Thursday, February 11

Walking the Lenten road with Jesus 

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. 

Micah 6:8 (NIV) 

As we journey through this Lenten Season, we also journey through an election year. It hardly seems that the two are at all compatible. We hear a great deal about “doing jus-tice,” although that may mean quite different things to different persons. We also are constantly challenged to “love mercy” and to reach out to others with our time, re-sources and prayer – especially for those who stand in need of love and understanding.

Seldom do we hear much about “walking humbly with our God.” What does this mean? How can we walk with God during this Lenten time and beyond? What is true humility? For each of these questions, God has given us Jesus as our example. Placing others before Himself, Jesus served the poor, the outcast, the sinners and the repentant. In His Gethsemane prayer, he prayed, “Not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36) This sets the example and the chal-lenge of walking with God in true humility.

I encourage you to read again the Gospels during Lent. We learn once more what humility and divine caring look like when we walk with the treasures given us in Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. As we walk with Jesus in the scrip-tures, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit to live closer to the heart of Jesus. We will see anew the poor, lonely, sick, imprisoned and dispirited. Our eyes will be opened more and more as we walk in deep humility with Jesus. And we can daily experience the power of God in our sin-forgiven lives.

The hymn writer has captured the humility of Jesus well and challenges us to humble living when he writes:

Lord, whose love in humble service bore the weight of human need, 

who upon the cross, forsaken, worked your mercy’s perfect deed: 

we, your servants, bring the worship not of voice alone, but heart; 

Consecrating to your purpose every gift which you impact. 

(ELW 712)

Lord Jesus, as I walk the Lenten road with you, renew my spirit with your Spirit, so that I may love as you loved and humbly live today and each day in your presence. Amen. 

Pastor Thomas Hurlocker 

Tom and Connie Hurlocker joined St. John’s in November.