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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Monday, February 23, 2004 Mardi Gras |
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FRONTLINE DEVOTION FOR MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 23, 2004, by Fritz Foltz
Bible text:
Matthew 19:27-30
It’s two days until Ash Wednesday. It must be Mardi Gras, carnival, when
everyone masks, and the first can be last and the last first. We all know what
Mardi Gras is about, don’t we? Everyone drinks himself or herself silly. People
dance in the streets. Girls reveal their breasts, so boys will throw them
strings of beads. People take a break from their ordinary lives, don costumes,
and act for a brief few days as if they were free. Is this what Jesus means when
he claims in the Kingdom of God the first will be last and the last first?
Hardly! Jesus was making a social statement, reminding us our social
arrangements are not God’s. When we get to the Kingdom, things will be turned
upside down. Many who are regarded as “upper class” now will be revealed as
frauds. Many who are labeled “out cast” will be elevated to “first class”. His
words urge us to reexamine our society, especially whom we regard as important. And as we do that, we find ourselves repenting, rethinking all our priorities,
and starting to set things straight. Jesus intention is to engage us in making a
better world.
For most of Christian history carnival was at Christmas. The altar boys led
church services, and the priests served them. The poor wassailed the rich to
force treats out of them. A “prince of fools” ruled for a day. The idea was show
the coming of Jesus meant our ways have been shaken up; things have been turned
upside down. And the hope was we would begin putting our lives and the life of
our society into God’s order.
But now Mardi Gras is simply a chance for individuals to whatever they please
before getting serious about their faith during the Lenten fast. It has lost all
its power to help us look at ourselves from a different perspective. And it has
especially lost all of its social impact.
In fact, we can see how clearly it has lost that power when we acknowledge Mardi
Gras has become our way of life. Everyday is Mardi Gras any more. People can do
any thing they please in an effort to pretend they are free. The epitome of this
modern way of life is our ability to change who we are in an attempt to be
first. If we do not like the way we look, we turn to cosmetic surgery. If we are
not pleased with who we are, we go online and create a new identity for
ourselves.
It’s two days until Ash Wednesday when the pastor places the cross on our
foreheads with the words, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
It probably takes such radical words to break into our world of Mardi Gras
anymore. Let’s hope it works for us this year.
Let us pray: Loving Father God, remove our masks that we might see our true
selves in our mirrors. And let us also see you standing with your hands on our
shoulders. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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