Practice Listening for the Sacred in Culture
Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash
This devotion is taken from our 2025 Lent in a Box resource, Unbroken: A Living Faith created in partnership with The Lutheran Center at St. Olaf and grounded in the work of the Living Catechism Project. Each week's theme is based around one of the teachings of the Living Catechism. View the weekly videos and download the daily spiritual practices and reflections on this website.
Week 5 Theme: God delights in our goodness and judges sin
God announces the goodness of all of creation, from the smallest fish to the largest elephant, to you and me. God celebrates the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given each of us to serve our neighbor and the world in need. Yet there is evil in the world, which God condemns and works against. Sometimes we are a part of that evil, caught in webs beyond individual choices of right and wrong. Sometimes we are recipients of that evil, through actions of others or networks in the world. God judges sin, but always in service of love for all of God’s (good) creatures.
God spoke life into existence like a poetic refrain sung over us and all of creation. Of course a loving Creator would want to protect that goodness from being corrupted by evil, so God judges sin. Because of sin, the sacred has become desecrated, yet we are called to join God in the good and holy work of reclaiming the sacred or what can be called the “re-sacretization of all creation.”
In Hebrew, the word for judge is שׁוֹפֵט (shofet), and it is related to the root verb שָׁפַט (shafat), which means to judge, govern, or bring justice. This concept of judging encompasses much more than modern legalistic connotations; it includes leadership, guidance, protection, and ensuring righteousness and equity in society. Judges were seen as divinely appointed leaders who carried out God’s justice (mishpat, מִשְׁפָּט), which is a related word often translated as justice or judgment.
Mishpat refers to the moral order and social equity that God desires in society, including care for the vulnerable (e.g., widows, orphans, and the oppressed). It’s about restorative, not merely punitive, justice. Therefore, a shofet is not merely a legal arbiter but a person tasked with ensuring the flourishing of communal well-being according to God’s law.
Greek Context in Christian Scriptures
In the New Testament, the Greek words κρίνω (krinō, to judge) and δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē, righteousness/justice) carry this dual sense of judgment and justice. The Greek concept of justice is strongly tied to relationships—right relationships with God, others, and society. Jesus exemplifies this in his teachings and actions, embodying both the judge and the bringer of justice, restoring people physically, socially, and spiritually.
Biblical judgement reflects God’s character by ensuring that justice is not just a legal process but a holistic restoration of peace (shalom). God’s justice, as seen in the scriptures, seeks to heal relationships, defend the oppressed, and guide communities back to harmony and wholeness.
Read Genesis 1:1 – 2:2
Day 4: Practice listening for the sacred in culture.
Lent offers us space to lean in and listen with more intentionality and care. Find a place where you can sit comfortably with minimal clutter and distractions. Ask God to speak to you.
God is good and everything God created is good. Take some time to engage with cultural expressions that are similar or different from your own. This can be through books, films, theater, coffee shops, faith spaces, shopping centers, community hubs, etc.
What sacredness can you affirm in this culture? Say a prayer of gratitude for healing and wholeness.
What sacredness can you affirm in other interconnected cultures? Say a prayer of gratitude for healing and wholeness.
What sacredness can you affirm in cultures that may seem distant or different? Say a prayer of gratitude for healing and wholeness.
Reflect and journal about your responses.
Explore creative ways to share the reclamation of the sacred with someone throughout the week.
