CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH - GLADWIN, MI.
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The Gospel in Scales

Clever Words: A Lenten Devotional

4/4/2019

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A Clever Word for the Season of Lent
σπλαγχνίζω 
(splangchnizō)
to feel pity, compassion, or mercy
A Clever Verse for Context
So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20)
Spiritual
Having compassion (splangchnizō) is not just a matter of thoughts, prayers, and sympathy.  It is a whole body experience of care for other creatures, beginning in the gut.  Just as the father feels compassion for his wayward son in the Prodigal Parable, Jesus experiences the same sensation when he sees the crowds of people seeking help (Matthew 9:36).  God feels us: our pain, our sorrow, our guilt, and our anger.  God’s heart aches for us, God’s stomach does flip-flops over us.  Realize that there is something deeply holy about the feelings of compassion and empathy.  That bone deep, stomach churning pain we feel in the face of the hunger, violence, and displacement in our world is God’s Word of Grace, Christ Jesus, taking flesh within us.            

Literary
σπλαγχνίζω (splangchnizō) is related to the word σπλάγχνον (splangchnon), which means “inner organs.” Metaphorically, this comes to refer to the “heart” and from there the origin of emotions like pity, compassion, or mercy. The pastoral poet Theocritus (2nd cent. BCE) describes love as “having desire in the innards” (splangchnon, see Theocritus, Idyll 7, line 99).

Clever Questions for Further Reflection
When have you felt compassion for someone else?  What physical sensations came with the feeling?
Who does your heart currently ache for?  

A Clever Prayer to Close
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
   nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
​as far as the east is from the west,

   so far he removes our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
   so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
For he knows how we were made;
   he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:8-14


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    Journey through the season of Advent with daily updates on the adventures of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Belliacre, MI as they attempt to cobble together a Christmas Pageant with an unlikely cast of characters.   

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    Amelia Corbett
    Amelia is a cool chick, who enjoys board game construction, elephants, and overall tom foolery. She lives in Gladwin with her parents and younger sister Beatrice.  

    Pastor Emily Olsen
    The charmingly weird Pastor Emily is blessed to live in Beaverton, serve the people of Christ the King Lutheran in Gladwin, and stand up paddleboard in just about any body of water she can find.  She has cats not snakes, but wouldn't hesitate to take in a stray python. tarantula, or dinosaur should it show up on her doorstep.  

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    Stephanie Dubbs
    Stephanie is an art educator and a landscape/portrait artist.  Her inspirations come from the amazing people she meets and the gorgeous state of Michigan as well as her home state of Florida.  She and he husband love nature.  They are out in the water during the summer months and on the snow in the winter enjoying the simple pleasures of life.  
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Christ the King Lutheran Church
600 S. M 18 
Gladwin, Mi. 48624
989-426-1659
Pastor Emily Olsen
pastor.ctkinggladwin@gmail.com


Email ctkinggladwin@gmail.com for correction or to have information included on this web page
  • Home
    • Pictorial Directory
    • Contact Us
    • Links
  • Worship Procedures
  • Who are We
    • Mission and Vision
    • Staff and Office Hours
    • Church Council
    • History
    • Newsletter
    • Calendar
  • Faith Formation
    • Christ the King Youth
    • Camping Ministry
    • Kids Club
    • Confirmation
  • Ministries
    • Quilting
    • Food Distribution
    • Backpacks for kids
    • Prayer Shawl Ministry
    • Columbarium
  • Worship
    • Schedule of Worship
    • How we worship
    • Children
  • Special Events
  • Budget / Annual Meeting
  • Blog
  • Funerals
  • Recital 1:00
  • Recital 2:30
  • Recital 4:00