Lenten Devotionals
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
Let me start out by telling you how I came up with the idea for Weird is the New Normal. It came to me as I started 2021 out in the Book of Genesis for the umpteenth time. I really love the Book of Genesis! The stories – the characters... I can’t get of enough. But it struck me as I was reading these stories and about these characters that they are…well…weird. That is to say that most of the time, they are extraordinary. They are extraordinary often enough that their strangeness becomes a “standard,” or “regular pattern.” So, weird is normal. Makes me feel a little better about my own family… How about you?
And the questions… Sometimes we turn to Genesis as if it were an encyclopedia…you know, some place we go to find “answers.” The older I get, though, the more I embrace the questions. They provoke thought. They challenge us. A thirteenth-century Persian poet named Rumi once wrote, “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” I think I get what Rumi meant. I think questions, and curiosity – even bewilderment – are what help us grow and mature. We face the need to adjust course – to re-think - because of the questions. This is repentance at its most basic level. We are on a journey. Our cleverness will not get us there. Questions will. All of this sounds like the work of the season of Lent to me. So, 40 Days – 40 Questions…learning on this weird journey through Genesis…are you ready? (No, that didn’t count as the first question.)
A fellow pilgrim,
Pastor Sam
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
- Merriam Webster
Let me start out by telling you how I came up with the idea for Weird is the New Normal. It came to me as I started 2021 out in the Book of Genesis for the umpteenth time. I really love the Book of Genesis! The stories – the characters... I can’t get of enough. But it struck me as I was reading these stories and about these characters that they are…well…weird. That is to say that most of the time, they are extraordinary. They are extraordinary often enough that their strangeness becomes a “standard,” or “regular pattern.” So, weird is normal. Makes me feel a little better about my own family… How about you?
And the questions… Sometimes we turn to Genesis as if it were an encyclopedia…you know, some place we go to find “answers.” The older I get, though, the more I embrace the questions. They provoke thought. They challenge us. A thirteenth-century Persian poet named Rumi once wrote, “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” I think I get what Rumi meant. I think questions, and curiosity – even bewilderment – are what help us grow and mature. We face the need to adjust course – to re-think - because of the questions. This is repentance at its most basic level. We are on a journey. Our cleverness will not get us there. Questions will. All of this sounds like the work of the season of Lent to me. So, 40 Days – 40 Questions…learning on this weird journey through Genesis…are you ready? (No, that didn’t count as the first question.)
A fellow pilgrim,
Pastor Sam
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Lenten DevotionalsWeird is the New Normal: Day OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisDay 5: Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: Day SixWeird is the New Normal: Day SevenWeird is the New Normal: Day EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis Day NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis: Day TenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day ElevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day Twelve
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