Lenten Journey 2020 Day 18 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Thursday, March 12 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 18 of 40
 
In the background of the Prodigal Son story (Luke 15:11-32) is another son – an older brother – who has done all that has been asked of him. He has played by the rules but has not been rewarded for his good behavior and therefore finds the situation unfair – perhaps even unjust. The older brother expresses the sentiments of so many: Why do good things happen to bad people? The Lenten Journey is about asking the questions and listening for the answers. The response of the father, “My son was dead and now is alive!” is one given from the vantage point of parenthood. The father changed the older brother’s perspective. Look at life and your questions from a fresh new vantage point – one which celebrates life – is at the heart of today’s Lenten meditation.

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 15 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Monday, March 9 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 15 of 40
 
The third week of Lent begins with echoes of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). What was his sin? Can we tally up the offenses and stay away from such evil? Jesus gives the answer in the story, explaining that the son squandered all that he had (vs. 13). We each come into this world inheriting unique and precious talents. All that we enjoy is given to us as a gift from God. During the Lenten Journey, ours is to find the talents and gifts given to us by God and use them. When we lose track of the gift of life, we mindlessly squander the greatest gift that God has bestowed upon us.

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 16 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Tuesday, March 10 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 16 of 40
 
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) had lost direction. Getting lost is not intentional. No one begins a journey with the hope of getting lost. In the journey of life we come across many difficulties, many obstacles, that prevent us from reaching the fullness that we want out of life. Those obstacles stand in front of us like roadblocks as we travel toward our dreams. When the road is blocked, we immediately look for ways to circumvent, to go around the obstacles and in so doing, we swerve off course. We are lost. Finding where we turned or swerved is part of the Lenten Journey back home.

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 14 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Sunday, March 8 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 14 of 40
 
Reconciliation happens when love is present and love is made possible by forgiveness. There is no greater illustration of the power of love through forgiveness than in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). “My son was dead and now he is alive. My son was lost and now he is found,” proclaims this father who rejoices that his son has come back home. His is the voice of heaven for any one of us who puts away the foolishness of sin and returns back to God. Lost and finding our way back to God is the only way to move from death to life.

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 13 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Saturday, March 7 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 13 of 40
 
Without love, what meaning or what purpose can our existence have? Love is the necessary component of life. It exists in us all and during this Lenten period we have a golden opportunity to nurture and cultivate the feelings of love thereby building the necessary habits to overcome difficulties even after the period of Lent. While abstinence and restrictions are one part of the Lenten journey, the greater task for the believer is to exercise love and to be in harmony with family, friends, the world around us, nature, and ultimately with all, namely with God. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (I John 4:8)

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 12 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Friday, March 6 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 12 of 40
 
The Lenten Journey is about reconciling with one another so that we can be reconciled with God. Ridding our mind of divisive and evil thoughts is the natural first step in preventing the actions that follow and destroy our relationships. Once rid from our system we must replace them with the only thought powerful enough to keep those thoughts away. That power comes from love. Love is the one ingredient of life that can overcome those thoughts and words that divide and devastate us. As the Apostle writes, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Romans 12:9)

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 11 of 40

/0 Comments/in

 

Thursday, March 5 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 11 of 40
 
An old Armenian expression says that wounds created by a sword will heal, but wounds caused by the tongue never heal. Think about the words that we have used in haste, perhaps in anger. Think about those expressions that have separated us from friends, or perhaps from family. Some words have even destroyed others, willingly or unwillingly. Unfortunately, more often than not, we end up hurting the ones we love the most. Perhaps it is because we think that those who love us will tolerate us. Says St. James, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.” (3:9)  

 

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 10 of 40

/0 Comments/in

Wednesday, March 4 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 10 of 40

Jesus challenges us to see defilement as not necessarily coming from the outside-in but from the inside-out (Matthew 15:11). What are those things that come out of our system that disrupt a life lived in harmony with others? Are there words, are there emotions, perhaps expressions of anger and hatred, that are destroying us? … that are discouraging others or even in ourselves? These expressions can rip apart relationships and kill the people closest to us. Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said …, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-2) Words are the articulation of our emotions.

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 7 of 40

/0 Comments/in

Sunday, March 1 – Lent 2020 Day 7 of 40

Each Sunday of Lent has its unique and special name. The first of these is called “Expulsion Sunday” reminding us of the disharmony between humanity and God. We are given paradise to enjoy along with the gift of freedom to choose good or bad. We are given the beauty of nature and in return we pollute our environment, we choose our addictions and we opt for war over peace. We enter church and quickly notice the Lenten environment with a pulled curtain across the altar, reminding us that our sin – as the curtain symbolizes – prevents us from seeing the fullness of God. Sin comes about when we decide our will is greater than God’s. Expelled from paradise we live with hope for we know that there is a redeemer who says, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)

Lenten Journey 2020 Day 9 of 40

/0 Comments/in

Tuesday, March 3 – Lenten Journey 2020 Day 9 of 40

As the second week of Lent is unfolding we will intensify our Lenten Journey with the words of our Lord, “Listen and understand it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” (Matthew 15:11). The message here is a strong one. In Christian living, and especially during the Lenten period, we can be consumed with laws and regulations – the dos and don’ts – of life. We ask the wrong questions: Do we abstain from this type of meat? Or that type of food? Today we step-it-up by meditating on the reasons for those rules. What is it about a simplified life, of increased prayer and abstinence from food, that will yield a better person? Introspection begins with the right questions.