Well into the second week of Lent and quickly approaching the third, we find ourselves searching for some kind of Lenten peace, time to take the season in, reflect, consider what is really important, but the world keeps crashing in on us. Jesus, of course, must have faced the same pressures of the world around him as well although, granted, he didn’t have the 24-hour news cycle barrage that we have.
Pulling back from the world is really difficult, especially as we face uncertainty in this new war the White House has begun. We now are having body counts with more than 700 dead in Iran, including the 153 schoolgirls as the first casualties. How do we pray for and create peace when it seems all the stops are being pulled out?
As one writer put it so eloquently, we are urged to support a politics that celebrates domination where loyalty and victory are revered more than truth or virtue. Our faith calls us to stand in opposition to those values corrupting our souls. During this time of such turmoil, following the way of Jesus is not easy, but, oh, so necessary.
Prayer for the Day
Your wall of hope surrounds us even in our despair, O Lord,
Overcoming the turmoil of the world around us;
Your citadel of truth stands against false promises,
Freeing us from our pride and showing us your way.
Your arms embrace us in our daily struggles,
As we search for ways to be faithful to your Gospel.
In the name of the One who accompanies us always,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Lent asks us to see clearly. Within ourselves and within the communities we are a part of. It requires us to ask questions. Where have we traded character for comfort? Where have we preferred spectacle to substance? Where have we bowed to power and called it faith?
Christy Berghof, writer
What is the value of a Christianity in which Jesus is worshiped as Lord, but Christian discipleship—"the way of Jesus"—is regarded as largely irrelevant to life in the modern world?"
René Padilla, Ecuadorian theologian (1932-2021)
But you, O God, are kind and true, patient and ruling all things in mercy,
For even if we sin, we are yours, knowing your power;
But we will not sin, for we know that you acknowledge us as yours,
For to know you is complete righteousness…
Wisdom of Solomon 15: 1-3