LJ2021 – Day 20 – Your Pearl

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 20: Your Pearl

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. – Jesus (Matthew 13:45-6)
 
Mid-Lenten exercise: Have you found a pearl, something so valuable, that you are willing to give up everything to claim it? If not, do you think such a pearl exists? Is it attainable? Is it claimable?

LJ2021 – Day 19 – Serving

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

Day 19: Serving
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. – Jesus (Luke 16)

 
What do we serve? That’s a loaded word, for sure. Jesus is presenting an axiom here, without making a judgement. The assumption is that it is better to serve God, rather than money. Jesus merely points out the reality that loyalties to one master will outweigh loyalties to another. The Lenten Journey is a time to ask, who or what we serve?

 

LJ2021 – Day 18 – Always

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 18: Always
And he [the father] said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.’ – Jesus (Luke 15:31)

Part of the process of introspection that we preform during the Lent Season is to inventory our assets against our liabilities. Liabilities sometimes overwhelm us to the point that we fail to properly access the assets that we have. Knowing that we are always in God’s care and live in God’s grace is a discovery we may make, and once made, it must be assigned to the top position on the asset column of our Lenten inventory.

 
Graphic: “Always on” HBR 

LJ2021 – Day 17 – Completeness

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

Day 17: Completeness
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.’ – Jesus (Luke 15)

 
Returning back to health – whether following an attack by a virus, or after a broken relationship – is a difficult proposition. Along the way, health – both physical and emotional – could be compromised making full recovery next to impossible. The recovery granted to us by God is complete and full. During the Lenten season, we discover our weaknesses and count our strengths. The delicate balance between the two is defined by our perception, attitude and communication with God.

LJ2021 – Day 16 – Duality

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

Day 16: Duality
[The younger son said,] I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you…’ – Jesus (Luke 15)

 
Humans: We are body and spirit. Our actions have consequences in the natural world and in the spiritual world. To say we have sinned, means that we have hurt someone, even if that someone is one’s self. Therein, we understand the sin against heaven and earth. Likewise, to say we have done good, such as an act of charity, will have consequences in the natural world and in the spiritual world. Those acts of goodness will have weight on Earth as well as in heaven.

 

LJ2021 – Day 15 – Trigger

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 15: Trigger
But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” – Jesus (Luke 15:17-19)

Life may be compared to a roller coaster ride, with ups and downs. Some ups are high enough to bring us down quickly. From the depths of our low spots the climb up might be slow, but steady. On the track there are switches that trigger the coaster car to journey up, or to naturally fall. There are, also, points of no-return, most notably when we first sit in the coaster-car and the attendant releases the break for our journey through the twists and turns. Of course, the purpose of Lent is to regain control over life, so we can be more than a car gliding on a track. What triggers us to say “enough” of the down-spots? What triggers us to turn back to safety? to home? to God?

 

 

LJ2021 – Day 14 – Focus Point

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 14: Focus Point
And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. -Jesus (Luke 15:13)

It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt. The parable of the two sons, which Jesus recites and is recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel, is commonly referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The point of the story is about returning home, about realizing mistakes and changing course from the prodigal life. The identifier, “Prodigal” might misdirect our attention to the wrong action, that of the sin rather than that of repentance. During Lent, we tune our senses to avoid misdirection and focus on the point of where we are headed.
Image: Wallpaperfare.com

LJ 2021 – Day 13 – Critique

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Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 13: Critique

Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? … Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again. – Jesus (John 8:10-11)

Criticism can be hurtful to a sensitive soul. Often it is, especially when aimed at the person’s character. During Lent we tone down our lives and patterns, increase the time and quality of our prayer life, with self-improvement as a goal. Listen to the voice of criticism. Is it from the outside? Or is it from within? Do the ones from without matter? Is the one from within your harshest critic? Today, listen to the voice of Jesus. Self-confidence is a step toward self-improvement.
Image: Pixabay

LJ2021 – Day 12 – Beauty

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Welcome to the the Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 12: Beauty
Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. – Jesus (Matthew 7:6)

 
There is superficial beauty and there is intrinsic beauty. In a life lived in Faith, these two types intersect, and not necessarily at only one point. Outer beauty shines and is pleasant to look at, while inner beauty shines bright through the outer layers, radiating. In this pandemic era, more than ever, we are learning that outer beauty must never be so thick as to not let the inner shine through. During the Lenten season make note of beauty – yours and that of others – and keep it holy.
Photo: Wallpaperflare

 

LJ2021 – Day 11 – Vaccine

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Welcome to the the Lenten Journey 2021:
Faith in a Post Pandemic World
by Fr. Vazken Movsesian

 

Day 11: Vaccine
But be alert; I have already told you everything. – Jesus (Mark 13:23)


In our post-pandemic world we have found a new savior, it is the vaccine. Today, we have vaccines that are our collective-hope against the coronavirus, COVID-19. A vaccine is “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease.” We are rushing to vaccinate ourselves, as we did in the past against such wicked menaces as polio, smallpox, diphtheria, to name a few of the diseases that no longer pose threats to mass populations. During the Lenten season we hear the warnings given to us by Jesus, “… be aware…” and understand them to produce the necessary immunity against evil and ungodliness. These are the vaccines against spiritual death, and we discover them under the prescription of prayer, fasting and charity.
Photo: Singularity Hub 2021