March 23rd, 2025
by Sarah Rugenstone
by Sarah Rugenstone
a holy rage by Sarah Rugenstone
Don’t they know I serve our God of holy
rage?
Don’t they know passion for God’s house
consumes me?
it rises up and flushes my cheeks,
radiates frenzied echos of heat
through all my limbs,
a holy rage
emerges when
God’s house
is made into a den
for wolves in sheeps
clothing
my words will be for you, God,
like a whip tied from ropes
in anger, I’ll strike, I’ll tear across
the places that claim God’s name but
it's in vain
that they try to diminish you
Your love
Your reach
Your rage
it’s in vain
that they feebly attempt
to enclose you into a box of
their own clumsy
haphazard and splintered making
they must have forgotten you, God,
or maybe never knew
that you’re a carpenter, a bridge maker
a box breaker
don’t they know that anything they try to
take from you,
you can raise up 3 days later out of a tomb?
don’t they know our God refuses to be
contained?
God’s house
will not be made a mockery
I will work to tear every hinge from every
door they’ve slammed in our face
I will claw up every damn table they bolted
and weighed down with lies and discord,
until my hands bleed, my muscles tear,
all
while
laughing
in the face of the devil
who thought he could keep us out
don’t they know
I serve our God of holy rage?
Don’t they know I serve our God of holy
rage?
Don’t they know passion for God’s house
consumes me?
it rises up and flushes my cheeks,
radiates frenzied echos of heat
through all my limbs,
a holy rage
emerges when
God’s house
is made into a den
for wolves in sheeps
clothing
my words will be for you, God,
like a whip tied from ropes
in anger, I’ll strike, I’ll tear across
the places that claim God’s name but
it's in vain
that they try to diminish you
Your love
Your reach
Your rage
it’s in vain
that they feebly attempt
to enclose you into a box of
their own clumsy
haphazard and splintered making
they must have forgotten you, God,
or maybe never knew
that you’re a carpenter, a bridge maker
a box breaker
don’t they know that anything they try to
take from you,
you can raise up 3 days later out of a tomb?
don’t they know our God refuses to be
contained?
God’s house
will not be made a mockery
I will work to tear every hinge from every
door they’ve slammed in our face
I will claw up every damn table they bolted
and weighed down with lies and discord,
until my hands bleed, my muscles tear,
all
while
laughing
in the face of the devil
who thought he could keep us out
don’t they know
I serve our God of holy rage?
John 2:13-24
Jesus in Jerusalem at Passover
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. 15 He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency. 16 He said to the dove sellers, “Get these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place of business.” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written, Passion for your house consumes me.
18 Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? What miraculous sign will you show us?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up.”
20 The Jewish leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But the temple Jesus was talking about was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered what he had said, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
23 While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, many believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs that he did. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust himself to them because he knew all people.
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Posted in Lent Devotional 2025
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Archive
2025
January
Happy New Year // M-Note 1.4.2025Cancel the Noise // M-Note 1.11.25Cancel the Noise Discussion Guide - Part 1The Beloved Community // M-Note 01.18.2025Cancel the Noise Discussion Guide - Part 2What A Coincidence // M-Note 1.25.25Cancel the Noise Discussion Guide - Part 3Cancel the Noise Discussion Guide - Part 4The Original Influencer // M-Note 2.1.25
February
The Beloved Community Discussion Guide - Part 1Exploring New Sites…And You’re Invited // M-Note 2.8.25The Beloved Community Discussion Guide - Part 2Uncovering Implicit Bias // M-Note 2.15.2025A "Flurry" of Activity // M-Note 2.22.25The Beloved Community Discussion Guide - Part 3The Beloved Community Discussion Guide - Part 4
March
Beloved Community Action Steps // M-Note 3.1.25Vulnerability & Wilderness | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 1Trusting the Spirit's Lead | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 2Courageous Connection | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 3What's Your Emotional IQ? // M-Note 3.8.25The Spaces Between Us | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 4Emotional Rollercoaster Discussion Guide - Part 1Jesus Weeps With You | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 5When Sadness Lingers | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 6Lurking in the Shadows | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 7Cycles of Life and Death | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 8Inked in Memory | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 9The Void of Grief | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 10Sending Forth // M-Note 3.15.25Emotional Rollercoaster Discussion Guide - Part 2Journey Not Alone | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 11Friends Along the Way | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 12The Loneliness of Fear | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 13Not Through With You Yet | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 14Clinging to Hope | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 15Bring It To The King | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 16Pray When Unsteady | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 17Courage to Stand for Faith | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 18Emotional Rollercoaster Discussion Guide - Part 3A Holy Rage | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 19Focus on What is Holy | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 20Fast for Justice and Kindness | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 21The World is Harsh and Beautiful | 2025 Lenten Devotional | Day 22
2024
January
Clean Slate: Week 1 Discussion GuideStarting & Sustaining Change // M-Note 1.6.24Clean Slate: Week 2 Discussion GuideStarting Small, Dreaming Big // M-Note 1.13.24Clean Slate: Week 3 Discussion GuideTogether Towards Change...and Healthy Habits // M-Note 1.20.24Clean Slate: Week 4 Discussion GuideSlowing Down for God to Show Up // M-Note 1.27.24
February
More Isn't Always Better // M-Note 2.3.24Money Talks: Week 1 Discussion GuideAshes for Valentine's Day? // M-Note 2.10.24Money Talks: Week 2 Discussion GuideLenten Devotional 2024Money Talks: Week 3 Discussion GuideWhat's your legacy? // M-Note 2.17.24Strength in Numbers: Community in Ministry // M-Note 2.24.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week One
March
Entourage Discussion Guide - Week TwoUpdates from Clayton and Easter Invitation // M-Note 3.2.24Twenty Students Confirmed Last Sunday // M-Note 3.9.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week 3How serving at Easter can really make a difference // M-Note 3.16.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week 4Can You Know Joy Without Pain? // M-Note 3.23.24Entourage Discussion Guide - Week 5It's time for EasterSTL at The Factory // M-Note 3.28.24
April
Easter Discussion GuideScreen Time: Troubleshooting our Relationship with Technology // M-Note 4.6.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 1Springtime Reminders: Joy Comes with the Morning // M-Note 4.13.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 2Shaping the Future at the UMC General Conference // M-Note 4.20.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 3 General Conference Halftime Report// M-Note 4.27.24Screen Time Discussion Guide - Week 4
May
Very Good News at the End of General Conference//M-Note 5.4.24Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 1Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 2Announcing The Gathering’s Church Planters Lab//M-Note 5.11.24My (Hypothetical) Commencement Address // M-Note 5.18.24Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 3Uncomfortable Truths Discussion Guide - Week 4
June
July
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