Parables, Prayers, & Promises

PREFACE: A few years ago somebody asked me how I could be so sure of my love for Jesus, a historical figure whom I can never meet. I had a really hard time answering this question in a way that did not sound fanciful and cliché. My love grew and deepened out of a relationship, and that relationship started with curiosity: who was this Jesus of Nazareth, what was his story, and why are people still talking about him some 2,000 years later? In response to that person's question I wrote this: I met Jesus today . . . They are tall, strong, and proud, with deep cocoa skin, calluses on their fingers, blisters on their feet, and Skittles in their pocket. They are recognizable by the resiliency in their eyes, the compassion in their smile, and their ability to forgive those who trespass against them. They will be exalted with placards, hashtags, and protests, after they are killed by systems of oppression. I met Jesus today . . . It's a little cryptic, perhaps. I was trying to say that, once I knew and loved Jesus, I started to recognize him and his passion in the brokenness and suffering around me. My love for him transferred to those I saw him in, and my life has never been the same. Each Lent we are invited to spend some time getting to know Jesus: who he was, what he did, what he taught, how he prayed, and how his ministry continues through followers of his Way. It is hoped that this book of devotions (and its corresponding study guide) based on the parables, prayers, and promises of Jesus will help deepen (or begin) your relationship with Jesus of Nazareth. Where might you meet Jesus this Lent? Alydia Smith, Worship, Music, and Spirituality

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