A Lenten Pilgrimage 2026

  Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery Nicholas Poussin (1653)  The Louvre, Paris, France. Ex. 4:10-20; 4:21-26; 4:27-31 Psalm 23 John 8:1-11   Upon first reading today’s scripture passages, I was baffled. It seemed they did not have much in common at all. In particular, the passage from Exodus was most perplexing as unlike Psalm 23 and the account in John 8, it seemed the outlier. At least those had connections about love and forgiveness. However, after some thinking and searching, I came across a description of Exodus 4 that encompassed all the passages beautifully: despite our blunders into sin and the frailty of our faith, the Lord persistently calls us to trust the fact that his divine authority and power outweigh our insufficiencies. As I have discovered throughout my own life, those insufficiencies may often include a sense of self-confidence when looking backward that quickly turns to doubt when looking forward.   Moses’ reluctance to go back to Egypt is u...

  Ezek 37:1-14; Ps 130; Rom 8:6-11;  Jn 11:1-45 When Heaven Feels Quiet There are seasons when faith doesn’t feel like a song—it feels like a sigh. These three passages meet us right there: in the honest place where we are still breathing, still believing, but also still waiting. They form one spiritual journey: from the depths (Psalm 130), to the inner battlefield (Romans 8), to the graveside where hope seems late (John 11). Psalm 130 Psalm 130 begins with a sentence many people live without saying out loud: “Out of the depths I cry to you.” The “depths” aren’t just sadness; they are the places where you feel stuck, guilty, tired, misunderstood, or spiritually numb—where you can’t climb out by willpower. Yet the psalmist does something revolutionary: he doesn’t clean himself up before speaking to God. He prays from the mess. This is the first deep truth: God does not require you to be strong in order to be heard. Then comes a piercing line: “If you, Lord, kept a record of sin...

  Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:1-2, 9-12; Jn 7:40-53 I feel like I’ve been constantly distracted this Lent. With basketball zones, the start of a new school semester, and my exchange to France taking up most of my time, it has been easy to be distracted during this season of fasting, praying, and giving. I realize now that we are almost halfway through.  Reading these passages, I see that my connection with God might be similar to my connection with Lent. I feel a little distanced from him. So many activities cause stress that I forget about asking God for help. My behaviors started reflecting this underlying anxiety, and I didn’t even realize it. When I think about it, I see that I have been caught in this little tornado of constant things that keep changing and swirling around me. But if I take a step out of the tornado, I see my blessings, the things I’m grateful for, and most importantly, God. Reading Jeremiah 11:18-20, I realize that I am like Jeremiah. I didn’t even notice that th...

  Daily Lectionary Exodus 2:1-22 It’s been a long while since I have read the story of Moses and was surprised by parts of it. In today’s reading, we learn of the clever plan Moses’ mother enacted to ensure he lived. When he was a few months old, she placed Moses in a reed basket to eventually be found and brought to the Pharaoh's daughter’s attention. Moses was returned to his mother so she could nurse and raise him in preparation for his return to the Pharaoh's daughter where he would live a life of privilege in the palace.     Later we learn of Moses killing an Egyptian who struck a Hebrew slave. Moses hid the body in the sand, thinking he had not been seen. However, other Hebrews had witnessed what Moses had done. The next day, when Moses questioned a dispute between two Hebrews, one said to him, “Who made you commander and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”  In shock and fear of impending death by Pharaoh’s decree, Moses left...

  2 Sam 7:4, 8-16 or Rom 4:13-18; Ps 89:1-4, 26-29; Lk 2:41-52 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever . 2 Samuel 7:16 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith . Romans 4:13 I have sworn to my servant David: “I will establish your descendants for ever,     and build your throne for all generations .”’ Psalm 89:3-4 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? ’ Luke 2: 48-49 Today’s Gospel takes place when Mary & Joseph and Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover. On their way home they discover Jesus is not with them. Mary and Joseph return to Jeru...

    Is 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-15; Jn 5:19-30  Isaiah 49:14 But the people of Jerusalem said 'The Lord has abandoned us! He has forgotten us.' So the Lord answers, “Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you. How interesting it is that the comfort offered in these words written thousands of years ago is still the comfort we seek today! The darkness we are witnessing on the world’s stage, coupled with the moments of darkness we experience in our own lives seem to be causing many emotional reactions – sometimes we express despair: That’s it! We’re doomed! How can a merciful God subject us to such destruction, so much suffering? Sometimes we may feel disdain for humanity. Or maybe we separate ourselves from our faith for fear of being associated with Christianity as we are ashamed of Christians acting in a not so Christian manner in the name of Christ. If God IS love and love is within each and...

  Trinity Church, New York, NY, March 2025 Ezek 47:1-9, 12; Ps 46; Jn 5:1-18 “Times is hard” Mrs. Lovett,  “Worst Pies in London” Starting my Lenten reflection with a quote from Sweeney Todd may seem an odd choice but as I am currently embroiled in rehearsals for this musical, its music is constantly swirling through my head. And, right now, times IS hard. As I am writing this there are armed conflicts raging in Ukraine, the Middle East, the Sudan. The estimate I read said that 2 billion people are living in conflict-affected areas. In our country many people are struggling to meet their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. We are bombarded by xenophobic comments by our leaders, and our neighbours. So yes, Mrs. Lovett, times IS hard. What does this have to do with Lent and, specifically, the scriptures for today.  In John, we read about Jesus healing on the Sabbath. For the Pharisees, this was forbidden. To our modern sensibilities, this seems odd. Why would folks ...

  Is 65:17-21; Ps 30; Jn 4:43-54   Humanity has been trying and failing to create "heaven on earth" since Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden. Try as we might, we cannot bring about the miraculous transformation we crave. Our utopias become unjust autocracies. Marginalization persists. Weedy bureaucracy chokes out charity. Still, our readings tell us indeed there will come a time on earth in which “never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years.” (Is 65:20 ). They assert that someday the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard no more. (Is 65:19). Psalm 30 declares that God never abandons us even when we cannot see him working on our behalf — “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30).    But today’s gospel (John 4:43-54) goes further than showing us we don’t need to see what God is doing to know he works on our behalf. It reminds us Jesus refused to be perform...

  Daily Lectionary I Sam uel 16:1-13 It would be, I suspect, a trite observation to say that we live in troubling times. Cable news and the twenty-four hour news cycle give us a balcony seat to the latest armed conflicts – wars of conquest, wars of terror, and occasionally, wars of a desperate people yearning to be free. If wars and rumours of wars grow tiresome, we can consume the bloodsport of politics, a world that civil discourse seems to have abandoned and where moral outrage is not based on principle as much as expediency and blind partisan loyalties. This becomes doubly toxic, given that the poisonous atmosphere in politics is infiltrating the broader society, down to neighbourhoods and families – disagreement is weaponised into a litmus test for admission to a narrowing definition of “polite society.” In all of this, we can struggle to find reason, logic, wisdom and even basic human decency.  I imagine a multitude of individual voices crying to the fates, in a paraphra...