Tag: #asimplelent

  • Belong

    Belong

    Belong (Day 5 of A Simple Lent) Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth is one of my favorite pieces of Scripture. It is hasty and imperfect. It is often obnoxious, and divorced from its context, can sound pretty tough. But given who he is talking to, it makes a bunch of sense. When…

  • As We Are One

    As We Are One

    As We Are One (Day 4 of A Simple Lent) When Jesus describes unity of relationship, it gets a little complicated. Reading John, one can get tied up in knots around who is “in” whom. And yet the image is quite captivating. The presence of you within me and me within you. This isn’t the language…

  • Of the World

    Of the World

    Of the World (Day 3 of A Simple Lent) “They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” One of the temptations for the Christian is to develop an “Us vs. Them” mindset. We have seen this during those fights over so-called religious freedom. We see this when we…

  • Yet

    Yet

    Yet (Day 2 of A Simple Lent) “yet I will rejoice in the LORD” One of the challenges of life is that we need to take it seriously and at the same time not be overwhelmed with depression. Much of my youth was spent reading Kurt Vonnegut novels. I would read them so quickly that…

  • Ashes

    Ashes

    Ashes (Day 1 of A Simple Lent) Today isn’t a normal day. I wake up early, before the sun rises. I get dressed with extra layers and I prepare to share a public invitation. An invite to the anti-party. No loud music or dancing. The food is meeger. It isn’t an invite ordinarily welcomed. I…