Each week during Lent, we are sharing our reflections on devotions written by Walter Brueggemann in his new book, “Gift and Task”—a book being studied in our Wednesday morning Bible Study (10:30 a.m.). We are sharing these reflections here and on Brown Memorial’s Facebook page each week, along with questions to ponder.
Check back in with us for the latest addition every Wednesday.
In “Gift and Task,” Walter Brueggemann describes the season of Lent as a “call to discipline.” Just as a central responsibility of parenthood involves the discipline of children, so God disciplines us to be trustworthy members of God’s family. The opposite of discipline, the prophet Amos argues, leads to practices that are harmful to the poor, practices that the tax collector repents of in Luke’s Gospel.
“Lent,” Brueggemann writes, “is a season of discipline that calls us away from indifferent self-indulgence that takes place through anti-neighborly practice.” What practices of discipline do you need to cultivate to reorient your life toward the “neighborliness” at the center of the Gospel?
As you go through this week, post an image on our Facebook page (and view the photo that we share) in the comments section of this topic that conveys the place of “discipline” in your Lenten walk with God.