Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Sound & Season is a daily audio devotional designed to connect the routine moments of life to the rhythms of the Church seasons.
This is Sound and Season. It's Sunday, the first week of Lent. Our passage this week comes from Paul's letter to the Colossian church, chapter one verses 15 through 20. And let us listen carefully, for this is God's word. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Jeffrey Heine:For by him all things were created, in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible. Whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
Jeffrey Heine:For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Everyone you will meet today, everything in nature you will experience, even the air in your lungs, all of it was created through Jesus and for Jesus. Let us consider that.
Jeffrey Heine:Everything that you can see with your eyes, and everything that is yet unseen, all that is in heaven and all that is on earth, everything that has been and everything that will be. All of it comes through Jesus, and all of it is for Jesus, including this new day and the beginning of this Lenten season. This is the day the Lord has made. And as we begin this day, we are met with an invitation. It is an invitation to behold.
Jeffrey Heine:Every morning, we launch into a new day. And while many variables might be consistent or even predictable, you do not know what this day holds. You don't know what joys or challenges will be part of today. You don't know what new friendships may be formed, what conflicts or pain might find their way to you, and you don't know what tiny miracles of kindness you will both get to offer and receive. You don't know what today holds, and I don't know what today holds.
Jeffrey Heine:But Jesus does. He knows exactly what this day has for each one of us. He knows every moment that lies ahead, the moments we will treasure in our hearts, the moments of surprising and overwhelming goodness, or the moments where we will call out to him in pain, or fear, or frustration. And all of it, every one of those moments, will be through him and for him. This means we can walk into this new day and this season of Lent with a resilient and expectant hope.
Jeffrey Heine:Not because we are so capable or because we can mitigate the pain or frustrations ahead, but because Jesus is so with us. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together, including you. He holds you together when you cannot hold yourself. When you cannot keep it together, he holds you. So to receive the blessing of this day and this season of Lent, and to gratefully enjoy all that God has for us, we must accept this invitation to behold.
Jeffrey Heine:And in our beholding, we do more than look, because when we add attention to our looking we begin to observe, and when we add affection to our observing, we begin to behold. Beholding is a skill developed over time, and it means learning to do more than just looking, more than just seeing with our eyes. So what does it mean to behold? It means setting our attention and our affection on Christ our Lord. Not just looking, and not merely observing, but beholding.
Jeffrey Heine:And when we are beholding Jesus, we are attentive to His greatness and grace. When we are beholding Jesus, we set our deepest affections on him. When we are beholding Jesus, we give freely and receive joyfully all through him. And there, with our attention and affection set on Jesus, we behold the image of the invisible God. Lord, hear our prayer, and let our cry come to you.
Jeffrey Heine:Let us pray. All knowing God, who has come to us in all gentleness and lowliness, teach us the way of humility that you yourself have walked, that we may learn to cast aside our idols of power, glory, and pride, and instead offer our lives as a living sacrifice to you. Fix our eyes on the everlasting glory of your kingdom rather than the fleeting glories of this world, that we would live to glorify your name. Grant us the grace and the strength to behold Jesus today by your Spirit. Lord, you have brought us in safety to this new day.
Jeffrey Heine:Preserve us with your mighty power, and give us the grace and strength to believe the truths you have given us in the word of Christ that we would proclaim your glory wherever you may lead us this day. For according to your great mercy, you caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us. O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Jeffrey Heine:And now our meditation companion from composer Kyle Carpenter and his Lenten instrumental suite, Tenebrae. The suite of songs begins with a theme of darkness. Each piece journeys with the listener toward the end breaking light of Resurrection Sunday. The ambient style affords the listener an opportunity to meditate on the weekly passages from Paul's letter to the Colossians and to take up the historic Lenten practice of reflecting on the passion and compassion of Christ. So in both heart and mind, let us seek the spirit of God that the word of Christ would dwell in us richly.
Jeffrey Heine:Here is dark calm.