Journey to Wholeness
Holy Saturday
Earth received a new and incorruptible seed in her womb when Jesus was laid to rest, wrapped in cloths as in a manger, and perfumed with myrrh, as the Magi anticipated.… Read the rest
Good Friday
John 18-19
There is no greater proof that Jesus is the Son of God than his love for his enemies. In the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was arrested, Peter’s swift reaction in cutting off the right ear of the high priest’s slave captured the all-too-human impulse toward retaliation.… Read the rest
… Read the restBefore the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The
… Read the restAmen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Fifth Week of Lent, Wednesday
Daniel 3
Iconic images and words in the Bible interconnect to form a constellation that radiates to the “edges” of infinity. The episode of the three Jews thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image summons iconic connections from Genesis to Revelation.… Read the rest
The new Moses wrote with the finger of God
A New Law in dust by the Spirit of God.… Read the rest
Fourth Week of Lent, Thursday
Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47
… Read the restHe was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me… For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.
… Read the restSee, I am creating new heavens
and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered
nor come to mind.
Fourth Week of Lent, Monday
John 4:43-54
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.
John 4:46
The Gospel of John calls special attention to Cana, the location of the first and second “signs” (sémeion) revealing Jesus as the Messiah to Israel.… Read the rest
… Read the restTax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
… Read the restNow if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? For
Third Week of Lent, Thursday
Luke 11:14-23
… Read the restHe was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Third Week of Lent, Wednesday
Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; Matthew 5:17-19
… Read the restNow therefore, Israel, hear the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
Third Week of Lent, Tuesday
Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael), Abednego (Azariah), and Belteshazzar (Daniel) managed to preserve their Israelite heritage intact in the midst of Babylonian power and prestige.… Read the rest
… Read the restAs the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
Third Week of Lent, Monday
Man of valor Naaman commanded infantries
But was overpowered by a vile skin disease.
A little girl’s faith—the size of a mustard seed—
Sent the chief to Israel with surefooted speed.… Read the rest
Sir, leave the tree alone this year, I adjure,
Til I dig around it and heap on manure.… Read the rest
There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being.… Read the rest
The number forty in the Bible is associated with the recreation of the earth and its inhabitants, beginning with the Flood of Noah.… Read the rest
The Lord reveals his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of the rest of mankind, but he makes it shine with such splendor that his face becomes like the sun in glory, and his garments as white as snow.… Read the rest
… Read the rest“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
First Week of Lent, Saturday
… Read the rest“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
First Week of Lent, Friday
… Read the restI tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
… Read the restAsk and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For
First Week of Lent, Thursday
… Read the rest“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
… Read the restThen some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
… Read the restThen Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The
First Week of Lent, Tuesday
Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 4:4b; Matthew 6:7-15
… Read the restYet just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me empty,
but shall do what pleases me,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
… Read the rest“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.
Saturday After Ash Wednesday
Luke 5:27-32
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 5:30
The banquet at Levi’s house was a preview of paradise when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will recline with “tax collectors and sinners” at the feast in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11).… Read the rest
In prayer we have a direct beeline to God. Better than wireless, the Holy Spirit carries our message to the Father even before we speak: “Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all” (Psalm 139:4).… Read the rest
Ash Wednesday begins with the sober remembrance of our expulsion from the Garden of Eden. “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” the Lord God pronounced after Adam’s transgression (Genesis 3:19).… Read the rest
In the desert of Lent, we fast from food, but feast on the Word of God. The ancient practice of lectio divina, or sacred reading, invites us to chew on the words of Scripture and savor them.
In the eleventh chapter of St.… Read the rest
Third Week of Lent, Saturday
Luke 18:9-14
… Read the restHe then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
Second Week of Lent, Thursday
Luke 16:19-31
In Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge takes a voyage in time to Christmases past, present and future, and wakes up right after the shock of seeing the headstone of his own grave.… Read the rest
First Sunday of Lent
Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15
Lent recalls the forty days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, and the forty days of cosmic cleansing in the time of Noah’s Flood. … Read the rest
Friday After Ash Wednesday
Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15
… Read the restThe woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15 (RSV)
Adam, priest and king of the Lord’s garden sanctuary, had the duty “to till it and keep it.” … Read the rest
Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
…then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
On Ash Wednesday, we remember our origins—that we are dust of the ground.… Read the rest
We are not alone during this pandemic. Emmanuel means God is with us every step of the way. May these uncertain times be an opportunity to grow in prayer.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, Eternal Son of God, have mercy on us.… Read the rest