Broken and Beloved
Stories of God’s Steadfast Love
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“The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Summary
Throughout our lives, we often face the reality that two seemingly different or opposite things can be true at the same time. The sun can be shining, and the temperature can be freezing. Times can be hard, and we can be filled with optimism. A project may never be finished, and it can be done. We may feel like we are both making a lot of progress, and we are standing still, or maybe even going backwards. Different realities, both true.
The same can be said for our very selves. We are never just one thing, and oftentimes, the very essence of who we are can seem like opposites. Martin Luther said that we are simultaneously saint and sinner. Two different things, opposites, both true at the same time.
Lent is an especially good time to reflect upon such things, to consider and wonder about what it means that within our very selves, we are more than one thing at any given time. This Lent, you are invited to reflect upon what this “simulataneous-ness” means for your life by dwelling in the theme “Broken and Beloved – Stories of God’s Steadfast Love.”
Under this theme, you will consider biblical characters who embody various experiences of brokenness and beloved-ness. You will wonder about how these characters speak to your own experiences. You will be invited to consider how brokenness and beloved-ness are a part of your own life experiences, and you will be reminded again and again that amid all the different things that can be true at the same time, one thing is a constant – the steadfast love of God.
To support you in this Lenten journey, the Broken and Beloved Resources include:
- An Evening Liturgy based upon the VOCARE spiritual practice that can be used each week
- 9 mini monologues with accompanying devotional reflections (to be ideally offered in worship by children ages 9-15)
- 9 reproducible images in both color and black and white from the series “How the Light Gets In,” by Vera V. Rachuy to be used in Bible study, worship, and meditative visio divina
- Template for communal art
- 9 intergenerational Near and Now Bible studies (including studies for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday/Easter) that include options for non-readers, young readers, and teens and adults
- Composite image to be used in series promotion
- One PowerPoint cover slide for each week
Weekly Themes:
- Ash Wednesday – David – Broken by Sin
- Naomi – Broken by Grief
- Elijah – Broken by Fear
- The Syrophoenician Woman – Broken by Desperation
- Mary Magdalene – Broken by Demons
- Peter – Broken by Failure
It is my prayer that through this Lenten journey, you will hear anew that “the Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit,” even as you are reminded that God makes new things out of old, and it is through the cracks that the light gets in.
God Bless your Lenten Journey –
Rev. Dr. Charlene Rachuy Cox