Saving Space for Outsiders

Lent 3B, March 7, 2021.  The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz


Exodus 20:1-17.
I AM.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25. Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
John 2:13-22. They believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

O God of Love, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.


My three-year-old granddaughter asks a version of the universal question of why, which effectively blocks the response, “Because I said so,” or “because that’s the rule.” Instead of asking why, she asks, “What will happen; what will happen” if I do this thing that you’ve told me not to do? What will happen if a kid on the playground doesn’t do what they’re supposed to do; what will happen? What will happen; what will happen? She’s learning about rules, expected behaviors, desired outcomes, and consequences. Sometimes we don’t know the answer; sometimes there is a range of possibilities. This is frustrating to her; she wants to be know; she wants us to be sure of the consequences. On this Third Sunday in Lent, we have lessons about the consequences of being God’s people, of not loving Loving, of proclaiming Christ crucified, and of fidelity to Jesus.
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