A Poem, A Proverb, A Painting, A Prayer: A Lenten Devotional-- Day 3: Friday after Ash Wednesday

A Poem, A Proverb, A Painting, A Prayer: A Lenten Journey
Day 3: Friday after Ash Wednesday
Today’s Theme: Keeping a Holy Lent


Poem: For Lent, 1966
It is my Lent to break my Lent,
    To eat when I would fast,
To know when slender strength is spent,
    Take shelter from the blast
When I would run with wind and rain,
    To sleep when I would watch.
It is my lint to smile at pain
    But not ignore its touch.

It is my Lent to listen well
    When I would be alone,
To talk when I would rather dwell
    In silence turn from none
Who call on me to try to see
    That what is truly meant
Is not my choice. If Christ's I'd be
    It's thus I'll keep my Lent.
---------- Madeleine L’Engle (1918-2007), poet, novelist, and Episcopalian, from Uncollected Poems


Proverb:
“The Christian does not think that God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because he loves us.”
--------- C. S. Lewis, writer, teacher, and convert to Anglicanism


Painting: The Fight Between Carnival and Lent, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559

 

Prayer:

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust.
You are the God of my salvation,
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
In you I hope all the day long.
O my God, in you I trust.
Remember, Lord, your compassion and love,
for they are from everlasting.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in you I trust.

--------- from the Church of England’s Daily Prayer page

A Poem, A Proverb, A Painting, A Prayer: A Lenten Devotional-- Day 2: Thursday after Ash Wednesday

A Poem, A Proverb, A Painting, A Prayer: 

A Lenten Journey
Day 2: Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Today's Theme: Repentance



Poem: Two Before the Altar
“There is a crack in everything;
That’s how the light gets in.”—Leonard Cohen

The upright Pharisee, each hair in place, not a
Fringe on his tasseled loafers askew, stood
Before God’s altar and prayed to himself
Congratulations for his impeccable soul.
He knew what others thought of him.
His righteousness shone from his shoulders
Like epaulets- so certain was he of his goodness.
He checked the lock on the vault of his heart,
And nodded, satisfied. Nothing
In, nothing out, undisturbed. Shrugging deeper
Into the mantle of his own esteem,
Duty satisfied, he knew he was blessed.
Nothing had changed.

On trembling legs the tax-collector climbed the steps, aware
Of the eyes that turned his way, the stink of collusion
That clung to his fine clothes. He could still turn away,
But his heart urged him forward. No one
Expected to see him here in God’s courts,
And some sneered as he passed.
He knew what others thought of him.
Eyes downcast, he made himself small,
And beat his breast,
Pouring out his sins until his soul
Was an empty bowl, so thirsty was he for God’s mercy.
A spark of forgiveness lit the tinder
Of his heart. Cheeks wet, he resolved to turn.
In the new fire of grace and gratitude he was reclaimed.
Everything had changed.
---------- Leslie Barnes Scoopmire, 2022, inspired by Luke 18:9-14


Proverb:
“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives."
----------- Luke 15:7


Painting: The Prayer of the Publican and the Pharisee, Icon, Ivanka Demchuk, Ukraine

    
Prayer: A Prayer of Repentance
God of Grace and God of Hope,
we lift our hearts to You with gratitude.
Help us to remember that regret
is not the same as repentance,
that we may accept the consequences of our actions fully
and be led to true renewal and faithfulness.
Blessed Jesus, help us to honor forgiveness
and those who are brave enough to forgive
as an act of resistance to evil
and an act of empowerment of the soul,
as well as a gift we give to ourselves
to reclaim our lives as your children.
Spirit of the Living God,
gather within your embrace
all those who mourn and weep and worry this day,
especially those we now name.
Amen.
--------Leslie Barnes Scoopmire

A Poem, A Proverb, A Painting, A Prayer: A Lenten Devotional-- Day 1: Ash Wednesday

A Poem, A Proverb, A Painting, A Prayer: 

A Lenten Journey
Day 1: Ash Wednesday
Today's Theme: Being Beloved Dust



Poem: Ash Wednesday, Unshowered
My hair’s pulled back to disguise the grime,
though maybe it’s well that I’m unclean,
since from dust you came, to dust you will return,
the priest recites, smearing my forehead.
Once, twice, and I’m marked, a lintel in plague years.
I’m invited to kneel and read the fifty-first Psalm,
recalling how David watched Bathsheba bathe.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Merciful one, save me from slight repentance.
I pierced the center of the white orchid, Lord,
and it was mud, blood’s cry, my body’s blighted tender.
---------- Anya Krugovoy Silver (1968-2018), from Image Journal


Proverb:
“It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of his presence.”

----—C. S. Lewis, Christian apologist and convert


Painting: Ash Wednesday, by Julian Falat, 1881
 

     

Prayer:
God of salvation’s joy,
we gather to celebrate and revere you.
We come, realising that we are broken.
Forgive and re-create us.

God of unfailing love,
we gather to worship and honour you.
We come, and because of your compassion,
forgive and renew us.

God of new beginnings,
we gather to praise and thank you.
We come, and through your grace and mercy,
forgive and restore us,
so that with clean hearts we may truly worship you.
Amen.
-----------Joan Stott, Australian, based on Psalm 51:1-17, from her blog “The Timeless Psalms.”