Thursday March 31, 2011

Readings:  Jeremiah 10: 11-24; Romans 5: 12-21; John 8:21-32
“ If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
 
When Jesus stood before Pilate and told him that His Kingdom was not of this world, but of truth, Pilate replied cynically, “What is truth?”  Well, at least I’ve always ‘heard’ his reply as cynical.  But then maybe I am reading something into his question that isn’t really there.  I know I have also asked that question many times, not with cynicism, but with a searching heart.  What is truth?  How will I know it?  How will it set me free? What will it set me free from?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines truth as that which is absolute reality. Other words that are used here are constant, reliable, accurate, precise. God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom where there is only truth. Jesus came to testify to that reality by living in harmony with it…and showing us the way to free ourselves from all worldly unreliable illusions…even death.

I have come to see truth as the natural laws, principles and purposes of Creation, as God intended from the beginning.  To be a disciple of Christ and to live in accordance with Truth and Reality is simply to live in harmony with these natural and divine Laws. Sounds fairly simple. Yet, if I am to do that I must actually know the truth, not just intellectually but it must be a faith-filled conviction in my heart and soul that does not falter and allow me to fall back on habitual patterns of living to which I ( and my ancestors) have been conditioned for millenium. 

For example ,I do believe that God is Love and that the power of God is the power of Love.There is no other power that can stand or prevail against it. Love never fails.  A natural and divine Law.  But I do not yet fully know it. I attempt to break that Law  at least once in most every day through deeply rooted worldly habits of impatience, frustration, keeping a record of someone’s ‘wrong’ , a thoughtless rude comment…the list goes on.  

But as revivalist Vance Havner once said,  “We do not really break the Laws of God, we only break ourselves against them.” By attempts to break these laws I only break down the reality of my own self-identity as well as the harmony of human interrelatedness.

I am still enslaved to “sin” – wrong thinking, illusions of the mind that are not  reliable, not accurate, not  constant…and not in harmony with God’s Kingdom here in earth as it is in the Heavens. But that’s okay, because Love always hopes and Love always perseveres . And as I persevere and experience moments or even days of true freedom, all life becomes more meaningful and purposeful in the fullest and deepest sense.

What habits of living and thinking are limiting your freedom this Lent?  What worldly illusions of the mind do you find yourself  sometimes trusting more than God’s Truth?
What boundless joys and visions do you see as you persevere and experience moments of true freedom?

Lord, strengthen my wings of faith that I may soar beyond ‘human logic’ , dispelling worldly illusions and trusting only in Your Reality. May your Kingdom come and your will be done – in me and through me.  Amen.


(Phyllis Pomerleau)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  (Romans 5:1-5)
 
This past fall, during a very difficult time in my personal life, I purchased three, small hand painted blocks.  One of them says, "Forgive", one says, "Joy", and the other says, "Love".  When I got home, I placed the blocks in that exact order on my bedroom window sill.  As I reflect on the meaning of these three powerful words daily, I have also come to realize that these three blocks could really be placed in any order, as they fit together hand-in-hand.
 
During this Lenten Season, reach out your hand and ask for and receive forgiveness.  Find the joy in that strength and let strength enrich your love for God in your daily life.
 
(HJC)
 

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Today I celebrate my 64TH birthday! In six plus decades, one would think I had by now enough life experiences to be considered wise in the ways of this world. Coupled with that is the fact I was baptized DANIEL JEREMIAH MORAN.(Blessed with the names of two prophets of the Bible, I must have a direct connection to God and therefore, guaranteed salvation.THANKS Mom and Dad.) 

Enter the great and equalizing condition known as the "human factor." Being human, I have made and will continue to make, my fair share of mistakes/errors/sins if you will. To err is human I've heard said,but I can't envision the good Lord ever asking me ,"Why must you be sooooo human?" 

He is an understanding God who is compassionate and forgiving as evidenced in today's Psalm 78:1-39.Even when we feel unable to forgive ourselves, He forgives us (1 John 8:1).

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 implies there is a season/time for every purpose under heaven. Our Lenten season continues to afford us opportunities to reflect ,reconcile,repent,and redirect our focus for our days in this life. We need not go it alone. Striking a partnership with God I have come to learn makes one's journey more manageable. All one needs to seal the deal is ask. He will answer (John 7:37-52)!

I am lead to believe that in making that re-commitment to Him heightened by the spirit of Lent one can move further to eternal reward (Matthew 5:1-12).

In reflection and meditation this season remember to consider NOT how much further one has to go, but how far one has already come whatever their state in this life may be.

(Dan Moran) 

Monday, March 28, 2011

Remembering Miracles.  

I walked numbly into the Rite Aid and bought a composition notebook and a pen.  And then I stepped across the street and sat down in the coffee shop window.  No eye contact, because my face was red and swollen.  That is what happens when you wake up crying.  

Sometimes, and more than I like to admit, my heart feels like a blackhole.  If I think about it too much, the emptiness will consume me.  I sat down and wrote some very horrible words to God, because where was He?  Where was this Jesus?  Where was this Father?  Where was this Spirit?  “Has his steadfast love ceased for ever?  Are his promises at an end for all time?”1  Sometimes in our lives, Jesus says to us, “‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going... You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’”2 To be honest, I’m not sure why this is the way it is, but I have a feeling it has something to do with Faith.

There is a song, “Come Thou Fount.”3  Most churchgoers know it (thank goodness) and there is one line in the song that says, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I'm come.”  I looked up the definition of Ebenezer.  The word is Hebrew, and it means “Stone of the help.”  In the book of Samuel, God helped the armies of Israelites, and after their battles they found a huge stone and put it on its side, so that it would be a “a memorial established in remembrance of what God had done for His people.”4  Every time they passed the stone, the Israelites would remember how God helped them.  

At that coffee shop, God gave me a help.  I am not sure why or why at that moment, but I think of that one scripture that says “God will not give you more than you can handle,”5 and it makes me think that maybe the coffee shop was my breaking point.  God came to intervene just it time.  The help I received was a vision for my life: me surrounded by hundreds of children, and a clear knowing that I was created to love these children.  I didn’t hear God exactly, but I know that what he said to me was “Do not give up on life.  These children need your love.”  The numbness did not go away, but I had something to look to.  I could keep going.

And now, when I have my bleak moments, I make a list.  A list of my Ebenezers, those moments in life when I knew God was present, when I knew He cared, when We won a battle against the darkness.  And that coffee shop moment is on the list.  

Without this list, we cannot be a Faithful people.  We are humans, and we learn Trust by past experiences.  There is a reason why David’s cries of desperation and biggest heartbreaks are followed by his list of God’s miracles.  

“I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
   I will remember your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all your work,
   and muse on your mighty deeds.”6

“You brought a vine out of Egypt;
   you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
   it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
   the mighty cedars with its branches;”7

In our confusion, in our doubts, and in the desert of Lent, let’s make a list of God’s miracles.  Because, we are a people who belong to God, and life itself is a miracle.  When we pass by our Ebenezers, let’s practice the discipline of remembrance, and also of celebration.  Our God is mighty indeed, and capable of the biggest miracles.  And of course, there is the biggest miracle of all: “‘Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.’”8

We are God’s forgiven people.  I will raise that Ebenezer.  And here is my last thought (at least today) on surviving life’s darkest moments: It's Friday,but Sunday's coming. (click here)

Praise and Thanksgiving.

Becky Grinstead

¹ Psalm 77:8

² John 7: 33-34

³ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1bSlS6OWTs&feature=related

⁴ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer 

⁵ 1 Corinthians 10:13  Is depression a temptation?  

⁶ Psalm 77: 11-12

⁷ Psalm 80: 8-11

⁸ Romans 4:7-8

Sunday, September 27, 2011

              

Mark 5:14 – The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country.

I can imagine what they were telling.  Hey did you hear what happened to us.  All our swine were driven into the lake and drowned.  This stranger came in a boat and was talking to the weirdo who lives in the cemetery.  The stranger then made all these demons come out of the guy and go into our swine.  Now our swine are gone.  

What are we going to do for work? How are we going to earn a living?

We are not told if there was anyone else around.  How close were the swineherds to Jesus and the man?  Did they see Jesus arrive in the boat?  Did they see the confrontation between the Demon Legion and Jesus?  It wasn’t until after they ran to the village that people came to see Jesus.  They found Him with the man who now was sitting relaxed and appeared very normal.  You would think that they would all have been very glad not to have to worry about that crazy man in the cemetery.  Instead they were afraid and begged Jesus to leave.  

Jesus left, but not before commissioning another Disciple.  The now-clean man asked to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go tell others how much the Lord had done for him, and how much mercy he had shown him.

Those instructions don’t sound all that hard.  Go tell others how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.  Now shouldn’t we do likewise, and use words when necessary.

(Jeff Heath)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

“And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds”  Jn 7:12

Have you ever noticed how recognizable Jesus’ image is in art, even though it never looks the same?  It doesn’t matter who the artist is, what culture they are from, or how they envision Jesus; you always know who it is meant to be.  Yet Jesus went to this festival and no one recognized him.  The news about him had spread by word of mouth.  Even the Jews who were looking for him did not seem to know what he looked like, so he could arrive in secret.  What is that like for someone as controversial as Jesus? 

Well, “there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds.”  The RSV says people were “muttering,” which seems like a good word since not all the comments were negative.  Some said he was a good man; they were just afraid to say it out loud.  And all the while, Jesus could see and hear this for himself.  I imagine he must have overheard those who feared the impact he would have – those who were not happy that he was challenging the authorities.  Some probably complained about his outrageous behavior.  No doubt he heard things about himself that weren’t true.  He must have also heard the comments of those who were finally inspired to hope that a change would come.  How courageous were those folks?  Did they take risks and share their thoughts with “mixed” crowds, or only with those who they knew to be like-minded? 

What risks do we take when we share our views about Jesus?  It’s hard for me to know what to say when I am among people who are complaining about him.  Surely, most people think the historical Jesus was a good guy – but what about the church, “the body of Christ,” the people who now represent him in the world?  Our reputation is a lot more controversial.  What are the crowds saying about us?  Do you hear muttering and complaining about beliefs and behaviors that you don’t identify with? Do your interactions with others sometimes cause you to misrepresent the Jesus you are trying to follow?  Unfortunately, unlike Jesus, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  We’re a motley crew, but we cannot be timid when it comes to telling others about the church’s strengths just because we are aware of our own weaknesses.  Despite our human flaws there is goodness among us because God is among us.  As imperfect as we may be, we have to keep bringing this goodness to light so others will also see Jesus and his church – with all its cracked pots - as a source of inspiration and hope.   

(sb)

Friday, March 25, 2011

Ps 95, 73, Jer. 5:1-9; Rom.2:25-3:18; John 5:30-47
 
²⁸For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. ²⁹Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God. (Rom. 2:28-29)

To me, today's New Testament readings are a reminder that our inward observance of Lent is more important than our outward observance.  We can give up something as an outward sign, but what is in our heart is what is most important.    In his letter to the Romans, Paul is addressing the question of whether Gentiles who wish to join their faith community should be forced to be circumcised.  Paul is suggesting that we should be seeking God's praise not human praise.  In John's gospel, Jesus has just been criticised for breaking the Sabbath by curing a man who cannot walk.  In verse 31, Jesus says  ‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true."  He points out that he is here to do His Father's will not His own.  At the end of this reading Jesus seems to be lamenting the fact that, even with all the signs that he has given them and all of the testimony in scripture that points to him, they still refuse to come to him. 

I gave up giving up stuff for Lent a long time ago.  It seemed useless since it was rarely had any spiritual effect.  Often times, as it got closer to Easter, I was looking forward to enjoying what I had given up almost as much as the Easter experience.  Let us pray that we focus on the inward rather than the outward observance of Lent this year.

(Dick Delorme) 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Jer 4:9-10, 19-28, Rom 2:12-24, John 5:19-29

Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and learn
Children may not obey, but children will listen
Children will look to you for which way to turn
And learn what to be
Careful before you say "Listen to me"
Children will listen – 

                 Stephen Sondheim “Into the Woods”

I’ve always seen the John passage today from two perspectives.  The first, and most obvious, is the deep connection between God, the father and Jesus, the son.  “The son can do nothing on his own but only what he sees the father doing; for whatever the father does, the son does likewise.”  They move together in the dance of life on earth, completely in sync.  Even as Jesus is battling what it is like to be completely human as well as completely God, his focus is steadfast; he wants to emulate the love of God here on earth. So, he must do what the father does.  Trinitarian theology states that Jesus cannot be separated from the father nor the father from the son.  

But, a second lesson is also evident in this father son imagery.  In some ways the father/son, mother/son, parent/teacher etc. relationship is not so far from the one described above.  The child watches the adult to learn, to replicate, and hopefully to become even better.  Jesus says, “The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.”  Isn’t that what we want for the children in our lives? To be even greater than we are.  I buy into the imagery of father and son in the trinity because it so true to the human relationship we have with the children we love.  We do our best to love and care for and are teachers to a new little person and we hope and pray that we will get it right.  The Sondheim above serves as a gentle reminder of the importance of role models. Children will listen and copy and see all that we are doing. Ideally our actions would be as connected with God’s will as Jesus and the father are connected.  So that everything the children see is really a reflection of God’s actions in the world.  An impossible feat I know, but we will with God’s help. 

(Jill Williams)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Readings: Psalm 72; Jer. 3:6-18; Romans 1:28-2:11; John 5:1-18

“Give the King your justice, O God…[that] the little hills bring righteousness… For he shall deliver the poor… and the oppressed who have no helper.” –Psalm 72

“The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man… to put me in the pool [to be healed]… Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk…  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” --        John: 5:1-18

I am reminded daily about “rebels,” whom I prefer to call “freedom fighters,” who are demanding increased civil rights in countries across the mid-East. They camp in city squares, wage war in the desert, and march in neighborhood streets in the name of greater employment, increased representation in their governments, and democratic reform. 

May God move hardened, absolute monarchs and hopeful new leaders to justice and righteousness so that they shall deliver the poor and the oppressed, who have no helper. Let God be with the freedom fighters who disobey their nations’ letter of the law but fulfill the humanitarian spirit of the law on behalf of social and economic justice.  

Their work is God’s work:  Rise, take up your cause, and protest with the promise that the arid mountains may bring prosperity to the people, and the barren little hills may bring them righteousness.

(Deborah Johansen Harris)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Two sins have my people committed: they have forsaken me, a spring of living water and they have hewn out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah: 2:13

Forsaken me, a living spring, and hewn out cisterns. Jeremiah is using action verbs with HD quality visual impact. As for the nouns, we can all imagine a living spring- the image brings to mind a sense of peace and natural wonder, a cistern, from the Greek, was a lime plastered basket to catch rain water. The words and images are very powerful.

Reflecting on the images of water, especially the juxtaposition of a living spring and a cracked rain water cistern brought me back to the Jersey Shore in the late 1970’s. At the time, environmental visionary’s succeeded in limiting the development of the Pine Barrens- a huge track of land beneath which flows a magnificent aquifer. Thirty miles due east sits the legendary Jersey Shore- magnificent as well, but then “cracked”- the shore was littered with medical waste, most notably syringes and broken hypodermics, courtesy of illegal ocean dumping. Where would you go to spend a quiet summer day? The modern day example mirrors the crystal clear choice Jeremiah is hammering home.

So…okay. We get it. No one wants to own a cracked cistern or go to a polluted beach. That leaves the question: how do we travel to the Pines, to the living and grace filled waters of a relationship with God? There are, in fact many travel options, check Google maps and/or attend worship at St Francis every week to discover them.

I can share a simple travel plan (a stay-cation) that I recently rediscovered- the Breath Prayer. You breathe in, you breathe out. Choose covenant words to let you be prayerful and mindful in that simple body process. A priest I recently met, who has worked with contemplative prayer, offers this: acceptance (in breath), surrender (out breath). Acceptance, surrender. Acceptance, surrender. Acceptance, surrender. Surely this simple practice is a passport to a holy place of living waters- to a deeper relationship with God.

(Gail Bourque)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Feast of Thomas Cranmer (Luke 2:25-35)

 

Two things stand out to me in these readings, one being the Luke passage. How times and cultures change.It was a day's journey before anyone decided to check on Jesus' whereabouts. Large extended families were walking together, headed home after the festival in Jerusalem--he's probably with some of them maybe even with friends. He's 12 after all:  don't boys have lots of ideas to talk about at that age?

Would I have waited  whole day before checking around? 

 

When my sons were a little older than that we used to celebrate "Patriots' Day" in April by walking with other townspeople through the woods from Carlisle into Concord and down the wide hill to the "Old North Bridge". It certainly didnt take days but hours and I don't think we were ever really out of sight of them even though they may have been with school chums. That was about 40 years ago. How much more things have changed since then. We would probably give them cell phones now and keep in close contact.

 

Of course we read later in this Luke passage that Jesus had something else in mind than walking with his earthly parents.

 

Then there was Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was a martyr in 1556. Does one obey the Monarch as he believed he should since in Romans 13 it says "the powers that be are ordained of God." It was apparently easy for Cranmer to accept that the king was sent by God's providence while he ordered things Cranmer thought were good. So to obey the King was to obey God With Edward on the throne Cranmer had translated the worship into English but when Mary came to the throne she commanded him to "return to the Roman obedience" He struggled with this until he finally wrote a letter of submission to the Pope and Roman Catholic Doctrine. Mary didn't believe his sincerity and ordered him burned. At the end he repudiated his letter and said he died a Protestant

 

Standing up for what we believe may not be that severe but sometimes its easier to walk away from a conversation overheard between strangers, for instance who criticize our government or our God. Should we say---"excuse me but--" and tell them what we believe to be right or do we grit our teeth and walk away. I would probably walk away and ask God to forgive me for not standing up for Him.

 

Lord, grant that we can be your servants and honor you in what ever we do and say. Amen

 

(BJH)

Meditation for Sunday, March 20

Psalms 24, 29,8,84; Jeremiah 1:1-10; Corinthians 3:11-23: Mark 3:31-4:9

 

"...The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.......

...The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice...

...The voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor...

...The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees...

...The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire...

...The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness....

...The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare..."

 

 

How often do we ask, whether and how God speaks to us?  Or do we find ourselves speaking to Him and expecting Him to listen: Praying, seeking, asking, petitioning. When He speaks to us, do we fail to listen, turn away, ignore?  Do we have enough space in our consciousness to hear the "still small voice", or "the wind", or the call from God to move forward on the path He requests of us?

 

I have always been moved by the stories of listening to His voice: as when Isaiah says "send me", when Moses submits after first denying his abilities to lead the chosen out of Egypt; when Mary accepts her blessed calling without hesitation; when the fishermen put down their nets to follow Jesus. Then there was Jonah, the "refusnik" and Zechariah who doubts the voice and loses his as a result. The one I have always loved the most is in the opening verses of the Book of Jeremiah where he tells of his encounter with the Lord where He tells Jeremiah "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah says, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." But the Lord says, "whatever I command you shall speak...be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.." and reaches forward and gently touches his mouth saying, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth".

 

May we all, this day, listen to His voice, in spite of our youth, or age, or lack of talent, or busyness, or inclination to ignore it.

 

Kathleen

Saturday, March 19, 2011

What is it all about for me in the Lenten Season?  I ponder this question as I sit with the daily reading for today.  Is it about putting the words of God in my soul and “writing” them on my heart?  I think so – but that is a daunting proposition for someone such as me. Here in the twenty-first century our minds are busy with words, processing up to 60,000 thoughts in an average day. It’s easy for me to get desensitized and complacent, and to give the superficial answer when circumstance is asking me to live out my faith.  Yes - I have all the pat answers that mark me as a devout follower, and I can say the prayers and sing the songs of my faith from memory – just as our ancestors did.  However, I’m thinking that the words I have captured in memory are not the same animal as those written on the heart. Memory implies a past tense, but the words etched in your heart carry feeling and life in the moment.  They feel alive and very real.

The take-away for me in all of this is that I need to stay where it’s real during this Lenten Time, to live more from my heart than the memory of what my heart knows. To pay attention to the present moment, to stay open to the power for change that exists there. By the grace of God I can embrace whatever that reality may hold in each scary wonderful moment in my life.

In this Lenten Season, I pray that you may experience the reality of God’s word as well.  I pray that everyday moments become infused with the divine, and that you stay blessed in all that you are and do.

(Nancy Rogers)

Friday, March 18, 2011

It’s funny how my mind plays tricks.  In today’s readings, Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer, made a strong impression, but my mind tricked me to recalling this as part of today’s reading from Hebrews 4:11-16, not as verse 16 of today’s Deuteronomy 10:12-22.  Seems to me that Paul often goes on and on about circumcision; I suppose in his world it was kind of like tattoos in ours.  You can be tattooed, but you can hide it; so that, unless you chose to let it show, the people you meet in daily life may never know.   But, tattooed on the heart: in situations where your heart can not be hidden, must be shown, to have it be clearly marked by God’s handiwork.  Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to meet people who you just know will pass that inspection?  I’m not sure if I would.

Conventional circumcision of infant boys in our culture seems an uncomfortable experience … tough to imagine the pain as an adult.  I would guess that in our culture real “circumcision on the heart” is for many an adult choice, an adult experience… Tough to imagine what would draw one to it?  Tough to imagine where to find the strength to see it through?   What IS the pain of being circumcised on the heart?  Why does it seem to hurt?  What is the gain?

Today’s readings start with Psalm 95, with the comfortable and lovely verses of the Venite: “Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation!”; flowing on to the beautiful request: “O that today you would listen to his voice”.   What called to me in today’s readings, though, were the verses that come next:

⁸   Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
   as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
⁹ when your ancestors tested me,
   and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation
   and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
   and they do not regard my ways.’
¹¹ Therefore in my anger I swore,
   ‘They shall not enter my rest.’

Going through those 40 years, is that what it took to tattoo a “circumcision of the heart” on our stubborn Hebrew spiritual ancestors?  These 40 days, this Lent, is there anything God’s voice is calling me to do; to go through, so that I am more open to the hand drawing the tattoo he longs to have seen on my heart?

Will Ames