Lenten Reflections
A Spacious Life: Lenten Meditation, 3/13/2013
By: Phillip Fackler After graduating from college, I spent a year working in Malawi. I didn’t make much money and resources were scarce, so my life became significantly simpler – fewer clothes, hardly any furniture, not much variety in food I ate. I didn’t realize just how deeply this had affected me until I returned […]
The Prophet’s Path: Lenten Meditation, 3/12/2013
Mark 10:42-45 By: Rachel Jones Prophets are intended to be truth-tellers of the most serious kind – the truth that could save or kill, hurt or heal, engender love or hate. Some of what they learn can drive them crazy. Some of what they say can get them killed. At first blush, prophets are the […]
Called to be Prophets: Lenten Meditation, 3/10/2013
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 By: Allison Sandlin Liles The gift of prophecy is one that, I admit, I’ve always longed to possess. There’s something about urging Christians to be the people Christ calls us to be, the people we vow to be, that lights a spark within me. I yearn to be a prophet, but then fear consumes […]
What Do You See?: Lenten Meditation, 3/11/2013
Isaiah 65:17-25 By: Zack Nyein I grew up in the buckle of the Bible Belt. The first time I heard about the gift of prophecy was in 1999. I was in the fifth grade, and my neighbors up the street were building a bunker for the apocalypse. The end was near, and we needed to get ready! […]
Open to Healing: Lenten Meditation, 3/9/2013
Wisdom 7:24-28 By: Callie Swanlund During my senior year in high school, I was in a terrible skiing accident in which I collided with a tree, and broke two bones in my leg. The accident left me bed-ridden for several weeks, as my leg healed from surgery. To add insult to injury, my high school […]
Rhythms of Prayer: Lenten Meditation, 3/7/2013
Daniel 6:10-16 By: Margaret Ellsworth Last year for Lent, I didn’t give something up, but took something on instead: praying the Daily Office. That is, I set out to pray in the morning and evening every day, using a pattern of psalms, scripture readings, and prayers laid out in the Book of Common Prayer. Following […]
Witness to Healing: Lenten Meditation, 3/6/2013
Sirach 38:1-8 By: Christopher Esposito-Bernard Whenever a church hires a new pastor, there’s a buzz that generates across the congregation. Questions like, “Will he be like so-and-so?” or “Will she preach better than you-know-who?” captivate the thoughts of parishioners. Sometimes a person in a congregation will have an image of who you are as a […]
Convicted by Our Common Humanity: Lenten Meditation, 3/5/2013
Matthew 18:21–35 By: Lindy Bunch This past spring, I had the opportunity to travel with my fellow seminarians studying restorative justice to Riverbend High Security Penitentiary in Tennessee. Several educators and clergy from the Nashville area have been working at this prison for nearly 15 years alongside “insiders” (as the inmates are called) in order […]
Forging New Paths to Forgiveness: Lenten Meditation, 3/4/2013
Colossians 3:12–17 By: Lucas John Mix Lent is a time of taking on duties and giving up pleasures. It is also a time for accepting the gifts God gives, and letting go of our control of the world. In Lent, Jesus stepped into the wilderness, not knowing what would come, but allowing God to direct […]
What is Enough? Lenten Meditation, 3/3/2013
Isaiah 55:1-9 By: Nina Vest Salmon The dining hall at the college where I teach offers students who are on a meal plan limitless food. Those not on a meal plan can pay a flat rate to enter the all-you-can-eat cafeteria. Recently, the College made a move to eliminate trays. Trays add to the amount […]