchen island. I saw so many slabs of quartzite, my head was spinning.

In the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey, there is a reflection on the lack of choices when you are with a small group of people in a spaceship orbiting the earth repeatedly in zero gravity conditions: “Earlier that morning Nell had an email from her brother saying he was unwell with the flu, and that struck her, how long it has been since she was ill — she feels in space as though her body is young again and there are no aches or pains, except for the space headaches they all get — even those are rare for her. Something about having the weight taken off you, having no pressure on your joints and no pressure on your mind — no choices. Your days are laid out minute by minute in a schedule. You do someone else’s bidding and you go go bed early and usually exhausted and you get up early and start again and the only decision to be made is what to eat, and that too is limited.” [p. 25]

In the margin I wrote “prison.” But is it confining to have so few choices? When you are engaged in a purposeful pursuit. Doing what you love and have longed for since childhood. Or is it liberating? Maybe all of our choices are actually distracting us from what we really need or want or will find satisfying.

In Lent, there is the traditional practice of giving something up. Maybe that is more than symbolic sacrifice. Maybe it is really liberating.

Prayer: May we choose what is loving and life-giving for us, the human community and the planet. Amen.

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Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024. It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship. They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period. The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.

Lent Devotion Six – Heroes

In these past weeks, we have had the privilege of watching the Olympic Games held in Italy. There are moments of glory. And moments of defeat. And with our increased technological abilities, we really do get to see it all! We see the dreams of a lifetime shattered. We see the efforts of a lifetime rewarded. We see families cheer. We see people capable of stunning feats reduced to tears.

Yes, the Olympic athletes are rightly viewed as heroes. They devote their lives to their sport. The train for endless hours. They orient every aspect of their lives around succeeding in their athletic endeavors. Few others have such commitment.

In the Christian tradition, we see Jesus as the one whom we are called to emulate. He devotes himself, fully, entirely, to his calling: To demonstrate, manifest, the totality of Divine Love, in the realm of human life on Earth.

In Jesus we see the fullest expression of Divine Love. And his witness is not based on winning or losing a competition. It is not based on getting noticed. It is not based on landing a sponsor or a contract. Jesus’ life is rooted in self giving. In humility. In the uplifting of others.

In Samantha Harvey’s book, Orbital, we are told of an astronaut from the Soviet Union who was sort of abandoned on the space station because of the breakup of the USSR. He was the first Russian on an expedition to the space station. And because of demise of the USSR, for 6 months he could not get home. He was essentially temporarily abandoned in space. This astronaut was the hero of one of the character’s in the book, the Russian astronaut, Roman. And was this hero a brazen, bombastic braggart? No. We are told, “Roman’s hero, Krikalev. His idol. An uncelebrated but quiet and clever and gentle man.”

These are not the usual attributes associated with a hero. Quiet. Clever. Gentle. May we remember that the one we follow was also a countercultural ‘hero.’ Not concerned with fame or glory. But with devotion to others, sacrificial love, and humility.

Prayer: In these days of Lent, may we examine what is important to us. May we look at our own lives to see how we are living out our call to follow Jesus. May we not chase acclaim or wealth but devotion, meaning, and purpose. Amen.

Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024. It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship. They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period. The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.

Lent Devotion Five – No borders

We live in a time when protecting our borders is a battle cry. The USA is busy trying to keep some people out and to eject others from within our borders. There is increasing attention and resources allocated to border control. There is a sense that letting in people from other countries will bring in corruption or contagion of some kind. Foreigners are to be feared. They don’t belong here. The implication is that we are superior to those who are trying to get into this country.

We must take note that most of the people who live in America have ancestors from other nations. And we are not just a nation of immigrants. We are a nation inhabiting land taken from its original residents.

In the book of Genesis, we are told of the creation of humanity. Humankind is created. Humanity. One species. There are no designations related to citizenship. Or nationality. Or race. Or religion. Humanity is created. All the subsequent divisions and definitions and designations are of human origin.

The astronauts in Samantha Harvey’s book, Orbital, receive extensive training for their expedition into space. Here is one aspect of the training:

They were warned about what would happen with repeated exposure to this seamless earth. You will see, they were told, its fullness, its absence of borders except those between land and sea. You’ll see no countries, just a rolling indivisible globe which knows no possibility of separation, let alone war. . . . There’s no wall or barrier – no tribes, no war or corruption or particular cause for fear. (pp. 107-108)

From space, the Earth appears as it was originally intended to be. A garden home for all life forms including humanity. The land, the waters, the beauty sufficient to sustain all. In harmony and peace.

Prayer: May we come to see our planet as our home, our domain, our habitat. May we care about all species. And may we especially remember that all humans are our family, our siblings, our beloveds. Amen.

Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL

Lent Devotion Four – Sidelines

In earlier days of human development, humans thought that the Earth was the center of things. The conception was that everything moved around the Earth. The Earth was the hub.

As human awareness evolved, it became evident that the Earth was not the center of the solar system, but that the sun was the center. And the planets revolved around the sun. Humanity on its garden planet was de-centered. This was a hard blow for conventional thinking and even a harder blow for theology, it turns out. The church had a very hard time accepting this de-centering of the creatures created in the image of God.

Now as our knowledge of space has grown, there are new realities to understand and internalize. We come to know ourselves in new ways. Are we less because there is so much beyond us? Or are we more because we are unique in the ever expanding conception we have of the cosmos?

In the novel Orbital, Samantha Harvey offers this observation:

This planet that’s been relegated out of the centre and into the sidelines — the thing that goes around rather than is gone around, except for by its knobble of moon. This thing that harbours we humans who polish the ever-larger lenses of our telescopes that tell us how ever-smaller we are. And we stand there gaping. And in time we come to see that not only are we on the sidelines of the universe but that it’s of a universe of sidelines, that there is no centre, just a giddy mass of waltzing things, and that perhaps the entirety of our understanding consists of an elaborate and ever – evolving knowledge of our own extraneousness, a bashing away of mankind’s ego by the instruments of scientific enquiry until it is, that ego, a shattered edifice that lets light through. (p. 41)

The centering of humanity and the earth is hard to give up. We humans have a decided affinity for hierarchy, being on top. This image of a universe without a center, a universe of sidelines, points us toward a reality that dethrones not only hierarchy but patriarchy as well. It is a reality that is not based on one group of people over another, one taking advantage of another. One having power over another. But, to quote Harvey, “a giddy mass of waltzing things.”

Maybe our ever increasing understanding of the amazing cosmos will help us to see that we are one precious part, and we don’t have to prove that by subduing someone else here on earth. By elevating ourselves over another. By looking down on another.

Prayer: As we seek to center ourselves in Divine Love, may we come to know that there is no up or down needed. No insider or outsider. But we are all here as an expression of cosmic love. Each one precious and beloved. Amen.

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Please note: There will not be a devotion posted tomorrow, Sunday, because Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent.

Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL

Lent Devotion Three – The news

How much time do you spend each day availing yourself of the news? It’s a tricky thing the news. Yes, we want to be informed. But the news is also forming us – our opinions, our perspectives, our impressions, our values. Yes, there are many news sources, but generally the news is telling us about what is going wrong, what bad thing has happened, and who has died. It’s kind of fear-inducing.

In the book Orbital, a novel about six astronauts orbiting Earth in a spaceship, author Samantha Harvey observes, “If you’re an astronaut you’d rather not ever be news.” (p. 14) Well, think of it. The astronauts that are most likely to make the news are the ones who are killed or die in some terrible way in the course of their space career.

In the book, the astronaut characters talk about the Challenger disaster. One astronaut confesses that she was 7 when it happened. And she learned all she could about the Challenger astronauts’ lives. She had pictures of the crew on the walls in her bedroom. She lit candles on their birthdays for several years. The Challenger team was there and gone in 70 seconds, on screen. The astronaut in the book confesses to crying a month later when the bodies were recovered from the wreckage at the bottom of the sea. The news can definitely have a strong effect on us.

But much more impactful than all the negative things we are told about are all the good things that are not touted in the news. Each and every day, people are doing amazing things that make life better for someone else. People are pursing scientific discoveries and innovations that will help others in some way. People are caring for the planet. People are making personal sacrifices for the common good. People are improving the lives of others. Each and every day. Looking for no personal fame or glory or recognition. Millions of people are doing this. The world over. We are among them. And we hear precious little about it. It’s ok not to be in the news.

Prayer: This Lenten season as we seek to re-turn our lives to God, may we be aware of all the good that is being done out of love day in and day out. May we look for God at work in our lives and in the world. Amen.

Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024. It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people on the International Space Station. They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period. The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.