A Daily Lent

Saturday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 5:43 – 48 Focus Passage : "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43 – 48) Jesus holds the tension between neighbor and enemy, evil and good, righteous and unrighteous, “your own people” and “pagans.” Most of us see those poles as options, making a choice from each pair. In some religious systems, even God is viewed as making a choice, favoring the neighbor, the good, and t...

Thursday of the First Week of Lent – February 26, 2015 ABBA ZENO told us, “If you want God to hear your prayer when you stand, stretching out your hands toward God, you must sincerely begin by praying for your enemies. When you do this, God will respect all you request.” [Bernard Bangley, By Way of the Desert , p. 79.] For Abba Zeno, prayer began with praying for others. More specifically, the beginning of prayer is sincerely praying for your enemies. You cannot pray for your enemies for long without the experience changing you. Mostly, when you pray for your enemies, you learn that they are not truly enemies. They are simply other human beings who live life differently, see life differently, or believe differently that you do. They are wounded and broken, certainly, but so are you in different ways. Praying for your enemies is a transforming practice. It likely won’t transform your “enemies” nearly as much as it transforms you.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent Matthew 23:1 – 12 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the ...

Saturday of the First Week of Lent Matthew 5:43 – 48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I’ve heard contemporary Franciscans talk about how Francis of Assisi loved the Sermon on the Mount, how it was for Francis the core of his spirituality and connection to God. It is a radical teaching, in which Jesus challenges every part of who we are and what we invest ourselves in. The complete corpus of the teaching is in Matthew 5 – 7. For instance, today’s te...

John 7:40 – 53 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” They replied, “Are you f...

Matthew 5:43 – 48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Most of us would feel out of place in a world not divided into friends and enemies. It seems to be a natural separation, and woven into the fabric of so much of our emotional, social, political and corporate life. Something about the human condition wants to create enemies in the outer world. Listen to politicians talk about political parties and philosophies other than their own. Listen to national leaders t...