A Lenten Pilgrimage 2026

  Daily Office Reflection on John 13   ​It took Leonardo da Vinci almost twenty years to complete “The Last Supper.” At first he struggled to find the right model for Jesus — a model whose face radiated strength, purity and compassion. He was similarly meticulous about finding the right models for the Twelve. This was particularly relevant as the painting would capture the moments following Jesus’ announcement that he would be betrayed by one of the Twelve. For Judas, legend has it that da Vinci sought a model whose face bore the marks of contempt, malevolence, violence and trickery. He found it at a local jail and had the man brought to his studio. Upon the completion of “Judas,” da Vinci showed his work to the man, who, having remained reserved and stoic throughout, suddenly fell to his knees and wept. He asked the artist if he remembered him. The artist regarded the man thoughtfully and replied that he didn’t. As the man continued to weep he asked God to forgive him for the...

  Isaiah 49:1–7; Psalm 71:1–14; 1 Corinthians 1:18–31; John 12:20–36 Holy Week draws us into the mystery of a God who redeems through what looks like loss. It holds together sorrow and hope, rejection and glory, silence and promise. What appears fragile to the world becomes the very place where God’s saving power is revealed. As we move toward the cross, we are invited to see beyond the surface but to discern how grace is working even in suffering. In Isaiah 49, the servant speaks with both confidence and weariness. Called and formed by God from the womb (v.1), His life carries divine intention. Yet, he also voices a painful tension, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all” (v.4). Holy Week allows us to sit with that honesty. There are moments when obedience feels unnoticed, when faithfulness appears unfruitful. Yet the servant entrusts the outcome to God. “What is due me is in the Lord’s hand.” The Father responds by widening the mission that is, salva...

  Illumination from the Vaux Passional England, ca. 1503–4. Peniarth MS 482D, fol. 15v, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. John 12:1-11 Daily Office The intimate scene of the dinner in Bethany, whether it was a thanksgiving feast for the raising of Lazarus or just spontaneous hospitality by these three great friends of Jesus: Martha, Mary and their brother, occurs during a series of events with cosmic proportions.  Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’  (He said this...

  Daily Office Philippians 2:5-11 Growing up, my family attended church services twice, and occasionally even three times each Sunday. My dad had a few points in his parish and the main two, St. John’s Pincher Creek, and St. Aidan’s and St. Chad’s Cowley, we attended every Sunday. There were certain times of year when the two congregations would come together. Palm Sunday was always celebrated in Cowley. The Cowley church was a creaky old place with really uncomfortable pews, flies literally coming out of the woodwork, an extremely worn out organ, and a very small congregation. It was always exciting to see it full on Palm Sunday. Everyone seated on the aisle got a large dried palm leaf to wave, and one lucky kid got to ride in on a hobby horse. It was the most perfect place to celebrate Palm Sunday, when you really think about it. Jesus is always entering in the most humble ways. At Christmas, in a stable, then today, on a donkey. The church in tiny little Cowley is certainly noth...

Juneau Tram   Ezekiel 37:21b-28; Psalm 121; and John 11:45-57 The end is in sight! There is still more to do until we reach the destination. We are on the precipice of Holy Week, when our eyes turn to Jesus entering Jerusalem in a royal procession and the days before Passover. Passover, when Jesus broke bread and drank wine with the disciples and showed us the magnitude of his love for us in his desire to bring us closer to God. We are on 39th day of Lent. Has our reading of scripture, prayer, almsgiving and fasting (maybe not so much) prepared our hearts to be ready for God’s call to us.   During this Lent, I have felt the invitation to be closer to God. The invitation is both challenging in what I must do to be ready and how it will feel when I reach my destination.  Ezekiel’s reading reminds me of a family reunion in that I just need to show up, the work has been done for me. God has brought us back into the land where he reigns. Ezekiel 37: 23 “I will save them from a...

  The hoodoos at Writing On Stone—a place full of significance and meaning to  the Blackfoot, and a reminder of the call to national repentance and repair Exodus 9:13-35; Psalm 18:1-7;  John 10:31-42 Today’s reading starts with the seventh plague—hailstorms of epic proportions—and I can imagine things in Egypt had to be Very Not Good. I grew up in rural southern Manitoba, and one of the things I miss the most are the epic summer thunderstorms. Nothing compares to sneaking out as a teen at 2 am to lay in a field and watch the sky open up with torrents of rain, alight with sheets of lightning punctuated with loud peels of thunder. Bliss. The farmers, on the other hand, weren't always quite as ecstatic, and I’ve never heard one pray for hail. It’s devastating when crops are ruined by hail, and given this is the seventh devastating event Egypt has seen, you have to wonder why this Pharaoh is being so stubborn. There’s a joke among millennials floating around on the internet, ...

  Gen 17:3-9; Ps 105:1-9; Jn 8:51-59 As for me  …   God begins with these three words in Genesis to reveal his plans to Abraham. In his kingdom on earth, he does not make Abraham ruler or servant, but co-creator with God. It is a two-sided agreement, emphasized when God concludes with  As for you …  Seek the Lord and his strength;     seek his presence continually. The first half of Psalm 105 calls on God’s followers to fulfill their side of his covenant with Abraham and his descendants: give thanks, teach His ways, praise the Lord and glory in His name. The second half of the psalm transitions to God's side of the promise: O offspring of his servant Abraham,     children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the Lord our God;     his judgements are in all the earth. He is mindful of his covenant for ever,     of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations In both readings from the Hebrew Bible we have this give and ...

  Is 7:10-14; Ps 40:5-10  or 45; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38  Sometimes I get up and feel energized and feel good about my life. I also have those days when I don’t want to get out of bed. We all have good days and bad days. We will always have those moments when we feel hopeless, and I’m trying to turn to God in those moments.​Sometimes it feels silly asking him to help us solve our little problems. Other times we don’t ask God because we are ashamed of what we have done that has led us up to that point. But God promises to always love us. ​ In grade 7, I switched to a different school. It’s a small school, where everyone knows everyone and has since kindergarten. I didn’t know anyone there. The first year was really rough. I didn’t have any friends, and I really struggled to find my place, I felt like an outsider. ​That summer I went to a Bible camp, we had chapel twice a day, and we shared stories and experiences of when we felt like we had a real connection with God. I realiz...

  Numbers 21: 4-9; Psalm 102: 1-2, 15-22; John 8: 21-30  Lent is a time for us to reflect on ourselves and our actions, looking toward the Lord for forgiveness for our sins and prayers for our healing. The readings from Numbers 21, Psalm 102, and John 8, all weave in the themes of forgiveness and repentance. Numbers 21:4-9 tells the story of the Israelites denouncing God in times of hardship, falling victim to impatience. God sends poisionous snake upon them as a punishment for their sins, but does not abandon them to suffering. When they plead with Moses and pray to God for forgiveness for their sins and healing, they are forgiven and sent an image of a snake on a pole for healing. The people of Israel are given another chance.  God’s willingness to forgive is seen throughout Bible stories, sharing his mercy and patience with us. In this story of the Old Testament, the Israelites are forgiven of their sins as they look toward the bronze serpent made by Moses as directed ...

  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...