Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead. The picture of snow & leaves is simply an invitation to pick a simple image of natural beauty of your own to use in your reflections. Lenten blessings for this week after the Second Sunday in Lent.

Monday: (Matthew 28:16-20) – The end of Matthew’s account of the Gospel and his telling of Christ’s commissioning of the followers of Jesus. These five verses are filled with lots to consider: the Risen Christ, worship of the Son, yet doubts that remain to be wrestled with, a commissioning to baptize, evangelize and teach, and the great promise that Christ will always be with us in all that we do. These five verses could fill our prayers for the 40 days of Lent, but I will leave you with one thought during these crazy post-pandemic days: Christ has promised to with you always, until the end of the ages. How does the promise of Christ’s presence in your life give you strength and hope to do the things you might feel unworthy or unready to do, in Christ’s name?

Tuesday: (Mark 16:14-20) – As with our reflection on Monday of this week, this Scripture selection is the end of Mark’s Gospel account. Interestingly, these verses are known as the “longer ending of Mark,” with the earliest copies of Mark’s Gospel account ending at 16:8. This longer section is believed to have been added sometime in the second or third century, so maybe it is not surprising we hear “and Jesus upbraided the disciples for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw Jesus after he had risen.” The chastisement from Jesus is directed to the eleven in the Scripture, but certainly meant for those living Christians who had begun to wander away from the teachings of the Gospel or maybe to make the Way of Jesus something of their own choosing. As we make our way through Lent, and reflect on the thoughts from Vincent’s book, how can we notice the Risen Christ in our daily lives and focus our attention of life in a Christ-centered way? This is the foundation of the witness to the Good News of Christ, as described in the final verse of Mark’s Gospel account: “And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere!”

Wednesday: (Luke 24:36-49) – Today we welcome the author of Luke’s Gospel account’s version of the post-resurrected Christ’s presence to the disciples. Once again we hear the mix of emotions and spiritual awareness of the disciples: “While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering…” (Luke 24:41). As we reflect on this passage, maybe these words resonate with feelings we have had as well…moments of clarity of God’s invitation to us to consider a particular ministry or a new spiritual discipline in our lives…and we wonder, we doubt, we hesitate…we question our worthiness to stand in the place that God invites us to go. Joy and disbelief; exhilaration and hesitation; these are the paradoxical emotions of our spiritual journey with Christ. Whenever I feel drawn to consider a new ministry or to do a “new thing” for Christ, I always find myself counting the reasons why someone else would probably do a better job than I would, but then I try to remember that it is through Christ I am called and through Christ I can learn to serve alongside others and learn. Is it scary to start the “new thing?” Yes, of course it is! The metaphor I use in my reflections of these moments in life is the image of a young child, running as fast as they possibly can…probably faster than good sense would indicate they should run, they are on the “edge of control”, quite literally seconds away from falling down from the excess speed of their joyful sprint (this is the image of the Spirit of God motivating us in a joy-filled run). With experience, with time, with a few skinned knees (maybe), the sprint becomes second nature and the laughing is pure joy, filled with only the exhilaration of the run and without the fear of the failure. How is the Spirit motivating you to run with exhilarating joy this Lent?

Thursday: (John 14:15-31) – This is a powerful testimony of Jesus, speaking of the relational love of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in the Gospel according to John, written some 300 years before the Church would be able to recognize and speak of the theology of the Trinity in the fourth or fifth century. Here, Jesus testifies of both the power of God’s love and the intimate relationship between God and God’s people: “This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” This idea of the “indwelling Spirit of God” is a difficult idea for people too consumed with the cares of the world and their own agendas to be able to be open to, in their heart and mind. Reflection on this passage may be difficult if not read slowly and thoughtfully because Jesus is disclosing the interconnected nature of God and how God’s “small, still voice” reaches out to us in the noisy world we live in every day. How do you “hear and know” God in your daily life, and where do you encounter the small miracles of joy in the bleak days of winter and Lent…here, you will find the life-giving joys of Christ in your life.

Friday: (John 15:18-27) – “Hate” is a hard word to hear, and a strong word to use, yet Jesus uses this word nearly ten times in the ten verses given for our reflection today. Jesus’ use of the term “hate” is meant to describe the opposite action of love, the opposite purpose of what God intends for humanity. “Hate” tears down, “Love” builds up: Jesus is teaching his followers that those “of the world” (those who seek the things only the world can promise) are opposed to the radical love of Christ’s way, and therefore, opposed to the ones who bring this way of love to bear in the world. I believe this Scripture holds some powerful lessons for our reflection, especially when we are feeling down or disappointed in our journey or our ministries for Christ’s mission. We experience difficult days or maybe some failures to achieve our goals…we struggle with the results and look for answers. Jesus teaches: “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.” May our reflections on the challenges of Christ and the courage of his ministry provide us with the understanding that God is with us in all we seek to do in Christ’s name.

Saturday: (John 16:1-15) – Trust in the ministry and word of Jesus, and in the Spirit of God, who will come once Jesus has ascended to His Father. This Scripture passage provides us with words that are both a comfort and the source of wonder, especially for anyone who anxiously tries to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, as the Apostle Paul would say. But I believe these words are “trustworthy and true” as the author of John’s Gospel account often says, and are truly a source of comfort. This passage reminds me of the words of Matthew (Matthew 6:25-34) when he invites us to release our anxieties and trust in God. The future is uncertain in many ways, says Jesus to his followers; even those who supposedly come in the name of God may be up to no good. But there can be full reliance on the Spirit of God, who will guide the followers of Christ into the ways of God; and the way of truth will be slowly made known, as we can bear the words we need to hear. This advice from Jesus invites us into the practice of holy waiting and patience that God can be trusted, and that God is always present to those who seek God.