A Daily Lent

Palm Sunday Daily Reading : Luke 19:28 – 40 Focus Passage : After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.' " Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. (Lk. 19:28 – 32) In Mark 14:12 – 16, Jesus prepared to eat the Passover with his disciples. When they inquired about a place in which to eat the meal, Jesus instructed them to go into the city and follow a man carrying a jar of water. When the man entered a house, they were to find the owner of the house and simply say, “The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”...

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent Daily Reading : John 8:12-20 Focus Passage : When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (Jn. 8:12) The vocabulary of “light” and “darkness” can get confusing on the spiritual journey. At one level, we read Jesus’ pronouncements about the light he gives, the light which brings a person out of the darkness forever. This light illumines the lives of women and men in order to bring us out of spiritual darkness and bondage. At this level of understanding, spiritual darkness is equated with life opposed to God, set against the movement of God. Darkness is a force for destruction and evil that stands against the well-being, healing, and goodness God brings into the world. This spiritual darkness is real and should not be diminished. Jesus’ light, then, becomes a new way of seeing in the world, a fresh way of orienting o...

Monday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading: Matthew 16:13 –19 Focus Passage: "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 16:15 – 17) When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” he had no interest in Peter’s opinion. Peter’s opinion was no more or less relevant than the next person’s opinion. The question was not about Peter’s belief system or about how much information he had accumulated concerning Jesus. Jesus asked Peter about his experience. “Who have you experienced me to be? What is the nature of our relationship?” It’s a good question, inviting us away from theory and prescribed answers. The question encourages us to consider our experience in the grit of life. After all, it is po...