​Date: April 5
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/TuesdayFifthWeek.html
Contributor:  Robert Allen
 
The writer of Psalm 102 is overwhelmed by afflictions and prays to the Lord for relief (verses 1-11).  Then he thinks about nature of the Lord (verses 12-19).  Next the writer broadens his focus to others in his community, to prisoners and to those condemned to death.  The writer, we his readers, and the rest of humanity now are in that suffering community.  The writer looked forward to a time when all of us gather in celebration before the Lord (verses 20-22).
 
Today we prepare to celebrate Easter 2022.  Like the writer did, we see in the distance, beyond this Easter, that same greatest of all celebrations.

Date: April 4
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/MondayFifthWeek.html
Contributor:  Kathy Ackerman
Suzanna vs. the woman accused of adultery
 
               I minored in teaching reading in college.  I taught school for one year, then never again (long story), but I did retain one concept from my reading education program -- reading is a two-way street.  What I mean by that is that not only is the reader affected by the material, the material is affected by the reader.
               Today’s readings are a great case in point.  The first thing that popped into my mind as I read the passages from Suzanna is “gee, this would make a great Law and Order, SVU episode.”  My second thought was, “nice way to treat a perfectly decent upstanding woman.  Patriarchy much?”  My third thought was “where was Suzanna’s husband in all this?”
See what I did there?  I imposed my own cultural/personal biases and preferences on a perfectly innocent piece of Scripture.  What did it do to deserve that? 
               Same thing happens with the Gospel reading.  My initial thought about the passage where the woman who was brought to Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees was “hm.  Where’s the man who also committed adultery in all this?”  My second thought was, “I’ve always wondered what Jesus was writing in the dirt.”  Third thought, “well, at least the scribes and Pharisees had SOME self-awareness for them to slink off like that.”
               There I go again.  Imposing my own cultural/personal biases into a perfectly innocent Scripture reading. 
               THEN we get to Psalm 23.  Uh, how does THIS fit in with the readings?  I mean, the Good Shepherd Psalm wedged in with these readings?  Have the compilers of the lectionary lost their ever-loving minds?
               But then a phrase from that well-loved psalm starts working on me.  “Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”  The word “mercy” gets me to thinking.  And now, the readings start working on ME! 
               Both Suzanna and that unnamed women were at the mercy of the leaders in their respective communities, who were very quick to judge.  Yet God, by whispering in Daniel’s ear, shows mercy on Suzanna.  In the Gospel reading, God, in the person of Jesus, shows mercy on that unnamed woman.  

                I have been a leader in this church community, and I’m a leader in my work community (comes with being at the job for a gazillion years).  Have I, in my leadership roles, modeled my work on God’s mercy, or have I been like those elders in being too quick to judge and too slow to mercy?  And thus, the Scriptures – and through them, God – work on me.  Amen. 

​Date:  April 2
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/SatFourthWeek.html
Contributor:  Mike Sirany
In John 7: 37-38, Jesus says “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”  For me, the power in this declaration is that Jesus is the ultimate source for me of strength and faith, and that belief in him is what has the power to transform my heart.
 
This gospel reading in John ends with the crowds, and then the Jewish leaders and authorities, debating and arguing about the identity of Jesus. I have also found myself over many decades wondering about the larger question of what it means to say Jesus IS God in the flesh. Like many early followers of Jesus, I cannot yet say I have arrived at a conclusive answer to the question Jesus asks in another passage, “Who do you say that I am?: (Mt 16:15). At a minimum I believe that Jesus was a great prophet who revealed to us something unique about the unlimited and unconditional love God has for us (and me, which is harder to accept!) And clearly Jesus had a unique relationship with God. But, as the early Christian community spent centuries debating and working out precise ways of delineating and stating who Jesus was, (with many divergent views), I am not able to affirm with 100% certitude the central tenet of what has been the paradigm of Christian belief as expressed in our Creed.   
 
Within my own uncertainty about who Jesus truly is, I can also say that one of the most important and meaningful activities I participate in every week (usually Sunday and Wednesday), is receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. I cannot fully articulate WHY that is so important to me, but I do experience a sense of deep connection in the Eucharist to God’s love. This remains for me part of the mystery that I accept with gratitude, as it does at times transform my hardened heart.
 
I invite you to join the debate with the people in Jn 7: 37-52 and answer for yourselves “Who do YOU say that I am?”

​Date:  April 1
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/FridayFourthWeek.html
Contributor:  Kate Norlander
What are you giving up for Lent?
 
Has anyone ever asked you that question? Is it something you ponder every year? Maybe you habitually give up sweets. Maybe you prayerfully reflect on what you should give up, asking yourself, What is getting in the way of my relationship with God?
 
What are you giving up for Lent?
 
Maybe life feels too heavy right now, and you don’t have the energy to give something up. Many Christians embrace a new practice instead, such as pursuing a deeper prayer life. Taking on something new can be just as effective at drawing you nearer to God as giving something up.
 
What are you giving up for Lent?
 
Perhaps you feel guilty, because you’ve neither given something up nor begun a new practice this Lent. Somehow, time got away from you.
 
You could, if you feel drawn to it, start today. We have just over two weeks to go before Easter, but there is no special prize for people who give something up or take something on for six weeks instead of two. What matters is simply the desire to draw nearer to God.
 
Or perhaps it is time to just rest in God’s love, to remember that we don’t earn that love through what we give up or what we take on. God simply loves us. And as we learn to rest in God’s love, perhaps we will find ourselves growing in our love for God and for others—exactly what God wants most from us.

​Date:  March 31
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/ThursFourthWeek.html
Contributor:  Ann Trapnell
 
A dear friend from St. Christopher’s recently reminded me of a passage I’m sure most of us are familiar with; it has caused me to reflect quite a bit about friendship over the past few days.
"Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh.
There was a pause.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet.
"No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."¬¬¬
"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.
"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.
"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.
"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."
And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs…he thought that his best friend had never been more right."
~ A.A. Milne
 
Today’s collect is a wonderful prayer discussing what I find to be a very important Lenten intention, although it sounds quite difficult to me:
Almighty and most merciful God, drive from us all weakness of body, mind, and spirit; that, being restored to wholeness, we may with free hearts become what you intend us to be and accomplish what you want us to do…
Life is often difficult. Perhaps being what God wants us to be, and doing what God wants us to do, doesn’t always have to be.
Some days, this may mean nothing more than Be a Friend. One who is happy to sit in quiet but loving solidarity with another. A simple act with the capacity to strengthen and nourish both parties.
It is this strength and nourishment I find sitting in the pews (or online!) at St. Christopher’s. Sitting in quiet but loving solidarity with so many friends. Whether today is a Pooh Day or a Piglet Day for you, may the discovery and intention of this Lenten season bless you with community and friends.

​Date:  March 30
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/WedFourthWeek.html
Contributor:  Bruce Warkentien
 
Morning Reflections
Most mornings I sit in a chair by our bay window for morning prayer. As I stare out the window at God’s creation, I see two trees; one is a maple in a neighboring yard, the branches straight and true reaching for the heavens. In another yard is a scraggly scrub of a tree with its branches twisted and turned in every direction, like the Crown of Thorns. “They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.” Mark 15:17. Oh! How this resembles life. Like the maple tree, we strive to live our lives “straight and true” according to God’s word, but so often we find life can be “twisted and turned”.  As our own lives often get twisted, it is hard to remember those whose lives are turning in every direction to deal with their own pain and suffering. For comfort let us look to two verses in Psalm 7: “Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me” Psalm 7:1, and pray “Bring an end to the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure ~ you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts” Psalm 7:9. May God’s love make straight your paths today and also untwist the roads of those who are suffering.

Date:  March 29
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/TuesdayFourthWeek.html
Contributor:  Marilyn Baldwin
 
I was assigned this day for a meditation, and was happy to see that the lectionary for the day includes one of my favorite psalms, Psalm 46. I remember as I was first working in a pastoral setting in seminary being told to memorize a favorite psalm, and to pray it as I made my way to a bedside or home visit.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…,” I would begin as I neared my destination. Like any good meditation, it never fails to calm me and help me remember that there is nowhere that God is not, and nothing that God can’t do.  It’s not about my gifts, but about God’s power, and that I am simply the messenger sent to share God’s peace and care.
 
It seems like a mantra for the world these days, as we (hopefully) come out of two years of a world pandemic, only to see the suffering, death, and destruction occurring in Ukraine, and the mass exodus of millions of people into other countries. What can I do? What can we do? We can pray, we can help any number of charities on the ground in Eastern Europe. We can seek the mind of God, knowing that love alone can overcome hatred and even war. Only then can we begin to understand that “The Lord  of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” 

​Date:  March 28
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/MondayFourthWeek.html
Contributor:  Karla Cole
As far as any eye could see
There was no green. But every tree
Was cinder black, and all the ground
Was grey with ash. The only sound
Was arid wind, like spirits' ghosts,
Now gasping for some living hosts
In which to dwell, as in the days
Of evil men, before the blaze
Of unimaginable fire
Had made the earth a flaming pyre
For God's omnipotent display
Of holy rage. The dreadful Day
Of God had come. The moon had turned
To blood. The sun no longer burned
Above, but, blazing with desire,
Had flowed into a lake of fire.
The seas and oceans were no more,
And in their place a desert floor
Fell deep to meet the brazen skies,
And silence conquered distant cries. 1
 
This could be the hellscape that has become Ukraine and dozens of other places around the globe. And surely God is angry. Angry at us for failing to hear our neighbors’ cries of distress, for failing to act in preservation of the planet, for neglecting the common good, for quarrelling and fighting amongst ourselves, and for making war between nations.
 
And yet, the prophet Isaiah speaks of a God who will make all things new again and take delight in them. A loving, forgiving, merciful God who offers grace and peace if we but ask.
 
I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress. 2
 
1 from “Glorified” by John Piper
2 Isaiah 65:17-19

Date:  March 26
Lectionary Link:  https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/SatThirdWeek.html
Contributor:  Karen Hartman

​As I am thinking about what to write the news is reporting in the background and my mind immediately goes to the crisis in Ukraine. My heart hurts thinking of all the people in harm's way. Where do these people like you and me get their strength to go on? I know I think where is God in all of this and like Marilyn said, “he is with the Ukraine people giving them strength to go on.”  I felt the Collect for today is a perfect one to reflect on:
 
O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
 
During this Lenten season, I am focusing on the good in the world and praying for the Ukrainian people, and urging everyone to hold them in your daily prayers.

​Date:  March 25
Lectionary Link: https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC_RCL/HolyDays/Annunc_RCL.html
Contributor:  Fr. Randy Johnson
 
I Can’t Do It By Myself!
I entered the kitchen to see our 3-year old granddaughter Ramona attempting to pour orange juice from a half-gallon container into a small juice glass—all while balancing perilously on top of a tall kitchen stool! Exciting stuff! I flew across the room just in time to catch her near face-plant dive from her perch and rescuing the splashing jug fluid from almost certain destruction. The glass she was attempting to fill remained upright—but it was filled to overflowing several times over! There was no more room for any further filling.
 
“Papa…I can do it by myself!” Ramona emphatically exclaimed! Well, she may believe she can, but in reality our wisdom learned of experience speaks to our truthfulness more than the pure exuberance of youth…
 
In the recent years, it seems as though we are mired up to our axles in the mucky, gritty grime of one devastatingly tragic event after another. We cannot seem to catch a break from the continual piling on of anxiety, fear, and worries for ourselves, our neighbors, and the world. Compassion fatigue is rampant. Our “cups of compassion” are filled beyond capacity and overflowing. Our “generosity of spirit” is besieged, leaving us beleaguered and broken. We are at a place of reckoning, with the unblinking stare of reality glaring into our hearts. “I can do this by myself!” is truly a false hope, and in many ways a false God.
 
The opening Collect for today, The Feast of The Annunciation, is a most marvelous statement;
“Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
 
Pour grace into our hearts, O Lord. But, in order to do so, we must off-pour the accumulating “stuff” that we have already absorbed and gathered into our vessel of human hood—to make room for the overflowing gift of God’s grace. As we are human, we have a finite capacity of compassion, emotional reserves, and coping skills. And as Ramona learned, we really can’t do this by ourselves. We need to trust in God’s grace to help and guide us, to remove impediments to our ability to love and care for others and ourselves, and to provide us with the capacity to empty our vessel of concerns—making room for sharing and receiving God’s grace.
 
Sound impossible in this time of trials and tribulations? 
 
Today’s Gospel from St. Luke (1:26-38) points the way to the greatest truth of all, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 
 
I can’t do this by myself. However, I have faith and trust that all things are possible with God. Amen.
God’s peace and grace be always with you. Randy+