March 31/Fourth Thursday of Lent Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image;They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. ~ Ps 106.19-20 We may regard ourselves as far too sophisticated and worldly to bow down before a molten image (the Hebrew word translated “adored” is a rarely-used verb…
Author: Betsy Cahill
Song 25: Finishing the Hat
March 30/Fourth Wednesday of Lent The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. ~ Ps 145.9, 18 Stephen Sondheim’s song “Finishing the Hat,” from the 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George, is a paean to the creative…
Song 24: Peace Like a River
March 29/Fourth Tuesday of Lent There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.God is in its midst, it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn. ~ Ps 46.5-6 Peace has been a scarce commodity in our lives in the past couple of years, especially…
Song 23: Greeting the Dawn
March 28/Fourth Monday of Lent At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. You changed my mourning into dancing. ~ Ps 30.6 Nightfall seems to have been on an endless loop these past two pandemic-laced years, and we have experienced more than a few false dawns, as well. And now the brutality sweeping Europe by an unhinged madman prolongs…
Song 22: No Stain Unturned
March 26/Third Saturday of Lent Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. ~ Ps 51.4 After raising four children, I thought I knew a thing or two about laundry. But I nearly met my match with the challenges one of my children presented to me after a solo cross-country bike ride a few summers ago. …
Song 21: Sit. Stay. Heed.
March 25/Third Friday of LentFeast of the Annunciation Sacrifice and offering you do not delight in, but you have dug out my ears.To do your will, O God, I delight in; your teaching is within my belly [lit. transl]. ~ Ps 40.7, 9 Obedience — how it goes against the human grain. We no sooner construct a set of rules…
Song 20: Testing, Testing
March 24/Third Thursday of Lent Oh that today you would hear his voice.Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert,Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.~ Ps 95.8-9 It is easy to trust in God when things are going smoothly, isn’t it? When things fall…
Song 19: Boundaries
March 23/Third Wednesday of Lent For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. ~ Ps 147.13 Walls, fences, gates — they can function as tools of exclusion. But looked at from another perspective, they create spaces that are inclusive, protected, and apart (interestingly, the Hebrew word for holiness connotes apartness). Think of garden walls that frame a beautiful outdoor…
Song 18: Love 101
March 22/Third Tuesday of Lent Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. ~ Ps 25.4-5 Other than my family and a cleric or two, no group of people has been as important to me as teachers, from my 5th grade…
Song 17: Dry Spell
March 21/Third Monday of Lent As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God.Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? ~ Ps 42.2-3 Having watched my hiking companion drain the last drop from our shared water bottle, half an hour later I…