A Daily Lent

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 1:16 – 24 Focus Passage : When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (Matt. 1:24) God continually works to bring about oneness. Our tradition says that union is the goal of the Christian spiritual life. We are being transformed over time, brought into union with God, others, ourselves, and the world. This is the action of God’s grace and mercy within us and in the world. It is clear in Scripture – and I suspect your personal experience bears this out – that this work of oneness and union is God’s work. We don’t have the tools to accomplish it. In fact, our brokenness and inability to produce this oneness for ourselves is a part of our human condition. We don’t know what we need to be fully human and most intimately connected to God. Further, even if we did know what we need for ourselves and for life with God, we would be powerless to produce it. And...

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Matthew 1:18 – 25 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded h...

Matthew 1:18 - 25 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. This Fo...