Lenten Booklet 2021

hands of our own earthly imaginations and received
into the hands of God’s Kingdom: “For he shall give
his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways”.
Matt Coady

49

Saturday after the Third Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 13:1-11 Psalm 90 R⁠ om. 6:12-23 J⁠ ohn 8:47-59

In John 8:47-59, John begins with “Whoever belongs
to God hears what God says. The reason you do not
hear is that you do not belong to God.” I find these
words to be especially pertinent with the current
events that have incessantly plagued our lives this
past year. As our world, nation, and community
struggled to grasp the flickering realties that
overcame society we looked to our various leaders
and institutions to provide answers and
explanations. However, as the Bible so wisely guides
us: belonging to God and listening to what He says is
where the true answers lie.

John 8:48-53: The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we
right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-
possessed?”

“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I
honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not
seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks
it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever
obeys my word will never see death.”

At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are
demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the
prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word

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will never taste death. Are you greater than our
father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets.
Who do you think you are?”

In this story, as Jesus is confronted with accusations
about him, he answers that whoever obeys his word
will never see death. Isn’t this comforting news for
all of us? Specifically, in a time where many are
caught up in morbid reports and statistics of a
deathly cause, this is a mindful message to keep in
circulation. God’s word may come to us in many
different forms and in the most interesting of times,
but the decision to obey It is one that should remain
constant. As we have all found ourselves falling
victim to the reports and news of a murderous virus I
have discovered these simple words of intent are
able to evoke a sense of radiating hope that can
outshine the dismay.

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means
nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is
the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know
him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar
like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your
father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my
day; he saw it and was glad.”

“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him,
“and you have seen Abraham?”

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“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before
Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up
stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping
away from the temple grounds.
Over this past year, with the wide-spread shutdowns
we faced, it became harder to gain that sense of self-
validation that our typical schedules and activities
delivered. We all set goals for ourselves to reach and
to possibly compare to others, to seek glory, or
justification, for personal wellbeing. However, as
intimidating as it might seem, placing faith in God
and trusting in his divine glorification is a more
persistent process to keep up during our era of trials
and tribulations.
Anna Claire Taylor, EYC

52

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Numbers 21:4-9 Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Ephesians 2:1-10 John 3:14-21

One of the best known and most often repeated
passages in the Bible is part of the gospel reading for
today--John 3:16. In fact, it has become so common
that it has been reduced to a bumper sticker slogan.
I often think that familiarity prevents us from
reflecting much about the meaning of those words in
their context. The verses from Numbers and John
bring the message of today’s readings into focus.

The Israelites, delivered from bondage in Egypt, find
their journey to the promised land not much to their
liking. They complain because the going is rough and
they don’t like the food. So, God sends poisonous
snakes among them and many die. Why? To remind
them that they are mortal? That all things come
from Him, including life itself? As he often must do,
Moses intercedes for them with God, who directs
that if they erect a pole with a bronze serpent on it
and look at it every time they are bitten (by sin),
they will be saved from death.

The passage from John brings this story full circle.
Like Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole, so must
the Son of Man be lifted up. Light came into the
world, but people loved darkness rather than light

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because their deeds were evil (John 3:20).” The
people who come into the light, thereby recognizing
that their deeds have been done in the sight of God,
will not die in darkness from the bite of their sins.
The full meaning of this oft recited phrase, then, is
that everything-- what we complain of, punishment
for our faithlessness, and deliverance--all come from
God. He gave the Israelites a bronze serpent on a
pole so that they might, in acknowledging it, be
delivered from death. He gave us Christ on a cross
so that we might, in acknowledging the embodiment
of our sins, be saved. Neither was a gift without
condition. For our part, God expects us to
acknowledge our wrongdoing and his saving grace.
The penitential season of Lent provides us this
opportunity—to come out of the darkness into the
light and be lifted up.
Laura McLemore

54

Monday after the Fourth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 16:10-21 Psalm 89:1-18 John 6:1-15

All too often we associate Lent with loss and
deprivation; we give up sweets or treats, we lose the
“Gloria” or alleluias in the liturgy, and we hear
readings and sermons that remind us of our
sinfulness. It becomes a season to be endured in
order to enjoy the joys of Easter. Yet our readings
today remind us that the most essential theme of
Lent is that of restoration—that God’s ultimate
purpose is always to restore and renew His people.

Jeremiah foretells the conquest of Judah and
Jerusalem on account of the sinfulness of the
people, but he also declares that God will
subsequently restore them to their land. The days
are coming when God will be known not for bringing
up the Israelites out of Egypt but for bringing them
back home from the lands to which they were
banished in the North. Thus, the people shall know
the power and might of the Lord. Punishment and
banishment are temporary, but God’s chosen remain
His forever.

In the well-known passage of the feeding of the five
thousand, we see that people have been following
Jesus because he has healed the sick. Their souls are
filled with longing. Jesus recognizes their hunger

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and has a plan to feed them. So too, we follow Jesus
now because we long for healing, and we hunger for
the spiritual food that he offers in his word and
sacrament.
The psalmist refers to God’s “faithfulness” three
different times. It is the faithfulness that calls the
lost back home, that feeds the hungry, that restores
our relationship with our creator. The message of
Lent is a message of hope—that loss, pain, and
suffering are real but are not the end of the story.
We walk in the light of God’s presence, and the Holy
One of Israel will renew our souls.
Chris Carter

56

Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 17:19-27 Psalm Rom. 7:13-25 ⁠John 6:16-27

But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then
they were willing to take him into the boat, and
immediately the boat reached the shore where they
were heading (John 6:20-21).

This verse in John 6:16-27 tells the story of Jesus
walking on water to help the disciples get across the
lake to Capernaum. The disciples are sailing on their
boat when suddenly the waters get rough. After
rowing for a bit, they see Jesus walking on the water
towards them and they start to get afraid. As he
approaches them he tells them not to be afraid, that
it is he, and they let him into the boat and
immediately they safely reach the shore where they
are going.

I believe the message of this passage is that if we
allow Jesus to help us when we are afraid or are
struggling, then He will provide comfort and safety
for us. It is easy to fear things, and it happens a lot in
our everyday life. An example for me is in school if I
have to give a big presentation in class. I may get
really nervous and fear failing but knowing that Jesus
is with me, I know that I am safe and cannot fail. He

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relieves my nerves and fills me with a sense of ease
and peace that helps me to do well.
Gaffney Nelson, EYC

58

Wednesday after the Fourth
Sunday in Lent

Jer. 18:1-11 Psalm 119:122-144 Rom. 8:1-11
⁠John 6:27-40

We often struggle reading passages from the Old
Testament like this one from Jeremiah. For instance,
we do not like to think of God as a potter “shaping
evil” against someone. (v. 11) Often I have heard it
said that people prefer the “God of the New
Testament” over the “God of wrath” that they find in
the Old Testament. As much as it can often seem
from a surface reading, especially of one passage by
itself, that God is portrayed differently in one part of
the Bible from another, God is actually challenging
us to look at the full picture.

God is a God of wrath. Every one of us has had a
feeling of wrath at one point or another (or maybe
more). Of course, we hopefully do not act out on
those feelings (This all depends on the situation of
course but I imagine for the vast majority of them it
would certainly not be helpful). We have feelings of
anger over a variety of things, sometimes warranted
and sometimes not. God’s wrath however is
different. God is angry at evil, and only evil. God
desires his children, who all bear his image, to hate
evil as well. In this passage from Jeremiah, God calls
his children to cling to him; put your faith in God

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who is the God of hope, love, abundance, true
happiness, and anything that is void of evil.

God speaks through Jeremiah and his other prophets
to remind his children to cling to him. God calls us
today again and again. He brings us to the waters of
Baptism, whether through our families, sponsors, or
ourselves to renounce evil of both the physical and
spiritual realms. In this holy sacrament of new birth
and in body and blood shed for us in the sacrament
of the Holy Eucharist, God not only calls us back to
him, away from evil and into righteousness and
goodness, but he does this for us through his Son.

On this day, let us give thanks for those moments of
grace that we have had in our lives. Maybe that may
be your baptism or perhaps that may be a significant
point in our life, whether in the recent day and
weeks or in the distant past, where you experienced
God’s holiness in your life or where the Holy Spirit
brought either solace or strength to you at the
moment you needed it. That is God’s calling. They
may be mountain-top experiences or seemingly-
mundane moments, but God is at work in our lives
each day. That is how God has worked throughout
his promise and covenant, from the Old to the New.

Drew Christiansen

60

Thursday after the Fourth
Sunday in Lent

Jer. 22:13-23 Psalm 73 R⁠ om. 8:12-27 John 6:41-51

Normally, we think of causal relationships by first
listing the conditions as they currently are or are
about to exist and then move to a discussion of the
possible outcomes that might be derived from those
facts. We consider the causes before turning our
attention to the effects. The prophet Jeremiah
reverses this scenario by beginning in verse 13 with
the outcome and then proceeding to list the causes.
Woe to him… Woe means deep suffering from
misfortune or ruinous trouble. A calamity has
occurred to someone.

Now that the prophet has our attention by
describing the outcome, he lists three causes or
conditions that are going to bring about this disaster:
unrighteousness, injustice and self-indulgence.

Throughout scripture God repeatedly tells
us there is a standard and warns of an accounting, In
the book of Amos God says he is setting a plumb line
among his people. A plumb line is an objective
measurement. The thing being measured is either
aligned with the plumb line (the standard) or it is out
of line. God’s standard is this: To act justly and to
love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

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In today’s passage, God instructs us that selfishness
and greed will result in our destruction. God calls us
to behave justly and generously toward others.
Josiah got it right. While he (Josiah) was alive - while
he ate and drank - he judged and defended the
cause of the poor and needy. This is what it means
to know and recognize Me says the Lord.
Heavenly Father forgive our selfishness, help us to
live out the instructions of your Son, Jesus: Freely
you have received, freely give.
Jason Waltman

62

Friday after the Fourth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 23:1-8; Psalm 107:1-32; R⁠ om. 8:28-39;⁠

John 6:52-59

There was a very strange novel published in England
in the late 19th century called Flatlands. It is a story
about a world that is flat, everything is two-
dimensional. The chief character in the novel is Mr.
Square, who is, of course, only in two dimensions.

One day, Mr. Square is visited by a Mr. Sphere who
is, of necessity, in three dimensions. Square regards
Sphere quite apprehensively. Sphere speaks to
Square about a world of three dimensions, a world
that is not flat. But Mr. Square is unconvinced. Living
in a two-dimensional world, it is impossible for him
to imagine another dimension. Eventually, Sphere is
persecuted and driven out by the outraged
flatlanders.

I propose to you that that is how different Jesus is
from us. We are flatlanders. We live in a world of
two dimensions, unable to grasp the possibility of a
reality beyond what we have experienced. We have
been unable to believe, for instance, that love and
forgiveness is a better weapon against evil than
brute force. God’s power of love is three-
dimensional to our two-dimensional thinking.

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So how can we hope when we look around us and
see all the evil? Because Mr. Sphere did come among
all of us Squares and we did persecute him and drive
him out. But he wouldn’t and couldn’t stay away.
No, his three dimensional existence couldn’t be
flattened out by us. He is alive! And he comes to us
again today in this meal we share. How could that be
so? Again, it’s so hard for us to understand because
he is like three-dimensions to our two. But he comes
again with a word of love and forgiveness and
promises to the power that will finally take care of
all that’s evil in this world.

It won’t be easy. He predicted that, too. But it is the
only way. He comes to us again today to lead the
way. “I have seen the future,” he says to us. “The
future is not some cold grave, some hard, lifeless
tomb. The future is the glorious triumph of God’s
love.”
Fr. Wayne E. Carter1

1 From Paul Nuechterlein, Synthesis, Nov 20, 2016.

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Saturday after the Fourth
Sunday in Lent

Jeremiah 23:9-15 Psalm 107:33-43 Romans 9:1-18
John 6:60-71

I am forcefully struck by how perfectly suited today’s
readings are to our present moment—just as they
were in their own day. All four readings describe a
society in disarray because of the bad choices it
makes. The heading of the passage from Jeremiah is
“Lying Prophets.” “My heart is broken within me; all
my bones tremble,” says Jeremiah.9 “The prophets
follow an evil course and use their power unjustly.”10
Therefore, God declares that He will make the
prophets of Jerusalem “eat bitter food and drink
poisoned water,” because from them “ungodliness
has spread throughout the land.”15 The prophets and
priests of Jerusalem had become drunk with power
and preached the law while acting wickedly.

The other three readings all emphasize that enjoying
the blessings of God is a conscious choice for people
to make not an entitlement. The psalmist observes
that on one hand God turned “rivers into a desert”33
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
On the other hand, He turns “the desert into pools
of water”35 where he brought the hungry to live. The
upright rejoice in this justice, but “the wicked shut
their mouths.”42 The wise recognize this as “loving

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deeds of the Lord.”43 Both punishment and reward,
justice and mercy, are meted out through God’s
love, just as parents mete out punishment as well as
reward to their children out of love.

Paul reiterates the theme of “choice.” As God’s
chosen apostle to the Gentiles, he sorrowfully points
out that God chose the Israelites, but too often, they
did not return the favor. “It is not the children by
physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the
children of the promise who are regarded as
Abraham’s offspring,” he writes.9 Paul makes it
sound almost as if God is whimsical in his choices.
Nevertheless, the message comes through. God
chooses those who choose him.

In John, Jesus gives the disciples a choice. It is a
choice between life and death. They exclaim, “this
is hard; who can accept it?”60 Jesus’ answers in a
sentence: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for
nothing.”64 He gives them the choice, knowing that
some will not choose him and some do turn away.
Jesus asks the Twelve if they want to leave, too, and
Peter replies, “Where would we go? You have the
words of eternal life.” Peter has made his choice.
Jesus points out that He has chosen them, even
knowing one of them “is a devil.”70

In all creation, humans are unique in their ability to
choose. Lately, I’m as full of anguish over what is
happening in our nation as Paul was over Israel. So

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many who are leading follow evil courses and use
their power unjustly. Some choose wealth and
power and look with contempt on the needy. They
choose “flesh” over “spirit.” Our Father calls upon
us, his children, to choose spirit over flesh, to choose
truth over falsehood, to choose Him. When we do,
we reap the reward of His loving kindness. When we
choose to follow false prophets and false gods, we
are made to “eat bitter food and drink poisoned
water.” Like the disciples, we realize choosing to
follow Jesus is hard, but if we are to enjoy all God’s
blessings, then, we must make the right choice.
Anonymous

67

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Psalm 51:1-12 Jeremiah 31:31-34 Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

Jesus knew the end of his time on Earth was near,
which of course meant a new beginning was
imminent. Earthly authorities had become unsettled
by the influence Jesus had built, which was growing
rapidly. The Greeks who had come to worship at the
festival spoke for all of us when they said, “we would
like to see Jesus,” who had a plan to honor this
request in ways unforeseeable to the common man.
The presence of these Greeks is a symbol of his ever-
diversifying following, the first flowers from the
seeds he had been sowing during his ministry.

Forces were brought to bear to reassure everyone
that Jesus’ imminent suffering and death would
serve a purpose, that a plan was in place. A
thundering voice from the heavens (an angel? God
the Father?) offered unmistakable assurance to
those who heard it, while Jesus explained it in ways
everyone could understand. You must bury a seed
for it to produce new life. It is a miracle unto itself: a
small kernel placed strategically into the ground will
change and grow to many times its original size and
will nourish the living. The cycle continues, growing
again and again, multiplying to perhaps an
unimaginable scope, feeding generation after
generation.

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“Now is the time for judgment on this world,” he
told the crowd, aware of the unspeakable cruelty he
was about to endure. It was one of his most
profound teaching moments. He let them (and us)
know he was ready to experience it for us.
He knew he would be lifted up and therefore would
inspire the world, nourishing and saving countless
souls for eternity.
Darrell Rebouche

69

Monday after the Fifth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 24:1-10 Psalm 31 Rom. 9:19-33 Gospel
John 9:1-17

During this fifth week of Lent all of us longing for
Easter Sunday. Next week is Holy Week!

The Old Testament lesson is Jeremiah looking at two
baskets of figs. One basket has excellent figs. The
other basket has terrible figs--so bad they cannot be
eaten. The Lord tells Jeremiah the exiles He sent to
Babylon are like the excellent figs. The Lord
promises He will protect the exiles, care for them
and eventually bring them back home. “They will be
my people and I will be their God.” God keeps His
promise. God is always faithful.

Psalm 31 is David’s lament. David is in a crisis. He
acknowledges his sins but trusts God will hear his
cry. David believes God will respond. David calls the
Lord, “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust…Be my rock,
a stronghold to save me…Into your hands I
commend my spirit”. (These words were also said
by Jesus as He was dying on the cross.) David
continues, “I am forgotten, out of mind like the
dead. I am like a shattered dish” something ruined
and useless. At times don’t we all feel like this-
forgotten, defeated? But David still trusts in the
Lord. David still loves the Lord. “Be strong and take

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heart, all you who hope in the Lord”. David believes
the Lord will respond to his cry. God is always
faithful!
Today’s gospel is the story of how Jesus heals a man
born blind. And Jesus does this miracle on the
Sabbath which further upsets the Pharisees! Jesus’s
disciples ask if the man was blind because he or his
parents were sinners. Jesus assures them blindness
was not a punishment for the man or his parents.
The man’s blindness was to be for God’s glory. Jesus
heals the man with mud and spit and tells the man
to wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man
washed, he could see immediately. The Pharisees
could not believe what they observed. They were
“spiritually” blind. The healing of the blind man
shows how God is always faithful.
Today’s lessons encourage us to put our trust in God.
God alone will hear our cry. God is always faithful.
Marybeth O. McVie

71

Tuesday after the Fifth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 25:8-17 Psalm 121 ⁠Rom. 10:1-13 ⁠

Psalm 121 is one of a group of psalms, “songs of
ascent” thought to have been collected in
preparation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. These
days, like the psalmist, we all might well ask, “Where
does my help come from?” The psalmist then
answers his own question (and ours). “My help
comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and
Earth”(121:2). This assertion echoes through the
appointed readings for today. It reminds me of a
song we used to sing in Sunday School: “All night all
day, angels watching over me, My Lord. All night, all
day, angels watching over me.” The psalmist gives
reassurance to the pilgrims that God is watching
over them on their journey, and reassurance that He
is watching over us on our own journey through the
valley of the shadow we have been traversing this
past year, through the dark days of Lent, toward
Jerusalem and redemption. The rest of the psalm is
a blessing: God will always be alert. If we turn to
him, He won’t let us slip and fall; He will protect us
day and night; He will keep us from all harm and
watch over our comings and goings not only today
but forever.

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At the end of our journey, Jesus is waiting to take on
our punishment for all the times we turned away
from God (as the “cup of God’s wrath” is transferred
to the Babylonians from the Israelites. Jeremiah
25:15), and we are reminded that all things come of
God: punishment, protection, redemption. In the
Gospel, the Jewish leaders scoff at the blind man
who has been given sight. “We know that God spoke
to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know
where he comes from” (John 9:25) But the blind man
knows. “If this man were not from God, he could do
nothing” (John 9:30). We have been on a long and
dangerous journey this past year. What a comfort to
be reminded that God is with us! He will keep us
from all harm--he will watch over our lives; He will
watch over our coming and going both now and
forevermore. All he asks of us is that we believe and
put our trust in him. “For judgment I have come into
this world, so that the blind will see and those who
see will become blind” (John 9:39).
Laura McLemore

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Wednesday after the Fifth
Sunday in Lent

Jer. 25:30-38 Psalm 130 R⁠ om. 10:14-21
⁠John 10:1-18

The reading from John is the familiar and beautiful
lesson of the Good Shepherd. It follows Jesus’
conflict with the religious leaders concerning the
man born blind. Jesus draws a contrast between the
Good Shepherd and the false shepherds of Israel, the
Pharisees and Sadducees, who claim to be
“shepherds” but demonstrate by their words and
actions that they do not care about the sheep. They
gain their position through personal and political
connections, education, ambition, manipulation, and
corruption while the true shepherd comes to his
leadership through love, calling, care, and sacrificial
service.

Jesus is presumably referring to the Jewish leaders
when he says “All who have come before me are
thieves and robbers.”8 However, when I read these
verses, they seem to apply also to all the false gods
that have led the People of God astray for
generations. “I am the good shepherd; I know my
sheep and my sheep know me14—just as the Father
knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my
life for the sheep. 15 I have other sheep that are not
of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too

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will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock
and one shepherd.” 16 Jesus is the keeper of the
Kingdom. All, whether Jew or Gentile, who enter the
fold through Him will be saved. He has come that
they may have life, and have it to the full.10 The
Good Shepherd has come not so much for God’s
chosen as for those who choose Him. That is the
good news for us. If we, like sheep, recognize the
Good Shepherd’s voice and follow Him, he will lay
down his life for us and lead us to abundant life.

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Thursday after the Fifth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 26:1-16⁠ Psalm 140 Rom. 11:1-12⁠

John 10:19-42

Jeremiah and John remind me of the pattern of our
relationship with God just as the pattern of forty
days recurs throughout the Old and New
Testaments. Beginning with Adam and Eve, God the
Creator seeks the love and obedience of His human
creation and provides good things for them, but
somehow that is never enough. Given their choice
of all the abundance of the Garden of Eden, Adam
and Even turn to the one fruit forbidden to them.
With that act of disobedience, they rupture their
relationship with their Creator and forfeit paradise.
There follow repeated instances of reconciliation
and rupture and reconciliation and covenants
between God and humanity. Again, in Genesis, God
chooses Noah to perpetuate humanity after
wickedness alienated God and prompted him to
destroy his creation in a deluge that lasted forty days
and nights. God reconciles and makes a covenant
with Noah. Fast forward to Egypt. In response to
their plea, God delivers the children of Jacob from
slavery and promises them a land of milk and honey,
but they complain bitterly about the hardships
involved, turn away from God, and erect idols. For
forty years they wander in the wilderness before

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reaching the promised land. Moses, their
beleaguered leader, spends forty days fasting before
receiving the ten commandments. By the time
Jeremiah arrives on the scene, God and man are
once again at odds, and another pattern becomes
obvious. God sends his prophet to call his people
back to obedience and righteousness by warning
them of dire consequences. They threaten to kill
Jeremiah. Then he sends Jesus, Son of God, in the
ultimate gesture of reconciliation. Jesus spends
forty days fasting in the wilderness in preparation for
his ministry. When he goes to Jerusalem, his Jewish
opponents threaten to stone him. He tells them,
“even though you do not believe me, believe the
works, that you may know and understand that the
Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they try
to seize him, but he escapes their grasp.

Lent is our season of reflection and preparation for
the celebration of Easter. These forty days recall the
events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Sometimes
when I look at what is going on around me, I wonder
what kind of Love is this that goes to such great
lengths to woo willful, wicked humanity back to Him
again and again? And then I remember—it is the
Love of the Creator for his creation; it is Love
without end. I’m grateful for these forty days to
reflect, repent, and prepare to answer God’s call to
reconciliation.

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Friday after the Fifth Sunday in
Lent

Jer. 29:1, 4-13 Psalm 143:1-11(12) R⁠ om. 11:13-24
J⁠ ohn 12:1-10

An Evening Prayer

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,

Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself shall suffer through the strain,

Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold
When Thou hast given me some fort to hold,

Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;

Oh, guide me, love me, and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, Amen.2

2 Charles H. Gabriel, “Evening Prayer,” 1911.

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Saturday after the Fifth Sunday
in Lent

Jer. 31:27-34⁠ Psalm 137:1-6(7-9) Rom. 11:25-36
⁠John 12:37-50

These lessons are difficult, especially the Psalm.
While the Israelites lament their exile in Babylon,
they know that God purposes to punish sin and
reward righteousness, but one gets the impression
in this song that the Israelites have forgotten they
are in exile as punishment for idolatry and
disobedience and seek not just punishment for the
Babylonians but brutal revenge. Just when exile
seems most unbearable, Jeremiah prophesies a new
covenant from God unlike the old ones.

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.”

Jeremiah is not exactly a cheerful prophet, and he
tends to see the exile of the Jewish people as a just
punishment for their disobedience, but here he
offers real hope. Everyone will be answerable for
their own sins. No longer will the children be

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punished for the sins of their parents. Jerusalem, the
institution, will be no longer necessary. God will be
in every heart. It is a foreshadowing of Jesus’
coming.

Yet, when Jesus does come to Israel, even after He
has performed so many signs in their presence, they
still will not believe in him. And then, the story
becomes very relatable to our time. John’s gospel
tells us at the same time many even among the
leaders did believe in him, but because of the
Pharisees, they would not openly acknowledge their
faith for fear they would be put out of the
synagogue; 43 “for they loved human praise more
than praise from God.”

Those who love human praise more than praise from
God are still among us. But this is where Jesus
clearly distinguishes himself from the Pharisees, and
the New Covenant from the old one. God’s purposes
to punish sin and reward righteousness remain, but
a new way of administering them has come—a
personal relationship with God. Jesus exclaims,
44“Whoever believes in me does not believe in me
only, but in the one who sent me.” And he explains
the new judgment. 47“If anyone hears my words but
does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I
did not come to judge the world, but to save the
world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me
and does not accept my words; the very words I

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have spoken will condemn them at the last day.”
This is the promise of Easter and the Resurrection for
me. Sin and righteousness, punishment and reward
are not transactional, they are part of the Way, and
we do not have to walk it alone if we choose Christ.

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Palm Sunday

The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed
tongue,

to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,

wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears;

I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.
Who will condemn me?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word
sovereign in several different- ways: “supreme
excellence”, supreme power”, and finally “freedom
from external control”. All of these definitions are
fitting for God of course, and part of Isaiah’s role as a
prophet was to emphasize these truths of God in

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order remind those who had strayed of God of his
ultimate power, as well as to paint for us a vivid,
powerful image of the One who rules us. However, it
is that last definition of sovereign, “freedom from
external control” that caught my eye.

In our daily lives in the world, we are all subject to
and bound to our circumstances. None of us
necessarily chose these circumstances, and the wise
ones in this world, I suppose, make the most out of
those circumstances. Our circumstances are always a
mix of blessings. “Blessings” of course doesn’t
exactly mean “good fortune” (as our Lord tells us
“Blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the
poor”, etc.) But blessings are the circumstances of
our lives that provide the setting to get to know God
more and for us to grow in our faith. Personally, I
have often fallen in the habit of treating the
struggles and challenges I have faced in my own life
as things that I can manage through. I tell myself it
will just take enough self-discipline, work ethic,
determination, and will power in order to do it. But
every time I fall into that mentality, I find myself
running against a brick wall. This is because I confuse
my finite capabilities (which are only given to us
from above) with sovereignty- the latter of which is
something I do not have and is God’s alone.

When we think of God as “sovereign”, some people
get a little uncomfortable because they sense this
means that God is distant, far above, and somehow
detached from us and our lives and concerns- like

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one who is so high and mighty that there is no
possible way he is in the midst of us. However, God
is intimately involved in our lives because of his
sovereignty and his message for us to hear. God’s
sovereignty is ultimately a message of hope because
in our weariness, God is our sustenance (verse 8), in
times of confusion, God opens our ears (verse 5),
and when the world condemns you, the Sovereign
Lord helps you (verse 9).

On this Palm Sunday, we both celebrate the kingship
and sovereignty of God in the same way that the
greeters at the gates of Jerusalem- the center of
power and influence- welcomed Jesus declaring
“Hosanna!” and giving adoration to the Most High
entering the city. At the same time, we are filled
with the eeriness of the events to soon follow. In this
week upon us, Jesus experienced the opposite of
what this passage from Isaiah promises to us. He was
abandoned by friends and followers, whipped and
scourged, and finally abandoned by God. While we
may too be abandoned by friends or even have
already experienced this, and while we perhaps may
even suffer or have suffered being whipped and
scourged (including in a metaphorical sense), this
last thing, being abandoned by God, is something we
will never ever experience. This will never happen to
us because of the events of this Holy Week and the
love through Christ’s shed blood. It is he who has
helped us and therefore, no one can condemn us.

Rev. Andrew Christiansen

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Monday of Holy Week

Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 36:5-11 Hebrews 9:11-15
John 12:1-11

Where are we?

The people of Israel are in Babylon. Captured, exiled,
struggling to avoid being absorbed into a foreign
culture. The temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed
and the relics and decorations carried off. The kings
of Israel had desecrated the temple, allowing altars
to all gods in the temple and offerings to Baal in the
high places of Israel.

Isaiah is responding to the black hole of chaos that
the people of Israel have fallen into. In the darkness
and despair of exile the Lord has identified a
righteous servant who will be a covenant to the
people and a light to the Gentiles. There is hope.
Renewal of the covenant will return the people to
their homeland. Psalm 36 reminds Israel of the
righteousness of the Lord and his love for creation.
There is hope. Things will get better.

In the Gospel of John the anointing of Jesus by Mary
foreshadows the chaos and darkness coming in the
crucifixion and death of Jesus. After the death of
Jesus the Apostles are in a locked room for
protection. They too experience the black hole of
chaos and existential fear. Paul in Hebrews reminds

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us that the resurrection has occurred, that Christ is
the High Priest and the tabernacle, the site of the
dwelling of God is restored in a tabernacle not of this
creation. Through Christ the Holy Trinity has entered
the New Tabernacle.
Today we are often in chaos and drawn into black
holes in spite of living in the New Covenant. Christ
holds our hand and guides us to the light with the
Spirit. In times of darkness and chaos the Holy Trinity
recycles the chaos of the black holes into a galaxy of
new suns which give light to all.
Robert McVie

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Tuesday of Holy Week

Isaiah 49:1-7 Psalm 71:1-14 I Corlnthians 1:18-31,
John 12:20-36

The lessons appointed for this day in Holy Week speak
precisely the words needed for the original hearers as
well as to our hearts and minds today.

Isaiah's Servant Song implores everyone far and near to
hear all that has been done in their behalf, only to realize
that there is a grander mission awaiting. God's faithfulness
is Israel's reassurance. A Light to the Nation has been
promised. The promise held true, then and now.

New Oxford Bible (copyright 1991) describes Psalm 71 as
“An aged worshiper's prayer for
tolerance." As in many Psalms, the wording seems in
hyperbole. A wise teacher once
encouraged me to pray the Psalm for someone who does
need it. If not appropriate for me
today, someday it may be. Through it all, the Psalmist
continues to Praise God, who never fails

Years ago, a very proper, very articulate Bible Teacher, Emily
Strange-Boston, referred to St Paul as “That Great Warrior
St. Paul.” While I refrain from such rhetoric today, her
description has stayed with me. Paul himself established

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the church at Corinth. He fell all over himself, which was
his modus operandi, as he vigorously preached the Good
News to this richly gifted community. In today's reading,
Paul preached Christ crucified is the power of God to
save. He called for Unity, the likes of which we call for today,
and to Boast only in God, then and now.
In the Gospel according to John, we read about the
conclusion of Jesus' public ministry At that time Jesus
speaks of Light. He says while they can, “Be with the
Light, Walk in the Light, Believe in the Light, Become
children of Light.” What better advice could be ours at
this point in time?
Rosemary Lafargue

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Wednesday of Holy Week

Isaiah 50:4-9 Psalm 70 Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-23

As Christians, we are called to spread God’s kingdom
here on Earth. I believe the Lord’s saving power is
expressed in our kind works, our words of comfort,
and our invitation to others to know God by serving
as a witness and living by example. In my personal
experience, extending the “Ministry of the Benefit of
the Doubt” is a challenge. While certainly not
original, as we’ve heard this phrase several times in
Alston’s Sunday sermons, it has always struck a deep
chord for me…I guess because it is so easy to judge
and jump to conclusions that fit our own personal
narratives.

But beyond this “Ministry of the Benefit of the
Doubt” example, what does the Lord’s direction for
me in my life look like? What are his words of
wisdom so I know how to comfort the weary? How
might I understand His will for my life completely?
These are the things I pray about and wait patiently
for the Lord to direct my actions and words. It is our
human nature to want the answers now and
understand fully how to accomplish God’s plan for
our lives. I think the saying “progress, not
perfection” is God’s desire for our day. Focusing on
one small thing, word, or action that spreads his

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Kingdom each day. Like any disciple, it gets easier
the more we practice it.
Karen Hardtner

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Maundy Thursday

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
John 13:1-17, 31b-35

We never had the ceremony of foot washing in any
Episcopal church I attended until well into my
adulthood, and when we first began, I found it
strange, unnerving even. It made me feel quite
vulnerable, the idea of taking off my shoes in church,
of letting someone I might know only casually, wash
my feet. (What if my feet smelled? What if my
pedicure was a little ragged? Would I be judged?)

But in participating in this ceremony, in feeling
exposed, in letting someone perform this service for
us and in performing it for someone else, we also
make ourselves vulnerable to Christ and his
overwhelming love and servant’s heart. Christ said,
“I have set you an example, that you also should do
as I have done to you.” God wants us to love one
another, plain and simple. And in washing the feet of
his disciples, he shows us that we love one another
best when we are willing to love and serve Christ in
our fellow human beings.

One of my favorite hymns uses a text from Micah:
“What does the Lord require for praise and offering?
What sacrifice, desire or tribute bid you bring? Do
justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.”

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Loving one another as Jesus has loved us requires all
three of these things.
Jesus humbled himself to give everything in love and
service to us. What can we do this day to show that
we are his disciples?
Leslye Gilchrist

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Good Friday

Psalm 22 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 John 18:1-19:42

As a young boy, every time my mother whipped me
for my naughtiness, she would say, “this is going to
hurt me more than you.” It never made sense to me,
just like the last phrase in Isaiah 53:5, “…with his
stripes we are healed.” This phrase is very popular
among faith healers and what they are saying is that
when Jesus was whipped that somehow brings
about a physical healing. While the Hebrew word for
healing means delivery from affliction, extra Biblical
literature shows that it is associated with a divine
decree which is averted through repentance. It is a
word used of the preparation made to treat the
wounds of a soldier before going into battle. So, by
his stripes God has prepared a means to deliver us
from the penalty of sin or a means to bring healing
to us before we are even afflicted. The Hebrew word
for stripes means bluish as in bruising. If Isaiah is
talking about Jesus as we believe he is, the whipping
Jesus took did more than just bruising. In its Semitic
root, stripes was used in the sense of charming
someone, to divert their attention from other things
so that their full attention and focus is on you. I think
Isaiah is telling us where the thoughts of Jesus were
during this time. They were on us and our sinful
state and how his suffering would redeem us. At the
same time, Jesus wants to create a relationship with

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us. When you think and meditate on all he endured
for you just because of that great love he has for
you, you are spellbound to love him in return. To
experience that great love has healing of its own.
There are many stories of people who will not
hesitate to turn to their friends or partners and say:
“If it were not for the love of this person I would not
be alive today.” Research on the elderly in nursing
homes shows that those who have family visit them
regularly live longer than those who are forgotten. If
the love of a human being can have such a powerful
healing effect on us, how much more can the love of
God for us have a healing effect on us? I believe this
verse should read: “By His (Jesus) great love for us
we are healed.”
Thomas Nsubuga.

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Holy Saturday

Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24 Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16
1 Peter 4:1-8 John 19:38-42

At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh
nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still
point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor
movement. And do not call it fixity, Where past and
future are gathered. Neither movement from nor
towards, Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the
point, the still point, There would be no dance, and
there is only the dance. I can only say, there we have
been: but I cannot say where. And I cannot say, how
long, for that is to place it in time. - Excerpt from
BURNT NORTON (No. 1 of 'Four Quartets') by T.S.
Eliot

On Holy Saturday we are struck with the depth of
suffering that our Lord has undertaken for us – and
yet we hang in the balance of “what is to happen
next?” Daily life trains us in learning to live between
and betwixt gain and loss, pursuit and
abandonment, hope and cynicism. On the first
Saturday following the first Good Friday, I imagine
that those close to Jesus found themselves caught,
suspended, within the action and reaction of the old
cycle. My intuition tells me that they felt they had
nowhere to put their feet; no place to find a
foothold in a world where Jesus was suddenly
defeated, and gone. On the first Holy Saturday –

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there was most certainly an aroma of defeat in the
air – as though the lying, mendacious, and scheming
forces of this world had succeeded, again, in killing
an innocent man for the sake of a misguided
idealism. On the first Holy Saturday, no one could
have known, what was to happen; how God would
act – there was simply a hovering over that great
echoing black void when tragedy strikes. Through
the years I have come to cherish Holy Saturday
within the parish church. The busyness of arranging
a “successful” Holy Week becomes a chore, with
well-meaning Christians slipping into imitating the
anxiousness of Mary, rather than sitting and
doodling with Mary at Jesus’ feet. Mysteriously our
Holy Saturday devotion gives a brief respite from a
delicious sense of accomplishment and “works
righteousness”; a moment to exhale with the parish
faithful - the altar guild, the choirs, the flower guilds
– and sit quietly amid the ruins and desolation of an
innocent life given for the guilty. A moment to give
thanks that there is a place for holy powerlessness in
the midst of a world gone mad for power; a pause
from the sad continuation of the weak forever
pulling down the strong.

The one day of His absence; and the day of our
waiting at the “still point of the turning world.”

Blessings and Godspeed,

Very Rev. Alston Johnson

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Easter

Oh happy Easter morning,
Thy joyous tiding spread,
And tell to all the nations
That Christ rose from the dead;
Let every tongue be filled with praise
Oh, let us sing and pray,
And magnify the Lord again,
For this is Easter Day.
Ephraim David Tyler

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