Christ the King Lutheran Church - Gladwin, Mi.
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The Gospel in Scales

Clever Words: A Lenten Devotional

3/20/2019

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           We couldn't afford a fox so we had to make do with Noodle who is not a fox.  We are sorry for the inconvenience and your                                                                                             understandably frustrated expectations. 
A Clever Word for the Season of Lent

ἀλώπηξ (alōpēx) fox

A Clever Verse for Context
He said to them, "Go and tell that fox (alōpēx) for me, "Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. (Luke 13:32)

Clever Reflections
Spiritual
There are foxes (alōpēx) in the world: connivers, manipulators, cunning individuals bent on their agenda above all others.  Foxes are clever, we could even call them deinos.  They answer questions with more questions, leaving us off balanced and vulnerable.  In Herod, Jesus faces down a fox who is not only clever, but also powerful, possessing far more resources than a charismatic carpenter preacher from Nazareth.  But Jesus will not let himself be foxed by such a fox as Herod.  He will not play the game of manipulation and trickery.  He does not change his story or question his motives.  He responds to Herod’s foxiness with authenticity.  Perhaps that is the only way to deal with the foxes in the world: authenticity, by being unabashedly the people who we are, who God created us to be.    

Literary
The cunning fox (alōpēx) is a recurring figure in Aesop’s fables. In one famous fable (#15 in Perry’s edition of Aesop), a fox (alōpēx) tries to get a tantalizing bunch of grapes. When he fails, he concludes that they’re “probably sour anyway.” The moral attached to this fable is that “it’s easy to despise what you can’t have.”

Clever Question for Further Reflection
Have you ever encountered foxes in your life?  What did that encounter feel like?  How did it change you?
What do you like best about yourself?  When do you feel most yourself?

A Clever Prayer to Close
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
   behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is high; I cannot attain it.

~Psalm 139:1-6

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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
    • Sunday School
    • Christ the King Youth
    • Camping Ministry
    • Kids Club
    • Confirmation
    • Vacation Bible School
  • Ministries
    • Stephen Ministry
    • Quilting
    • Food Distribution
    • Backpacks for kids
    • Prayer Shawl Ministry
    • Parish Nurse
    • Columbarium
  • Worship
    • Schedule of Worship
    • How we worship
    • Children
  • Special Events
  • Budget / Annual Meeting
  • Blog