Lent (Page 22)

Wednesday, April 3 Readings: IS 49:8-15; JN 5:17-30 I take great hope in Isaiah’s words today.  In spite of all that has happened to us and in spite of all we have done, God will not forget us, and on the day of salvation God will be there for us.  The land will be restored.  There won’t be hunger or thirst.  The roads will be made level.  The world will break out into song.  The afflicted will be comforted.  Now…

Tuesday, April 2 Readings: EZ 47:1-9, 12; JN 5:1-16 The words of Ezekiel today are a reminder of the scriptural grounding in ecology and geography – and the promise of what would be our inheritance if we had cared for it. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees…

Monday, April 1 Readings: IS 65:17-21; JN 4:43-54 In the first reading, Isaiah gives us a picture of what the future will be like – the new heavens and the new earth where there is happiness and rejoicing.  Where the infant mortality will be almost nonexistent and people won’t die young. We know we’re not there yet.  In Rochester, for example, our infant mortality rate is much higher than the national average of 5.7 (per 1000 births, last measured in…

Sunday, March 31 Readings: JOS 5:9A, 10-12; 2 COR 5:17-21; LK 15:1-3, 11-32 Today’s readings remind me of what goes in to healing from difficult events. In the first reading from Joshua, the Israelites are finally “stable” and settled in their new land.  God says, “Today, I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” I had to look up what it meant just to be sure… In the biblical sense, reproach refers to the shame and disgrace caused by…

Saturday, March 30 Readings: HOS 6:1-6; LK 18:9-14 Hosea continues the lamentation today for how the people have gone astray and yet trusts in God’s ability to restore us.  It reminds me a bit of Step 2 from Alcoholics Anonymous where it is said that, “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” During Lent, it is important to believe that we can be restored to sanity from all of our personal and…

Friday, March 29 Readings: HOS 14:2-10; MK 12:28-34 In the first reading from Hosea, we hear the counsel to return to God after having gone astray.  I couldn’t help but notice the many references to plant life and trees in this one brief passage.  Have a look for yourself:  I will be like the dew for Israel:  he shall blossom like the lily;  He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,  and put forth his shoots; His splendor shall be…

Thursday March 28 Readings: JER 7:23-28; LK 11:14-23 Did you ever try to give somebody some good advice and they just did not take it?  You could see clearly what they needed, and yet they somehow could not.  Maybe we’ve been in that situation ourselves where someone has offered us good counsel that we just could not receive. That’s what Jeremiah describes today.  God laments that the people, “have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks…

Wednesday March 27 Readings: DT 4:1, 5-9; MT 5:17-19 Moses is instructing the Israelites to heed the decrees and statues that God has given to them.  He counsels them to “not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live.”  This is the generation that witnessed the escape from Egypt, survived in the desert and received the commandments. And Jesus speaks to how he has come not…

Tuesday, March 26 Readings: DN 3:25, 34-43; MT 18:21-35 We hear a beautiful line spoken in Daniel today, “And now we follow you with our whole heart.”  This is likely an aspirational statement yet a great one for Lent where we strive every day to give more and more of ourselves to God. One way to bring our whole heart to God is elaborated in the gospel.  Jesus is telling his disciples about forgiveness and of course they want to…

Monday March 25 Readings: IS 7:10-14; 8:10; HEB 10:4-10; LK 1:26-38 Today the church celebrates the feast of the Annunciation where Mary receives the invitation from the angel Gabriel to bear Jesus.  And she accepts! I have always loved this “feast” because, for me, it celebrates all of the many ways – big and small – that we say, “Yes,” to God with no promise that anything is going to work out.  I think it honors the risks we take,…

Sunday, March 24 Readings: EX 3:1-8A, 13-15; 1 COR 10:1-6, 10-12; LK 13:1-9 We have a powerful set of readings in front of us today In Exodus, Moses meets God through the burning bush.  One of my favorite lines from this reading is, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”  In my mind, God could say that about EVERY place we find ourselves.  This may be the ultimate call to an environmental…

Saturday, March 23 Readings: MI 7:14-15, 18-20; LK 15:1-3, 11-32 If you had to pick one reading that summarized Jesus’ teachings, today’s gospel reading might be a great one to pick.  It’s the story of the “prodigal son” and is one of his most famous stories.  Because most of us have heard this story so often and we can’t help but read it from a North American context, it may be important to review some of the key elements of…