“Christ is risen from the dead, and by His death He has trampled upon death, and has given live to those, who are in the tombs.” – the Troparion of Pascha
Taking it on the level, as only You, Lord, can do. Giving what humanity, can only aspire to grasp.
Falling down, then getting up, pushed time upon time again. Light of Life into darkness, You brought life—heart, mind, and soul.
Impostors come, and they go, but Your Spirit, Lord, remains. Waiting our reception, Lord, not for one, but for the many.
Looking up at the nighttime sky, Your artistry on full display. Shades of hope… brighter, better times, Memories reckoning what was, Speculation of what will be, But then light, your glorious light, Bringing me back to my senses. Troubled, wretched waters may be, Times for standing up together, Praying that this beat finds its end. Looking up at the nighttime sky, Your artistry on full display. The stones are crying out for all. Forsaken? No, nor shall any be.
The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (John 8:1-11) can be seen as providing an opportunity to consider what’s at the root of one’s reactions and the ensuing responses or decisions to the situations or news that arises from day to day.
Read the passage below to familiarize yourself with the situation described.
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” – John 8:1-11
Next, take some time to revisit this reading from different perspectives.
First, put yourself in the shoes of the crowd. You’ve come to see and listen to this new teacher. What has drawn you to him?
Envision yourself listening to Jesus preach when suddenly, there’s an interruption. A group of men push there way through the crowd, pulling along and forcibly putting a woman into the middle of the gathering. Then they publicly call her out and ask the new teacher what he has to say about the impending doom called for by the law. What’s your first thought or feeling? What do you imagine the expression on Jesus’s face is as this is happening?
Allow yourself time to process and discuss with Jesus what it’s like to be in the crowd, witnessing this occurrence.
Next, put yourself in the shoes of the scribes and Pharisees. What do you imagine led them to essentially drag the woman, not only to where Jesus was, but also to where there was a crowd around him? The passage tells us they wanted to test Jesus. What about consideration of the woman?
Invite Jesus into the thoughts and feelings that come up as you contemplate this perspective. Ask Jesus to show you if there are areas where you might be prioritizing something to the extent that it causes a blind eye toward side effects, such as disregard for the circumstances and/or well-being of others.
Now, put yourself in the shoes of the woman caught in adultery. What’s it like to envision being forcibly taken from one place to another, put in the middle of a crowd, having your transgressions publicized, and being used as a pawn, as you await your fate, which doesn’t look good according to Mosaic law, and may or may not be determined by this new teacher?
Again, share your thoughts and feelings with Jesus. Ask him to impart wisdom and grace to you in whatever challenges you face. Also ask him to reveal anything that might be detracting from your ability to be at your best and/or to choose what is best in His eyes.
Finally, put yourself in Jesus’s shoes. You’re preaching to a crowd that has gathered around you. You see and sense the need in each person’s face. Your heart, full of peace, love, and purpose, is moved with compassion. As you’re speaking, the scribes and Pharisees arrive with the woman in tow. What do you notice most as this interruption is occurring? What’s happening internally, and from where does your response come?
Allow yourself time to pray and reflect on this experience with Jesus. What insight does Jesus want you to prioritize at this moment in your life? In what ways, and toward what, is your heart, full of peace, love, and purpose, moved with compassion?
Where can Divinity meet, and raise, your humanity for the greater glory of God?
Hope rooted in the Lord, is well placed; with the Lord, nothing is impossible.
The second reading for the Second Sunday of Lent (Philippians 3:17-4:1) closes with the phrase, “stand firm in the Lord” (Phil 4:1). These words follow verses in which St. Paul encourages the Philippians, and us, “be imitators of me,” and reminds all, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.” (Phil 3:20-21).
Take a few moments to contemplate the characteristics of the Lord based on Scripture and your experience through prayer and faith. Visualize yourself standing firm in the Lord. What comes to mind or stirs in your heart?
This Sunday’s Gospel passage (Luke 9:28b-36) is about the Transfiguration of Jesus. Just prior to its verses, as part of his teaching on what it means to be a disciple, Jesus says, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” (Luke 9:25).
In seeking to respond to the call to conversion and deepening one’s faith, envision yourself with Jesus, Peter, John, and James, going up the mountain to pray. As you walk, consider an area in which you desire to increase trust in the Lord. Bring the things you notice to prayer. Ask Jesus for the grace to receive his insights, and the wisdom to parse the various facets that are involved.
Reaching the top of the mountain, there is a pause for greater solitude—a change or shift in appearance, dazzling white, Moses and Elijah joining Jesus. It is as if time has stopped. You watch and notice, becoming more fully aware of everything around you.
Then, as Moses and Elijah depart and Peter is saying something to Jesus, you hear, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” (Luke 9:35). You turn to Jesus, your light and salvation, and he tells you what you need to know. You receive his wisdom as the loving guidance that it is.
Preparing to rejoin Peter, James, and John for your journey back down the mountain, you express a sentiment to Jesus, and he to you, as this intimate moment winds down.
Walking down the mountain, you continue to hold onto and savor what has transpired. When you arrive at the base of the mountain, you look back up to the top, remembering this Scripture verse:
The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.– Genesis 15:5-6
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? – Psalm 27:1
The eyes through which you see, The ears through which you hear, The mind through which you pull it altogether, Can lead you here and there, Sometimes, everywhere but straight. But the heart through which you care, Cries out, drawing you close, To the Heart that lies within.
In the Gospel passage for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, it is written:
Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:39-45
Contemplate the qualities you look for and tend to gravitate toward as you go about each day. Pray with what you notice. Express your desire to be united with Jesus throughout each day.
In the light of the Lenten season, consider how you have experienced the Scripture verse, “See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the wilderness I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers.” (Isaiah 43:19). Then take some time to reflect on the ways you are open to seeing God in what is new or different. As you pray, ask Jesus to help in discerning what your heart desires and how to distinguish between good fruit and rotten fruit.
After ministering to many people in Capernaum, Jesus sets out for a deserted place, yet the crowds search for, and find him. They don’t want him to leave. However, he explains that he must go because his ministry and proclamation of the Kingdom of God must extend to other villages and towns. After witnessing and hearing his preaching, and all the healings, how do you imagine the people of Capernaum took this news? Do you think they were skeptical or upset at the idea of other people, from a different village or town, and who perhaps they considered as outsiders, being the recipients of Jesus’s preaching and healing, too?
What’s it like when you consider Jesus’s mission as one that extends to all people, regardless of who they are or from where they come?
The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 5:1-11), begins with Jesus having moved on to Judea and then Lake Gennesaret. It is written:
“While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.” – Luke 5:1.
Take some time to put yourself in the crowd. As you draw in toward Jesus and listen to the word of God, what comes into your mind, and how is your heart stirred? What prayer arises within you?
As the Gospel passage continues, Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and asks him to push away from the shore. This is not so that he can leave the crowd that has been closing in on him. Rather, it is so that he can continue to minister, teaching them from the boat.
Envision yourself on the shore with Jesus and then in the boat a short distance from the shore. What’s different when you’re in the crowd versus when you’re in the boat? What might Jesus want you to learn from his actions in this situation? What words does Jesus have for you and the crowd?
When Jesus’s preaching to the crowd ends, it is written:
“…he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.’ Simon said in reply, ‘Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, ‘Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.” – Luke 5:4-11
After working hard all night to no avail, Peter does as Jesus asks. He goes back out into the deep part of the sea, and with Jesus by his side, where there was nothing, now there is an abundance, so much so that his nets and the boats can hardly hold it. However, for this to be possible, Peter had to first leave behind and let go of what he had already come to know—he was out all night and there were no fish to be caught—and rather than holding onto defeat or being discouraged, he had to put his hope, faith, and trust in Jesus.
Recall a time when you experienced a challenge, difficulty, or drought of some kind and how faith and Jesus’s presence helped you? What were your prayers like during that time? In what ways did you avail yourself, or help yourself, to be open to listening to and being present to Jesus? Thinking of that time, how can you relate to Peter in this Gospel passage?
Turning to today, think about a situation you’re currently facing. How are you inspired as you continue to seek and draw nearer to Jesus?
“On the day I cried out, you answered; you strengthened my spirit.” – Psalm 138:3
In the second reading for this Sunday, the Baptism of the Lord, Peter says to those gathered before him, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34-35).
Fear (or reverence) of the Lord can be a challenging concept. In fact, it can be tempting to mistake reverence as only being evidenced in what one can see. It can also be tempting to shrink it down to a fixed notion of what reverence looks like.
However, our faith calls us to remember, that we do not have the mind, or the insight of God. It is important to keep in mind that in our humanity, we can get hung up in appearances or distracted in what we think ought to be, and in the process, lose sight of the heart of any matter. It is only God who can truly judge, and help us to know, when and what to say or do in response to a situation(s).
And God, as we learn in the Scripture verses leading up to this Sunday’s second reading (Acts 10:9-33), does exactly this for Peter. God helps Peter to see that the faith that he holds so dear, is not just for those like him, but also for the gentiles. His experience on a rooftop during his midday prayer reveals the following:
He was hungry and wished to eat, and while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all the earth’s four-legged animals and reptiles and the birds of the sky. A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.” But Peter said, “Certainly not, sir. For never have I eaten anything profane and unclean.” The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.” This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into the sky. – verses 10-16
As Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said [to him], “There are three men here looking for you. So get up, go downstairs, and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.” – verses 19-20
When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a human being.” While he conversed with him, he went in and found many people gathered together and said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean. – verses 25-28
However, there’s more than that. God also helps Cornelius. Who like Peter, is not tethered to his own notions, and therefore is able to be open to being guided by the Spirit of God. It is written that Cornelius responds to Peter’s inquiry as to why he called him:
“Four days ago at this hour, three o’clock in the afternoon, I was at prayer in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling robes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to listen to all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” – verses 30-33
During the midday and afternoon hours of prayer, Peter and Cornelius had experiences of God that were different, but the same in Spirit. God gave them both direction, and despite it being an unusual or unexpected ask (for a Jew and a gentile, given practices, tradition, and cultural norms), both men in their fear or reverence of God, allowed themselves to cling to God and this new or different way, rather than a choice rooted in their worldly understanding—one that would have kept them separated… continuing with a wedge in place.
What wedges do you desire God to help humankind overcome today? Knowing that God’s grace flows in many directions on both small and large scales at the same time, what personal wedges would you like to overcome?
Take some time to reflect on this Scripture and how it relates to your experiences, both personal and more community or world-wide.
What happens when you think about God as placing emphasis on internal disposition or drive and how it motivates, informs, and influences one’s actions?
Envision the peace of God embracing you, calling your name, and saying, “You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22). Rest in the Lord and listen to what God desires for you.
When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. – Titus 3:4-7
The magi, or three wise men, are first drawn to Jerusalem by the star signifying the birth of a newborn king. Once there, they encounter Herod, who acting on fear, deceptively seeks to have them locate this king so that he may bring about his demise; not pay homage as he has claimed.
For the wise men, this journey began with the beckon of a bright, new star. Then, from Jerusalem and their exchange with Herod, that same star leads them further onward, guiding them to Bethlehem, and Jesus Christ. And after paying homage and offering gifts to the newborn king, it is a dream that directs them back home, rather than returning to Jerusalem to reveal the location of the newborn king to Herod.
Along the way, and at each stop, the wise men, like us, undoubtedly had choices to make. What, do you imagine, inspired them to keep following the star from its rising all the way to Jerusalem? And then onward to Bethlehem?
What led them to listen to the dream and go home a different way rather than returning by way of Jerusalem, stopping to give Herod the information he wanted from them?
After taking some time to contemplate the Gospel passage for the Epiphany of the Lord (Matthew 2:1-12), reflect on the choices that you may be facing at this time and how you go about making decisions.
What influences your decisions and from where do you take direction or draw inspiration? What are the factors that motivate you? How do they reflect a posture of paying homage to the Lord? (Perhaps they are born out of, or hold at their roots, love, patience, or something similar.)
Take what you notice into prayer, inviting Jesus to share Light and Wisdom with you. Pray with any feelings or desires that arise in you. And when this prayer time comes a close, ask Jesus to reveal one parting word, phrase, or image that will help to draw and lead you, like that star, to where you ought to be.
We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. – Matthew 2:2
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