Jesus says, “The truth will set you free.” That truth is not an arbitrary bit of fact or evidence. This statement of Jesus is taken from his proclamation: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” For us, Truth is a person, Jesus Christ, who boldly proclaimed, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
Before Christ, during his earthly ministry, in the centuries since, people have struggled for freedom and have tried to “be free” by fighting, whether with sword, gun or bomb, based on the illusion that violence will bring about peace, and therefore, people will be free.
Jesus put out distinctly, you are free in him. The past is behind you. No more guilt. You are forgiven. You have hit the reset button on life with Christ. It’s a new slate. You are free. St. Nersess Shnohali (12th Century) gave the primer: “The name of Love is Jesus.” Love is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Find true freedom in that Love.
Your phone is acting up. You’re trying to run an app and it’s not responding. Press on it and nothing. No response. You remember that earlier it was running painstakingly slowly. You are frustrated and adding to your frustration is the fact that you can’t get off the screen! Swipe, push, you’re ready to tap it on the table, as you would do to old mechanical devices if they malfunctioned, but you’re not ready to risk cracking the screen. Should you call tech support? Well, you would except that your phone is locked up and you can’t make a call. You open your laptop to Google a fix. Just then your kid comes by and asks why you’re pounding on the keyboard. You look up and you don’t lose it but you’re also ready to dismiss his question with a shrug, but you go ahead and mention that your phone is locked and isn’t functioning. Your kid reaches over, pushes the two buttons and suddenly the screen goes blank. You panic. Is the phone broken? He looks at you and tells you to wait 30 seconds and restart the phone. You wait, you do and within a minute you’re up an running with speed and ease that reminds you of the day you got your new phone.
It’s called a reset. After a while your phone gets cluttered with junk from apps, ads and emails. Resetting cleans out the junk. Restarting is a new start.
I’m not giving you tech advice today, merely making the analogy to the Lenten period. With the beginning of Lent you’ve turned off your phone. The days of Lent what you’re in now, are the 30 second wait period and on Easter Sunday, you’re going to turn life on again.
Your act of charity today is geared toward yourself. Turn off your phone. Wait a while and turn it back on. You now have a reset phone.
Try a spinach salad with passion fruit dressing and maple-glazed almonds. The recipe is at the bottom of this page.
We pray, “Lord, I thank you for the gift of forgiveness. Knowing you forgive sins and your forgiveness is complete, I reset my life and thank you for the opportunity to start anew. Amen.”
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Reset-Phone-640.jpg11251125Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2025-03-06 00:01:282025-03-05 22:46:06Try the Phone – Day 4 of 40
