April 11/Fifth Thursday of Lent Seek the LORD and his strength;Search for his presence continually. ~ Ps 105.4 It’s the “continually” that causes difficulties, isn’t it? We manage to engage occasionally, perhaps seeking the LORD and his strength on Sundays when we go to church, or even a few times a week when we scratch out scant minutes for quiet…
Song 31: O Worship the LORD
April 10/Fifth Wednesday of Lent Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory. . . On the throne of your kingdom . . . Who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim . . . In the firmament of heaven. ~ Dan 3.52-56 Other than the residents of the forty-odd nations of the world who live under some…
Song 30: O Father, Where Art Thou?
April 9/Fifth Tuesday of Lent O LORD, hear my prayer, and let me cry come to you. Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress.Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily. ~Ps 102.2-3 When the road gets rough, or we don’t get our way — or as the psalmist…
Song 29: Letting Go
April 8/Fifth Monday of Lent The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your…
Song 28: Testing, Testing
April 6/Fourth Saturday of Lent O searcher of heart and soul, O just God. ~Ps 7.9 I am fortunate to live in an historic city that is defined by streetscape after streetscape of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century architecture. The private homes and public buildings — Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, many of them graced with stately porticos or gracious piazzas — were…
Song 27: Are You There, God?
April 5/Fourth Friday of Lent I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. ~ Ps 34.5, 7, 18 It is not…
Song 26: Ain’t Too Proud to Bow
April 4/Fourth Thursday of Lent They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped a cast image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. ~ Ps 106.19-20 We don’t bow down much these days, do we? Outside of the images of faithful Muslims kneeling for daily prayer and candidates for ordination prostrating themselves…
Song 25: All in the Family
April 3/Fourth Wednesday of Lent The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. ~ Ps 145.8-9 I’ve probably glossed over this simple verse dozens of times without really stopping to think about its implications. “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” Both…
Song 24: Noise, Noise, Noise, Noise
April 2/Fourth Tuesday of Lent God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the depths of the sea. ~ Ps 46.2-3 Keeping one’s equilibrium amid the boil and churn of modern life can be a challenge. There is the quick-paced, even frenetic tempo we…
Song 23: Joyful, Joyful
April 1/Fourth Monday of Lent At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. ~ Ps 30.6 Something in our human nature tends towards pessimism. Amid the screeching barrage of daily “news,” if one can call it that, it is tempting to see the world around us through a lens of solid negativity. This is the Eeyore syndrome, named…