Date: Monday, March 20
Contributor:  Ann Jones
Lectionary Link                     
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It is night after a long day.
        What has been done has been done;
        what has not been done has not been done;
        let it be.
 
This is a passage from one of my favorite prayers, Night Prayer from A New Zealand Prayer Book.
 
I am a person who makes lists. Each morning, I write a few things on a post-it note to remind myself of my goals for the day.  It might include things like practice my recorder, pick up something from the library or to do a simple project around the house.  More often than not, I fail to complete the entire list and carry things over for the next day… or the day after… or the day after that.  Not completing the goals I set for myself can create stress.
 
Enter the Night Prayer… Reminding myself that it is OK to just let it be is very comforting to me, and helps me keep my stress levels manageable (most of the time).
 
Having recently retired from my job as a school nurse, I think back to the days when I felt overwhelmed and could not do everything that was expected of me (or that I expected of myself).  I frequently would stop, take a breath, and recite to myself, what is done is done, what is not done is not done, let it be.  It gave me permission to walk away, knowing I could pick up where I left off the next day and it would be OK. 
 
I encourage you to visit the Night Prayer from time to time and give yourself permission to stop, take a breath, and let it be. Tomorrow is a new day, with new joys and new possibilities.
 
A Night Prayer (from A New Zealand Prayer Book)

Lord, it is night.

The night is for stillness.
        Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.
        What has been done has been done;
        what has not been done has not been done;
        let it be.

The night is dark.
        Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of
        our own lives rest in you.

The night is quiet.
        Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
        all dear to us,
        and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.
        Let us look expectantly to a new day,
        new joys,
        new possibilities.

In your name we pray.  Amen.
 

Date: Saturday, Mar 18
Contributor: Mary Rowe
Lectionary Link 

​Lent marks a parenthesis of time in the life of the church. It is a time set aside to pray, reflect, fast, and or study in order to better understand our journey to God. 
The ashes of Lent remind us of the parenthesis of our own life. “We are but dust, and to dust we shall return”. 
Like all parentheses, our own time on Earth is part of an incredibly larger reality.
God beckons us to live  through the parenthesis of our own lives into this greater reality.
Love is the one force that plows through the boundaries of each of our lives and into kingdom life. Love incorporates faith and hope. Love never dies.
“God so loved the world that he gave his only son…” John 3:16 “Love one another..” John 15 The references go on.❤️

Date: Friday, Mar 17
Contributor: Marilyn Baldwin
Lectionary Link 
 
This day always brings me back to my childhood in a Catholic school. I have mostly good memories of those times, but especially warm ones of this particular date. Our priest at that time was a first-generation Irish immigrant and spoke with the classic brogue. He was older, sometimes gruff, but had a warm heart and always a twinkle in his eye.  Mostly, I remember that because of him, we had a holy day with a festive Mass in honor of St. Patrick, and no school!  Considering that St. Paddy’s Day always falls in Lent, it was a bit of a stretch.
 
Traditions - whether societal, church, family, or our own personal ones - don’t need to become burdensome. We are urged in each reading today not to make idols of anything earthly.
 
Our readings today remind us that human rules - including traditions of all kinds - were meant to be broken at some point.  Even Jesus distilled the sacred Ten Commandments into two: “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  While the others are important, they are really outgrowths of these two. 
 
If we seek to follow Jesus, to feel God’s presence, we must make openings for the Spirit in all we do.  The Spirit calls us forward, away from those things that hold us back.  Some are good things but become idols in the way we use them or think of them.
 
What things have become idols to us?  How can we rethink them, and make more room in our lives to encounter the Spirit in new ways?  
 
A blessed St. Patrick’s Day to you! ☘️

Date: Thursday, Mar 16
Contributor: Ross Ackerman
Lectionary Link 
 
Luke 11:14–23
Jesus was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
 
The above Gospel reminds me of Lincoln’s famous speech, “A House Divided against itself Cannot Stand” given a couple years before the Civil War.  The state of the nation was heavily divided at the time and ultimately led to the Civil War.  Our own times seem to be almost as rife with division – capitol insurrections, those threatening to secede as they tried to do over 150 years ago.
History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes.  Lincoln surely was inspired by this Gospel passage when he penned these words.  Jesus gives us all an object lesson on division: whether a kingdom, country, house or even Satan and his demons. 
While it’s impossible for humanity to seek a utopian unity, Jesus and Lincoln both remind us how destructive and dangerous rampant division and strife can cause individuals and communities in whatever forms they take.
In division, we certainly can’t endure half-one thing and half-other without dissolution.  In this Lenten time it is important that we reflect on the words of Jesus and the inspiration Lincoln used to craft his famous speech.

Date: Wednesday, Mar 15           
Contributor: Karen Hartmann
Lectionary Link  
 
Lenten Poem by Ann WeemsLent is a time to take time to let the power
of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events get up
and walk around in us,
a time to intensify our living unto Christ,
a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,
a time to place our feet in the streets of
Jerusalem or to walk along the sea and
listen to his Word,
a time to touch his robe
and feel the healing surge through us,
a time to ponder and a time to wonder….
Lent is a time to allow
a fresh new taste of God!
Perhaps we’re afraid to have time to think,
for thoughts come unbidden.
Perhaps we’re afraid to face our future
knowing our past.
Give us courage, O God,
to hear your Word
and to read our living into it.
Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven
and give us the faith
to take up our lives and walk.
 

Date: Tuesday, March 14
Contributor: Cindy Lee
Lectionary Link 
 
A Lenten prayer, based on the themes from today's readings.
 
Heavenly spirit, teach us your paths and guide us through our Lenten journey.
Help us to open our hearts and minds with contrite hearts and humble spirits.
And help us to spread compassion, love and faithfulness, and to embrace patience,  forgiveness, equity and mercy.  Amen

Date: Monday, March 13
Contributor: Ann Trapnell
Lectionary Link  
 
Born and baptized in the Roman Catholic church, as a youngster Lent was always and only about sacrifice and penance for me. There would be no meat on Wednesdays and Fridays (my family observed this all year on Fridays, not just during Lent) and you should give up something of great value to you (such as candy or another favorite food, toy, or activity). While my family converted to the Episcopal church when I was still a child, we continued to observe Lent in this very traditional way throughout my youth.
Over time, Lent has become much more for me. It has evolved into a season of reflection and preparation leading up to the celebrations of Easter.  It has become a season of contemplation and anticipation…and yes, for me, I still find meaning in observing the religious traditions. But now, the season is so much more than sacrifice and penance – it is filled with anticipation and hope.
It turns out that while there are just as many ways to observe Lent as there are people observing this holy season, for me it takes on greater meaning if I use each of the 40 Days as a time to “Just Do Something”. Every year, that something is different – but the options are endless. Each day can include an act that symbolizes the importance of the season: Pray for others, volunteer, send a note to someone you care about, meditate, attend a Ways of the Cross service, abstain from social media, invite a friend to pray with you, read a devotional or bible passage, fast, feed others…the list can go on and on.
This Lenten season, I invite you to join me on my journey to Just Do Something for the 40 days of Lent. Who knows, maybe this will form a habit, and we can keep it up all year. Even if together we can’t change the world, together we CAN change our own little corner – if we all Do Something!
 

Date: Saturday, Mar 11 
Contributor: Jennifer Wright
Lectionary Link 
 
2 Samuel 7:4,8-16
Romans 4:13-18
Luke 2:41-52
Psalm 89:1-29
 
Today is Fathers’ Day according to the daily lections, which is to be expected, since today we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph. The most pervasive metaphor for God in the Bible is that of God as our Father. So it is very important to think about what fatherhood means to us and whether and how that understanding of fatherhood applies to our relationship with God.
 
Of course, we all tend to understand the concept of fatherhood according to our experience of our earthly fathers. For some, the relationship with their father is so difficult that the metaphor of God as our Father can be a barrier rather than a bridge. But for many, the love we experienced from our fathers gives us a way to begin to understand God’s love for all God’s children.
 
My relationship with my own father was complex. On the one hand, I felt the strength of his love and his faith in me. He told me that I could do anything, and I believed him, which enabled me to dare and try many things. He also had a great talent for joy in living, which he most generously shared with those around him. On the other hand, I sometimes felt that my father didn’t really see me, but only his idea of who I should be. I sometimes felt invisible or misunderstood. My father expected high achievement, and I sometimes felt that I was striving for success more to please him than to meet my own goals.
 
In the reading from 2nd Samuel, Nathan is told that God’s love for him and for his descendants will be everlasting. But God also tells Nathan that, when his descendants sin, God will punish them with human punishments.
 
The psalmist tells us that God is loving and faithful, and that we are blessed when we rejoice before God. On the other hand, God is so incredibly powerful that it is only appropriate to fear God’s power.
 
In Romans, Paul tells us that Abraham is the father of us all, not because of his adherence to the law, but because of his faith in God. God’s expectations of us set forth in the law are too high for anyone to meet, but we can still count on God’s mercy through our faith in God’s love.
 
The Gospel lesson from Luke tells the story of Jesus as a boy in the temple. His parents are terrified when they cannot find Jesus in the caravan of pilgrims returning home from Jerusalem. They scold him for disobedience and for making them worry, but he seems oblivious to their parental anger. Instead, he reminds them that he has a calling greater than simply fulfilling their expectations of him as their son. He has a higher duty to fulfill the expectations that God has set for him, as God’s only Son.
 
It's okay to have complicated, even contradictory feelings about our earthly fathers and even about our heavenly Father. The most important thing is to hold fast to faith in God’s love, underlying all our fears, questions, and rebellions. Ultimately, all will be well, because God’s love can sustain and envelop all of our struggles, anger, fear, and ambivalence.

Date: Friday, Mar 10
Contributor: Robyn Schmidt
Lectionary Link   
 
My reflection is on the Genesis story of Joseph's coat of many colors as the KJV names it.  This story has caught the attention of many persons; Dolly Parton wrote a song about her mother making her a coat out of scraps of fabric - her personal coat of many colors - as she was raised in a very poor family.  The Broadway musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" also held audiences’ attention for years (though I think it must be said that any musical with that much flash and color and excitement would draw attention).  
Though Joseph's dad loved him, he didn't do him any favors in respect to his other sons.  They were so jealous they sought to kill Joseph.  Fortunately for Joseph his brother Reuben prevented that though the outcome could have been just as bad.   At any rate, through God's help and his own perseverance, Joseph eventually won the favor of the Pharoah, and the world was his oyster.
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And that, I believe is the crux of the matter:  God's help and our own perseverance during trying times.  And, the icing on the cake was Joseph's reaction to his brothers later in the  story.  Forgiveness.  Though they sold him into slavery, he grew into a powerful man.  Joseph could have done more than just terrorize his brothers; he could have had them killed as he was that powerful.  Instead he forgives.  This is a lesson for us all:  God's love which informs our perseverance and forgiving any hurt we feel may have been done to us. 

​Date: Thursday, Mar 9
Contributor: Madisen Crow
Lectionary Link 
 
One of the things I have always looked forward to most about the Lenten season is the hymns we get to sing each year. Here is a link to a YouTube recording of the Portsmouth Cathedral choir singing a Lenten hymn, Forty Days and Forty Nights. The cathedral is located on the south coast of England. Here is a picture of the cathedral, courtesy of their website, and the lyrics to the hymn.
                                                                                              
 1. Forty days and forty nights
thou wast fasting in the wild;
forty days and forty nights
tempted, and yet undefiled.

2. Should not we thy sorrow share
and from worldly joys abstain,
fasting with unceasing prayer,
strong with thee to suffer pain?

3. Then if Satan on us press,
Jesus, Savior, hear our call!
Victor in the wilderness,
grant we may not faint or fall!

4. So shall we have peace divine:
holier gladness ours shall be;
round us, too, shall angels shine,
such as ministered to thee.

5. Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,
ever constant by thy side;
that with thee we may appear
at the eternal Eastertide.