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WE PRAY

Almighty God, grant us grace so that we may cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now during this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that on the last day, when he will come again in his glorious Majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to eternal life; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

WE READ

Today’s verses are a mixture of exuberant confidence in God’s safety and provision for those whom God loves, along with words of judgment. As you read, concentrate on the connection between our continued work toward holiness and righteous living with God and others, and God’s posture toward those who are perpetually abusive toward others. God’s strength and power work first to help us grow in grace like a tree planted near a life-giving stream of water. The Amos passage reminds us that there are consequences for not allowing God to work in us. But judgment is never God’s preferred future for us. Jesus ’triumphal entry into Jerusalem demonstrates God’s abundant faithfulness as he goes to give completely of himself, for the very same people will call for his death.

Psalm 1

1 The truly happy person
doesn’t follow wicked advice,
doesn’t stand on the road of sinners,
and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.
2 Instead of doing those things,
these persons
love the Lord’s Instruction,
and they recite God’s Instruction
day and night!
3 They are like a tree
replanted by streams of water,
which bears fruit at just the right time
and whose leaves don’t fade.
Whatever they do succeeds.
4 That’s not true for the wicked!
They are like dust
that the wind blows away.
5 And that’s why the wicked
will have no standing
in the court of justice—
neither will sinners
in the assembly of the righteous.
6 The Lord is intimately acquainted
with the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked is destroyed.

Psalm 3

1 Lord, I have so many enemies!
So many are standing against me.
2 So many are talking about me:
“Even God won’t help him.”
Selah
3 But you, Lord, are my shield!
You are my glory!
You are the one who restores me.
4 I cry out loud to the Lord,
and he answers me
from his holy mountain.
Selah
5 I lie down, sleep, and wake up
because the Lord helps me.
6 I won’t be afraid of thousands of people
surrounding me on all sides.
7 Stand up, Lord!
Save me, my God!
In fact, hit all my enemies on the jaw;
shatter the teeth of the wicked!
8 Rescue comes from the Lord!
May your blessing be on your people!
Selah

Amos 2:6-16

6 The Lord proclaims:
For three crimes of Israel,
and for four,
I won’t hold back the punishment,
because they have sold the innocent
for silver,
and those in need
for a pair of sandals.
7 They crush the head of the poor
into the dust of the earth,
and push the afflicted
out of the way.
Father and son have intercourse
with the same young woman,
degrading my holy name.
8 They stretch out beside every altar
on garments taken in loan;
in the house of their god they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed.
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite
before them,
whose height was as tall as cedar trees,
and whose strength
was as strong as oak trees.
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots below.
10 Also I brought you up
out of the land of Egypt,
and led you forty years
in the wilderness,
to lay claim
to the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your children
to be prophets
and some of your youth
to be nazirites.
Isn’t this so, people of Israel?
says the Lord.
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, “You won’t prophesy.”
13 So now I will oppress you,
just like a cart is weighed down
when it is full of harvested grain.
14 Fast runners will find no refuge;
the strong will lose their strength;
the mighty will be unable
to save their lives.
15 Those who shoot the bow won’t survive.
Fast runners won’t escape;
those who ride horses
won’t save themselves.
16 The bravest warrior
will flee away naked in that day,
says the Lord.

2 Peter 1:1-1

1 From Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.
To those who received a faith equal to ours through the justice of our God and savior Jesus Christ.
2 May you have more and more grace and peace through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
3 By his divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own honor and glory. 4 Through his honor and glory he has given us his precious and wonderful promises, that you may share the divine nature and escape from the world’s immorality that sinful craving produces.
5 This is why you must make every effort to add moral excellence to your faith; and to moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, endurance; and to endurance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, affection for others; and to affection for others, love. 8 If all these are yours and they are growing in you, they’ll keep you from becoming inactive and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 Whoever lacks these things is shortsighted and blind, forgetting that they were cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be eager to confirm your call and election. Do this and you will never ever be lost. 11 In this way you will receive a rich welcome into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Matthew 21:1-11

When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two disciples a task. 2 He said to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that their master needs them.” He sent them off right away. 4 Now this happened to fulfill what the prophet said, 5 Say to Daughter Zion, “Look,
your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt the donkey’s offspring.” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had ordered them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them. Then he sat on them.
8 Now a large crowd spread their clothes on the road. Others cut palm branches off the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds in front of him and behind him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. “Who is this?” they asked. 11 The crowds answered, “It ’s the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

WE THINK

  • What stands out to you from today’s reading?
  • Are you confused or stumped by what you’ve read?
  • Is there anything you encountered that makes you think, “I don’t know about that…”?
  • What resonated with you as particularly meaningful?
  • We often think of God ’s judgment as mainly punitive. In what ways might today ’s readings demonstrate how God ’s judgment is also restorative?

WE FEEL

  • In general, what emotions seem to be dominant at this moment?
  • How have those emotions affected the relationships you have with those around you?
  • What are you doing, or have you done, to submit those emotions to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
  • Where have you seen God at work this week?
  • How does the contrast between today ’s Old Testament and New Testament texts make you feel?
  • Do you often feel that God is gracious and loving or angry and judgmental? Take some time and explore the feelings surrounding your understanding of who God is. How might those feelings affect how you treat others?

WE BELIEVE

In today ’s culture, we’re programmed to believe that we generally only have a choice between two options. We’re told you can be a liberal or a conservative, but not both. You can either like older forms of worship or newer ones, but finding meaning in both might lower people ’s opinions of you. You can believe that God is angry and judgmental, or that God is gracious and loving.
The truth is almost always somewhere between the simple choices with which we are presented. God gets angry when people chronically mistreat others. God executes judgment on the unfaithful. Yet, God is also always a God of love. God is gracious to those who are faithful. God is faithful to those who fail to love God and others.
We need both understandings of God if we’re to grow into the mighty trees Psalm 1 believes we can be. We trust God to judge those who need judging, while at the same time, we trust God to generously (some might say recklessly) dole out grace and forgiveness. Ultimately, we believe that God ’s judgment and justice are always fueled by love and are bent toward restoration and redemption.

WE PRACTICE

Choose one of the following practices today. If able, do both.

Practical Justice

Identify one small way to address injustice in your community, such as volunteering at a food bank, donating to a charity, or advocating for vulnerable groups.

Love and Kindness

Evaluate how you treat others, particularly those who are vulnerable. Seek reconciliation where there has been harm and intentionally practice love and kindness.

PRAYER
Oh God, who has planted us beside your stream of living water, help us to sink our roots deep down into the soil you have enriched with your faithfulness and grace. Help us to grow strong as we wait for your coming and your coming again. Amen.