2022 Lenten Devotional by Princeton Theological Seminary

A DEVOTIONAL FOR THE 2022 LENTEN SEASON

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

About the Theme MICHAEL CUPPETT

The Lenten season takes us along a path that is paved with deep spiritual meaning. With a pinch of luck and the grace of God, we will be brought along this journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday by reflecting on the words written by nearly 50 community members. Our spiritual journey is located in both the ordinary and the sublime: gardens, grocery stores, majestic sanctuaries, and everything in between. Alongside the narrative stories of the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels, we will wander into these special places of spirituality and faith, day by day, as we seek to build a rich, embodied life together.

Preface

REV. JAN AMMON Dear reader, After a year of pandemic living, many of us began to yearn for familiar places. We longed for our spiritual and relational homes. This yearning has shaped the theme for our 2022 Lenten Devotional, which is the importance of places in our spiritual lives. We are most grateful for the students, family members, administrators, faculty, trustees, and staff members who have shared their written reflections, poetry, spiritual practices, and artwork this year. I am deeply grateful for Michael Cuppett who has been the coordinator for our 2022 Lenten Devotional. I am deeply grateful for Michael’s creative spirit, wonderful gifts, and faithful work that have woven this book together. I am also

Preface

deeply grateful for the gifts of our co-coordinator, Hanna Watson, and content editor, Brooke Foster. Additional words of appreciation go to the Communications/External Relations and IT offices who have worked with us to make our Devotional available in print and electronically. As you travel this Lenten journey, we invite you to keep your Bible close in hand. You will find a Scripture passage for each day that is to be read with the devotion. Grace and peace as you journey through this Lenten season.

Devotion Contributors Rev. Janice Ammon

Dr. Melissa D. Haupt

Brooke Matejka

Ruth V. Amwe

Rev. Daniel Heath

Hayley Moe

Jermy Arnold

Jordan Heath

Sarah Yang Mumma

Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes

Eli Henry

Ethan Park

Lauren Hoak

Rev. Lenmarie Pascall

Dr. Angela R. Hooks

Gabrielle Pesce

Dr. Karen JacksonWeaver

Dr. Hanna Reichel

Maddy Bishop Nicole Busacca

Rev. Todd Jones

Kamaria ByrdMcAllister

Zainab Kajang

Dr. Eric D. Barretto Emma Lietz Bilecki

Thais Carter Michael Cuppett

Linda Kwak Kelsey Lambright

Virginia Dearborn

Rev. Dr. David Latimore

Luke Donner

Aubrey Lewis

Nikki Dukes

Wing Yin Li

Jessica Figueroa

Wyatt Linde

Brendan Finch

Kelsey Lucido Gardner

Kurt A. Gabbard Reese Grosfeld

Emanuel Márquez

Rev. Joanne Rodríguez Rev. Abigail Visco Rusert Elizabeth Steel Rev. Dr. Anne Stewart Emily D. Sutphin Dr. Martin Tel Stephen Di Trolio Emily Campbell Wood Emily “Z” Zinsitz

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Call of Abram MARCH 2

•

GENESIS 12:1-9

I encountered God on the sidewalk. I remember vividly the first moment I set foot on the PTS campus when I was a new student beginning the summer Hebrew class. As I stood on the sidewalk in front of Brown Hall on that warm June evening, the campus was empty. Everything about the landscape was unfamiliar, and I was not exactly sure what I had gotten myself into. I had left behind the well-worn path of expectation to step into the unknown. Yet I felt the peace of God’s presence in this place. And that was enough to begin the journey. As Abram set out on the journey to which God had called him, he faced an unknown future that would take him many unexpected places, far from home. This journey was not linear, but happened in steps and stages, as do the journeys of so many of us. We, like Abram, can be confident of God’s faithful presence beside us at every stage. As we begin this Lenten journey, may we encounter God in unexpected places and be attentive to the movement of God’s Spirit, guiding us toward the promise of a future filled with hope.

Rev. Dr. Anne Stewart Vice President for External Relations

The First Week in Lent

Pharoah Pursues Israel MARCH 3

•

EXODUS 14:5-14

As seminarians, can we not readily identify with the Israelites who feel stumped and despaired after being led out of Egypt only to learn that the Pharaoh and his army are now pursuing them? Many of us are led to this seminary, thinking that this place will be glorious and our life will only get better from now on, just to find out that we seem to be in no better a situation. Constantly chased by our readings and assignments, we, like the Israelites, often become frightened and wonder why we were brought here. While it is natural and rightful to panic and cry for help in difficult situations, we are reminded not to lose sight of our values and vision. When the Israelites express their wish to go back to Egypt, fear has caused them to lose sight of God’s liberating power and their identity in God as free and beloved people. Yet Moses’ encouragement speaks to the people then and to us today, “Do not be afraid, stand firm…The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still” (Exod. 14:13-14). Know that it is God who turns the Pharaoh’s heart to pursue the Israelites. Believe that God has brought us this far and that God will take us all the way. So, don’t look back, but look forward to the great things God is going to do in us, through us, and with us!

Wing Yin Li International Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Parting of the Red Sea MARCH 4

•

EXODUS 14:15-30

Emanuel Márquez Seminary Family Member

The First Week in Lent

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT Every week, you will be invited to participate in a spiritual practice. As we move along the Lenten journey, use these practices to return to your body, sense of place, and the world around you. What would it look like for us to mindfully consider God’s blessings through the things we consume every day? Think, for example, of your daily cup of coffee. Think of all who had a part in getting it to you: the farmer who planted, tended, and harvested the beans; the worker who hulled and roasted them; the shipping and transit workers who brought the bags of coffee to the store; the grocery workers who stocked them on the shelf; even the barista who prepared it for you, or yourself or a loved one who brewed it at home. Contemplate at least one meal or item you consume today in this manner. I invite you to prayerfully contemplate how every person along this chain of growing, harvesting, transit, commerce, and preparation may be blessed by God today, and how they serve as a blessing to you. Consider what could be revealed in your life by implementing more mindful and prayerful contemplation of the everyday elements of your daily life.

Eli Henry Second-Year MDiv Student

The First Week in Lent

The Hungry Grumbling of the Israelites MARCH 5

•

EXODUS 16:1-3

When you were a child, did you ever question your guardian when you had to leave the playground or come inside the house after playing? Or maybe you were the child who always asked, “Why? Why? Why?” We are still doing that as adults, except now we ask God, “Why? Why? Why?” There are times when God can decide to completely change the environment around us in the blink of an eye. God will uproot us from a particular season and begin to starve us from all of our old desires. When this happens, it doesn’t feel good because the people around you may start changing, you may begin to feel isolated, and you may begin to wrestle with God and ask, “God, why are you doing this to me?” But the beautiful thing is God can see what is ahead of us and why we need to have specific desires stripped from our taste buds. God is preparing us for our next position for a divine purpose. We may fuss and fight and feel “hunger pains” from our past, but God will fill us up with God’s divine love and the desires we need for the next season.

Aubrey Lewis First-Year MDiv Student

•

• TH E F

TION O F

MARCH 6

•

LUKE 4:1-13

P TA

S U N D AY

The Temptation of Jesus

Kurt A. Gabbard CFO & Vice President for Finance

This passage of Scripture says that when the devil had finished with “every temptation” of Jesus, the devil left him “for a time.” We know the story: Satan returns, in full force, at the time of Christ’s passion. We also know this from lived experience. Facing temptation and coming to grips with the powers of darkness is not a one-time event. The temptation to sin is real and constant. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving—these are the Christian’s weapons of defense. We try. We fail. We try again, knowing that the treasury of God’s mercy is inexhaustible. Lord Jesus, give us the strength to go back into the desert each day and help each other along the way.

•

The Second Week in Lent

Six Days of Manna MARCH 7

•

EXODUS 16:4-26

Dear Heavenly Father, you feed us by your word and the earth’s bountiful harvest. You continue to deliver us from the temptation and sins of the world by your everlasting mercy to us when we drift away and you call and welcome us back home. You hear our pleas and we know you are near in the wonderful beauty of nature that is all around us. All we need to do is look with an open heart. You are truly the Alpha and the Omega in all things. Holy is the day of the Lord, the Sabbath. You ask us to rest, and yet we often turn our backs on you by not honoring your commandments. Yet in all things you bless your people with mercy and forgiveness. You have kept your promise by giving us what we need, not what we want. Thank you, my God. All glory, honor, and praise to your Holy Name forever and ever. Amen.

Gabrielle Pesce Administrative Assistant

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Jacob Wrestles BY HANNA WATSON

THE STRAIGHTEST WAY TO THE LIGHT IS NOT TO CHASE THE SUNSET WEST; IT IS TO TURN EAST AND WALK THROUGH THE NIGHT TOWARD MORNING Matt LeRoy

The Second Week in Lent

Awake and afraid, more familiar than rock me to rest instead: toe thigh middle mind will body steal from woolen sheets and toil throbbing clamped around God muscles cramped together, forearms pulling, vein bolts striking with the strain crick in the neck a knot of trouble all the springs creak at vertebrae sunken into the mattress and scattered like ashes. I am tired. So pestle the hip socket grind the bone, if You please, I won’t let go unless you bless me.

Oh, the saints of the magnificent struggle, how we process beneath the angels who stir awake the stars with beating wings, how we choose to sleek the wings with sweat, how we ascend to ruffle wings late in the early limbo. Like oil dripping, let us wick the tears corked in our bottles and burn them to light the fray: a trail of luminaries walking foolishly faithfully toward rumors of the moment when horizon rolls out from the sun.

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

•

Sabbath Rest and Years of Manna MARCH 8

•

EXODUS 16:27-35

Nikki Dukes explores the meaning of “rest” and Sabbath-keeping.

PAT H M ARK ER

I have always struggled with the idea of Sabbath. Growing up, I watched my family work two (sometimes three) jobs just to keep us afloat. Weekends were nothing but potential overtime hours. So, going into my adulthood, I viewed my time just the same. As long as I am able and available, I work. This was the only way to meet the needs of life.

SAB

Like the Israelites, I felt like it was my duty to do more because I am able. But, I am learning that because God is able, I can rest. Resting allows me to be more productive on the days when I cannot rest. With rest, I have more to give to those I love, and I am able to make memories that will last for generations—like the manna. I am still learning and growing… and God is still showing and teaching.

H RES

REST

More recently though, with the help of one special and godly man, I have been taking a few steps back to gain perspective. That perspective has allowed me to make a career shift that allows me to be free on weekends and actually pays more.

Nikki Dukes Seminary Family Member

SABB

The Second Week in Lent

Moses Cannot Judge Alone MARCH 9

•

EXODUS 18:13-25

“Because the people come to me to inquire about God” (Exod. 18:15). Who comes to you to inquire about God? If it is known that you attend, teach in, or work at a seminary, and if you’re anything like Moses, the answer is likely, “Just about everybody.” Because we’re in this special space of sacred learning, we somehow become the go-to when our loved ones, friends, even acquaintances (and one time for me, somebody on the subway) have questions about God. How do you answer them? Moses isn’t exactly doing a great job of trying to do this alone. We can’t either. Jethro does give Moses council, others to share the burden, but more importantly, he exclaims, “God be with you!” Not only do we need the support of one another to learn and tell about God, but it is God that is the most necessary part of this dialogue. When people come to you to inquire about God, don’t try to answer them yourself. Let God do the talking.

Elizabeth Steel Fourth-Year Dual Degree Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Golden Calf MARCH 10

•

EXODUS 32:1-20, 35

The narrative of the Golden Calf ought to terrify us. The story reminds us how close at hand idolatry is. Lest we imagine that this is an old story with little resonance in our day, let’s remember that we too are a people wandering in the wilderness where we are sustained by God even as our attention turns to the many dangers that surround us. Idolatry does not need to involve a golden calf. Or a statue. Or any other physical object crafted by human hands. The gold was not the problem, nor the calf itself. The problem with idolatry is not the fact that we craft stuff in a way akin to God’s own creative acts. No, the problem is when we mistake our hands for God’s hands, our work for God’s grace, gift for merit. Idolatry is calling the work of human hands divine. In our lives, that often means mistaking privilege for blessing. And yet more persistent than our propensity for idolatry is the one who intercedes, more powerful than fear is the one who feeds us in the loneliest of places, more present than hopelessness is the one who saves.

Dr. Eric D. Barreto Associate Professor of New Testament

The Second Week in Lent

The Glory of God in the Tabernacle MARCH 11

•

NUMBERS 9:15-23

Wandering in the wilderness isn’t typically a straightforward affair. The cloud by day and fire by night of God’s presence guiding the Israelites seems almost offensive in light of the frustration and disorientation that we can experience in our own wilderness wanderings. While we probably won’t experience a cloud resting directly above the next stage of our wilderness journey to guide us forward, we can still experience God’s presence. This passage and these haiku remind us of the assurance we have that God is present with us. In our helplessness, our grief, our pain, and our disoriented confusion, there has been and is a response—God is for us and God is with us.

She looks down the road Brambles block her every path Helpless, she looks up a circle of men snow falls from the frozen sky tears burst out, birds sing

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

They hold a small ball In their hands; “all shall be well And all shall be well” The olive tree blooms A sliver sticks in God’s foot He cries out in pain

Kelsey Lambright Digital Learning Designer and PhD Candidate

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT ONLINE COMPANION ptsem.edu/lent You are invited to take a walk during this meditation. If you are not able to go on a walk please find somewhere near a window and place both feet on the ground. You can place one hand over your heart and the other on your stomach to help focus on your breath. How does your body feel? Your arms, your legs? How does the air around you feel on your skin? As you connect deeper, begin to notice what is around you. Take several deep breaths as you draw your attention around you.

Kelsey Lucido Gardner Third-Year MDiv Student

The Second Week in Lent

The Israelites Lament Over a New Land MARCH 12

•

NUMBERS 14:1-10

In the past four years, I feel like I have gone through a personal exodus. I went from complacency, to despair, to faith. I left what was familiar, saw God at work around me, and received a sense of call. Finally, I ended up at PTS in pursuit of that vocation. Starting seminary in the midst of the pandemic is not what anyone expects or hopes for. At points during my time here, I have asked God if God really led me here, and why. I can daydream about a more comfortable future, or look back to times that were more certain—much like the Israelites in this passage. I typically feel closest to God outside, so I go on walks and pray. I almost always end up at a bridge over a stream, and I stop. In the silence of that space, my mind seems to clear, like the waters below. I remember that a calling is an invitation to work, not the promise of an easy route. I look around and realize that I am in the promised land. It is wherever God calls us to be. The difficulties along the way, ultimately, are water under the bridge.

Luke Benjamin Donner MA(TS) Student

•

M • THE

T OV E R J E R

MARCH 13

•

LUKE 13:31-35

D S U N D AY

Jesus Laments Over Jerusalem

T • THE

Michael Cuppett Devotional Coordinator

Jesus has returned to Jerusalem in our Gospel text, and finds his ministry frustrated once again. Jesus laments that its inhabitants are unwilling to be gathered together in the nurturing love of God. The lament ends with Jesus’ seemingly inauspicious words, “Your house is left to you.” We are all too familiar with some of these feelings. Our bodies and hearts have grown to know powerlessness, disappointment, numbness, and irritation, because we are human, and because we live in a world that is often upside-down. How often has our hope, enthusiasm, and joy seemingly evaporated! Or in the words of Jesus, how often have the prophets been stoned! Take a moment to search these feelings and thoughts. When Jesus echoes the saying “you reap what you sow,” in this passage, it’s neither a blessing nor a curse. It’s an observation and a promise. For if we sow goodness and compassion, we will reap the same. If we build houses full of God’s grace and the mystery of the Gospel, we are sure to be left the same. I will invite you to contemplate this holy promise. I will pray that each of us will be blessed by it, whether we are with Jesus in the euphoric praise of Palm Sunday, or whether we sit beside Christ in the throes of lament.

The Third Week in Lent

The Bronze Serpent of Life MARCH 14

•

NUMBERS 21:4-9

Like the author, I too, have wondered why God would lead me into the wilderness just to die of figurative starvation with snakes at my feet. I often don’t pay attention to the “miserable food” that God is providing, and I find myself looking for more. In my desperation, I am unwilling to see where God could possibly be in all of this. My Witherspoon apartment often felt like my own wilderness of isolation, just waiting for the perfect reorganization of furniture to feel peaceful. More recently, I have noticed a shift. In what used to be a wilderness, friends have stopped by. We have cooked, we have danced, we have cried, we have spoken life and love into one another, and we have held each other up. May we go forward noticing love and refuge in our bodies and friendships as well as the possibilities of sanctuaries in how we create space. May we remember God is with us in the here and now, in our coming and in our going. May we hope for peace, may we hope for love, and may we be able to see that there are not only snakes on this journey.

Hayley Moe Deacon

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Death of Moses MARCH 15

•

DEUT. 31:30-32:9; 34:1-12

I remember the gaunt cheeks. Shadows of a dim theology classroom in an old campus building danced across his pale face. I often smelled like alcohol when I showed up—a remnant from the bottomless solo cups the night before. But I showed up. I always arrived early to that 8 a.m. class. The threads holding me together in that season were the solo cups, the penmanship of a Canadian theologian, and my professor’s face. That gaunt-from-chemotherapy, eyes undimmed, deeply wise face. His teaching had fallen like theological rain on a psyche wearied by the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. It wasn’t the last time the classroom would give me permission to be a believer again, but it was the first. It wasn’t the room itself that did it. It was the communion of saints. Readings that transgressed their pages. Permission to critically engage a text and complexify the cross of Christ. The one with the gaunt face was teaching. He was dying. He was my Moses. The classroom faded into a hospital bedside and then into a chapel where incense hung in the air and stung my tear-stained senses. Might another prophet like him arise in my life? I weep for him, still.

Rev. Abigail Visco Rusert Director of Program Design and the Institute for Youth Ministry

The Third Week in Lent IND

A IN

DIANA

•

PAT H M A R KE R Virginia Dearborn writes about “life-giving places” and her bittersweet journeys home to Indiana.

The Joining of Ruth and Naomi MARCH 16

•

RUTH 1:1-18

You could say this story interacts like a prism with the story of a particular location in my life, refracting certain elements and reflecting others. I have not been married, widowed, a parent, or fled my native New Jersey because of famine. When I moved to Indiana for grad school, I didn’t know that love (and loss) would find me there, or that I would return with other loving bonds. There were many life-giving places there: school and work, plus a church family, meditation circle, ensembles, lots of other local music to enjoy, and, of course, friends. I thought this all pointed toward God blessing the romantic relationship I found myself in, which I felt had taken so long to come into my life. But that relationship died. Like Naomi, the return home—always planned—became somewhat soured with bitterness. No one literally followed me home. But, reflecting back, I realize one of my closest friendships crossed out of “Moab” and now goes with me wherever I will go: a woman I would not have met if not for “the dead.” We no longer share a town, but we are still bound together in friendship. Thanks be to God.

Virginia Dearborn Discovery and Web Services Librarian

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Ruth Meets Boaz MARCH 17

•

RUTH 2:1-13

When I first perceived the voice of God inviting me to a call that would require me to pursue an education at a prestigious institution, I found myself hesitating to answer. Much like Ruth, I found myself thinking, surely, I would need to find favor in the eyes of someone in order to see this come to fruition. I applied. I was accepted. I received the favor I was seeking. However, the favor I received came from neither a person nor a committee. What I was gifted came from an omniscient God who calls according to one’s own covenant relationship with God’s self. If Boaz could take kindly to Ruth based on what he had heard about her, how much more could God take kindly to us based on what God has seen in us? God has seen you. God has known you. God has witnessed every one of your rock bottoms and has declared that even there, you were indeed still “very good” (Gen. 1:31). I invite you to make yourself comfortable in the spaces you are being called to in this season. May you experience the reassurance of your direction and be filled with the gift of peace from Christ in your journey. Praise be to God.

Jessica Figueroa Second-Year MDiv Student

The Third Week in Lent

The Threshing Floor MARCH 18

•

RUTH 3:1-18

A poor Moabite widow, Ruth had no business being in Israel, never mind on a threshing floor next to her kinsman attempting to secure a marriage for her mother-in-law’s sake. But by this point in her story, that is precisely where Ruth is. When she chose to align her powerless self with the destitute Naomi against all common wisdom, she become a witness for love. As I think about my own story, I can count many times in which I felt powerless. Unlike Ruth, I often abandoned love in those moments and did what I told myself I “had” to do, even though I later regretted it. I am challenged by Ruth’s conviction, by her consistent decisions driven by some higher vision. She never chooses the easy way out. I, too, want to step onto the threshing floor and offer myself bodily to the unknown that lies before me, to trust that I am a child of God, of grace, of agency, even in the face of darkness. Ruth’s witness suggests that it is possible: to live wholly out of love, security and homeland be damned. She says, “Don’t be fooled: you were always powerless. But also, you were always free.”

Emily “Z” Zinsitz Women*s Center at PTS

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT Try walking the labyrinth behind Witherspoon or sitting for a moment in the prayer garden between Scheide Hall and the chapel. Contemplate the following: On this spiritual journey during Lent, what has resonated within you? Are there themes, images, ideas, or experiences that stand out? Where do you find yourself hungry along the journey, desiring God’s provision? After contemplating these things, dwell on the presence of God. Meditate on the loving gaze of God, and the perpetual grace that is falling on you. Conclude your time with several deep breaths. In, and out. Enjoy this day.

Michael Cuppett Devotional Coordinator

The Third Week in Lent

Ruth Marries Boaz MARCH 19

•

RUTH 4:1-17

This passage is a powerful illustration of Ruth’s love and devotion to God—and God’s people. It is also a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Ruth and Boaz’s union brings forth a son named Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse, and Jesse is the father of David. From their family line comes the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. As Boaz is seeking to make Ruth his wife, he arranges time with the elders and goes through the appropriate process to officially claim Naomi’s land as well as her daughter-in-law, Ruth. With a contemporary lens, we can see serious issues with these “cultural norms and practices.” Women are treated as property and Naomi is not able to have the ownership rights of her deceased husband’s land transferred to her because she is a woman. However, this text also shows us that Ruth and Naomi are both women of God. While this scriptural passage begins with Naomi lamenting the passing of her husband and sons, experiencing gender oppression, and feeling like all has been lost, it ends with God restoring Naomi’s lineage and legacy. This sacred text is a timely reminder that we will face challenges in life and when we least expect it God can bring forth a supernatural blessing with eternal significance.

Dr. Karen Jackson-Weaver Vice Chair, Board of Trustees

•

E • THE H IR

•

LUKE 13:1-9

MARCH 20

OF THE

U N D AY IN D S

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Jermy Arnold International Student

• THE P A

Sin is a present reality. Like Popeyes chicken, sin seasons us to the bone. We are saturated by sin. We are surrounded by sin, and we live sin. Sin is our reality. This is why we must be very cautious about attributing to God what does not belong to him. Jesus was told about a devastating situation. It is evident through his answer that the context in which the account was related to him was theologically disturbing—man’s blood was mixed with the sacrifice! These men must have been greater sinners than all others! Jesus rubbished that claim and further declared that all men are the worst of sinners, but all men could also be the best of sinners. Occurrences in the lives of individuals in no way demonstrate how wicked they are, for we all are sinful. The difference between the worst and the best of sinners is the grace accepted and the repentance enacted. Sin leads to spiritual barrenness; yet, fertility can be regained if we allow the work of the Divine Farmer to produce positive results. Those of us living in the grace of God should sooner cut out our tongues than utter that a man’s demise proves he was a greater sinner than ourselves. We might be barren trees now living, for grace is still working on us.

The Fourth Week in Lent

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom MARCH 21

•

1 KINGS 3:1-9

The first staff meeting I led, I sat at the head of an oversized conference room table, feeling completely out of my depth. As team members laid out ideas and grievances, their goals were often at odds with one another, sometimes at odds with themselves, and put me in an impossible position. I couldn’t fathom how I could keep everyone on the same page. People are hard to understand and harder to manage. With so many needs to hold together—in our communities and our churches—how do we determine the right way forward? Some leaders claim their strategy and ideas as the right way and demand others follow. That confidence can be intoxicating, but ruling isn’t the same as leading. Solomon offers a different model: he admits his insecurities. He recognizes that governing God’s people is a challenge that requires more than charisma or power. When God says, “Ask what I should give you,” Solomon asks for the ability to discern between good and evil, for wisdom. Good leadership, as he demonstrates, begins with vulnerably acknowledging what we don’t know and seeking God’s help. God’s people are just as challenging as ever. Do we meet the moment with hubris or humility?

Thais Carter Program Coordinator

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Ark Is Brought Into the Temple MARCH 22

•

1 KINGS 8:1-11

Jordan Heath Seminary Family Member One of Jordan’s special places is the CRW playground where he gets to gather with six of his neighbors to play ninja warrior and hang out.

The Fourth Week in Lent

Solomon’s Unfaithfulness MARCH 23

•

1 KINGS 11:1-11

Solomon occupied a space of extraordinary grace until he drifted. Although the circumstances of his birth and the drama in his father’s household would have made for a most riveting miniseries, somehow he made it out with a good heart and a wise head. Good enough to be chosen as king over Israel and wise enough to acknowledge he lacked the wisdom needed for such a role and sought discernment from Yahweh. Though Yahweh had called David a man after God’s own heart, God had allowed Solomon to behold Yahweh’s presence, twice. Then, perhaps for political and economic reasons, Solomon decided he needed some add-ons: 700 wives and 300 concubines who worshipped other gods and for whom he erected religious spaces across Israel. Then, he began to worship these gods. Did Solomon forget God, or did he willfully venture into a space of disobedience? Take some time today and remember. Remember the moments God appeared to you, showed up for you, and answered your prayers over and beyond. Think of the add-ons you may have indulged and their impact on your life and others around you. Think. Remember. Come home. Our faithful God is waiting to welcome you home.

Ruth V. Amwe PhD Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Elijah Prophesies and Visits a Widow MARCH 24

•

1 KINGS 17:1-16

It would be easy to say “God provides” as a way to encapsulate the point of a passage like this. While I agree that God’s provision is a major point, I think there’s more to it than that. Maybe it’s just me, but when I think about the phrase “God provides,” my mind tends to think of physical objects. But from this passage, I’m realizing how provision can come to mean people and relationships as well. In this story there really doesn’t seem to be an element of coincidence in where or why Elijah meets the unnamed woman. The places that he’s sent to are intentional and so are the people that he interacts with. Last year there wasn’t much room for intentional choices, but I think this year is different. This year there is both space and desire for relationships to form and grow because we are choosing to make them happen. As we experience this year and all that it will bring, I hope that we intentionally choose to build relationships in this place that we were called to.

Ethan Park Asian Assocation at PTS

The Fourth Week in Lent

A Widow’s Son Is Resurrected MARCH 25

•

1 KINGS 17:17-24

Her son lays on her bosom, breathless. She grows confused and angry after experiencing a miraculous supply of food in a time of famine and hopelessness. Her flour bowl and oil jar never ran out, providing sustenance to feed herself, her son, and Elijah, the prophet, strengthening the Gentile-woman’s faith in Yahweh, the God of Israel. Grieving, she lashes out, “I didn’t expect a holy man coming into my home, revealing my sins, and killing my son.” Elijah responds, “Give me your son” (vv. 18-19). Taking the widow’s son, Elijah carries him to a private place where he can be alone with God. Elijah lays the breathless boy on the bed. He stretches himself over the breathless body, thrice; cries, and begs the Eternal One to resurrect life. God hears my plea when words of disappointment and hopelessness tumble onto pages of my diary. Even when I need to let go of dead issues, tears drip onto ink as I beg God to resurrect my faith, to restore my hope. Like the widow goes to the holy man with hope for the future and Elijah goes to the upper chamber to speak with God, I go to my diary as a place of prayer.

Dr. Angela R. Hooks Association of Black Seminarians

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT

ONLINE COMPANION ptsem.edu/lent

We will be going through a guided breath meditation through this scripture. Please participate in the breath meditation as you are able. If you are feeling lightheaded, please take normal breaths in and out of your nose. I invite you into this meditation with a question: What does it mean to worship a God who answers?

Kelsey Lucido Gardner Third-Year MDiv Student

The Fourth Week in Lent

The Prophets of Baal Are Destroyed MARCH 26

•

1 KINGS 18:20-40

Elijah’s showdown with the 450 prophets of Baal occurs at Mount Carmel. In every way, this is a big story, and such stories tend to be not only large, but also wild and out of control. If you like neatly packaged biblical lessons, this text is not for you. Yet in the wisdom of Israel, the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel is Holy Writ, and Mount Carmel a holy place. Mount Carmel is a holy place because upon it, Elijah trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel. It is a holy place because it is where God acted to reveal not only divine power, but also divine faithfulness. In a world full of empty promises and false gods, Yahweh acted upon Mount Carmel to reveal to Israel the one true God. Elijah’s question, “How long will you go limping between two opinions?” echoes through the centuries. Israel’s response to the fire sent from Yahweh is life giving: “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God!” (1 Kgs. 18:39). Where are the places in your life where you have encountered an utterly faithful God? Where in your journey has the Lord acted to reveal “grace and truth”? This may be your Mount Carmel.

Rev. Todd Jones Board of Trustees

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

From Luke 15 There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe— the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate, FOR THIS SON OF MINE WAS DEAD AND IS ALIVE AGAIN; HE WAS LOST AND IS FOUND!”

• TH

RODIG AL E P

MARCH 27

•

LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32

T H SU NDA

Parable of the Prodigal Son

Sarah Yang Mumma Contract Counselor

LENT

This passage often brings up a childhood memory of an episode of The Donut Man where one of the characters, playing the older son, sings about how “it’s not fair” that his lost younger brother was welcomed back. I remember connecting with the idea of how unfair it was for him as he had been so loyal to his father, yet he was forgotten in the shadow of his younger brother. As a “good kid,” I identified with him. As I matured, I realized that I, like the younger son, was in fact lost and in need of finding my way back to God. That in fact, we are all lost and in need of finding our God. And that even as those called to ministry, we continue to be human and imperfect and in need of returning home again and again to the loving embrace of God. To be able to bask in God’s love and glory and to let God minister to us, especially those parts of us that feel child-like and small. For we are the lost child and God searches for us and holds us in our entirety.

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Voice of God Was in a Whisper MARCH 28

•

1 KINGS 19:1-3, 9-18

Once, when joining a new community, I found myself in a ‘get-to-know-each-other’ group. Our ice-breaking topic seemed odd to me: Describe a place in the home of your childhood where you would retreat to be alone, say, after a bad day at school. The answers to the question, however, revealed so much about each individual, their personalities, their cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. I shared how I would retreat to the back stoop of our house. It was a safe place to have a good cry and the farm dogs would faithfully come to lick my tears. (Not metaphorical!) This past fall at the first meeting of my Table to Table group, I recycled this ice breaker. The sharing was diverse: a river bank, a video game console, the high branch of a tree, a mother’s closet, a hidden culvert, a pair of sound-isolating headphones. Elijah was having his ‘bad day’ when he retreated to the solitary broom tree. But it was the space where he needed to be, the place where he (eventually) could hear the low whisper of God. What was your childhood retreat? And now, as you sojourn through Princeton Seminary, do you have a place to go to hear God’s whispering?

Dr. Martin Tel C.F. Seabrook Director of Music

The Fifth Week in Lent

Amos’ Warning to Israel MARCH 29

•

AMOS 1:1-2, 6-11; 5:14-24

If you’re like me, this passage invokes complicated convictions. Upon first reading, I feel affirmed that God cares about justice. I feel energized to seek it out in solidarity with the most oppressed in the world. I feel hopeful that one day a better world will come. But quickly follows a complex feeling of terror as I keep reading. I realize when justice comes, so will my implication in all that stalled justice. This brings up all my worst fears of God—that meeting God would actually be darkness, not light; punishment, not freedom (5:18). So it follows that instead of feeling joy and hope, I must feel dread and guilt in God’s presence. An organizer once told me, “your guilt won’t save anyone.” It knocked me out of my selfflagellating posture. Sometimes we can assume that the righteous posture following a sober realization is self-punishment or something that will prove we are sorry. It is easy to slip into the attitude that God needs that from us. But God hates our shows (5:21). Repentance calls us to turn around and move the other way, not perform regretfully where we are. Maybe this is why the prophet describes justice with movement like water, righteousness like an everflowing stream.

Brooke Matejka Seminarians for Peace and Justice

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Parable of the Potter MARCH 30

•

JEREMIAH 18:1-17

God’s relationship with us is not passive, but messy, involved, and active. When God instructs Jeremiah to enter the house of the potter, God is very clear. In God’s hands Israel is being acted upon, shaped with God’s purpose, reworked from spoiled to good. We hear and experience places and times where we feel God’s action, those liminal spaces inhabited for moments or more. I often find them outside, in places which make me feel small, and suddenly God, in Gods’ sovereignty over creation and me, feels big. Work, home, school, a garden, the great outdoors—relationship is there, and we want goodness to be there also. We want the earth to be healed. We want reconciliation between peoples of all nations. We want our minds and bodies to be healthy, content, loved. God wants this too. A relationship with a perfect God, whom all relationship imperfectly imitates, must include God. God who is involved, active, messy, and shaping the clay of our lives from spoiled to good. Pray today for the presence of God to be present with us, as we relate with all parts of God’s creation, ourselves included, while God reworks it to be good.

Brendan Finch First-Year MDiv Student

The Fifth Week in Lent

•

2 KINGS 25:1-21

I can only imagine what the people of Judah felt when the Babylonians invaded. They probably felt hopeless watching “the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem” being burned (v.9). In pre-exilic life people were likely familiar with their everyday places/spaces like the temple. Yet, once the walls were breached (v. 4), all that they had been given and come to know was gone. Many thus tearfully asked, “How could we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?” (Ps. 137:4).

PAT H M ARK ER

MARCH 31

Reese Grosfeld shares about the gathering of spiritual communities.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah

Meditating on this passage, I couldn’t help but think of life pre-pandemic. The pandemic made me realize that the things in life, such as the spaces I inhabit daily, are just the joys I never appreciated enough. I especially felt I took for granted gathering together as a community of Christ, wherever that space may be (whether in my home church in NYC, chapel, or even the classrooms). Yet, it is in times of “exile” where God truly reveals Godself—that is, where we learn to appreciate the little things more. This Lenten season, wherever your space may be, wherever you feel affirmed, hold on to it tightly for God is showing this place’s importance in your story.

Reese Grosfeld ThM Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Lament of the Exiles APRIL 1

•

PSALM 137:1-7

We have all, at some point, found ourselves in a place in which we were clearly unwelcome. A setting where our voice, our body, our very being was not welcome. For some, we may find ourselves in these types of spaces all the time. These alien spaces can steal our joy and take away our voice. For, as the psalmist says, “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” For some, this space of unwelcome can be their own church. Queer people are often at the very center of church life, in all churches. We are wherever the church is, even if the church may not want us there. And we are surely not the only ones who are so central and yet feel exiled, even when sitting among the congregation. But we believe in the God of the exiles, the God who hears us when we weep, when we feel like strangers in a strange land. And in the presence of the Holy Spirit, in the God who welcomes all, we find our Jerusalem: a sacred space in which we are always welcome. May all find refuge and loving welcome in the ever-presence of God.

Eli Henry Gender and Sexuality Association for Seminarians

The Fifth Week in Lent

Psalm 137 1-7 By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” HOW COULD WE SING THE LORD’S SONG IN A FOREIGN LAND? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall, how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!”

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT I imagine that Daniel experienced disillusionment, weariness, and sorrow during his time in Babylon. When I experience moments of doubt or disconnection, I lean into expressing these feelings through art. Giving shape to an emotion through art that is hard to communicate through words is therapeutic. For this week’s reflective practice, we invite you to create artwork that expresses what God looks like to you in periods when God feels absent. You may use whatever materials are available to you!

Lauren Hoak Third-Year Dual Degree Student

The Fifth Week in Lent

Daniel’s Faithfulness in Babylon APRIL 2

•

DANIEL 1:1-21

We all occupy offices from which we are called to proclaim the Gospel. We are staff, pastors, families, seminarians, administrators, faculty, board members, and most importantly neighbors. We are seen as guardians of knowledge, especially knowledge of God, because of the offices we hold and our affiliation to this school. Like the guard in Daniel’s first chapter, we have power whether it is earned or stolen. We also have a sacred obligation to follow the example of that guard. Even under threat of death, they elevated the stolen, acculturated, silenced, and subjugated people they encountered in the spaces where they had power. The guard gave Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what they needed to fulfill their call from God, even though it was not the portion that was given to them. The spaces we occupy and this world need the voices of the Daniels of the world, which are ten times better than the voices of authority. God speaks through the Daniels of the world. And those of us with power are called, along with the guard, to elevate and nourish Daniel. Who are the Daniels around you? What do they tell you they need to do God’s work? How can you use the power you have to provide for Daniels and make space for them?

Wyatt Linde Third-Year MDiv Student

•

• TH

E F

N G AT B ET

NTI

S U N D AY

The Anointing at Bethany APRIL 3

•

JOHN 12:1-8

Rev. Dr. David Latimore Director, Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies

• THE

Gratitude. It is easy to think of our gratitude to God as anchored in the momentous moments with God that change the trajectory of our lives. This is what resonates so deeply within us of Mary’s extravagant offering. As the perfume fragrance fills the room, we understand how encounters with Jesus prompt abundant responses. No doubt, you too can think of moments in your journey that invite you into an extravagant display of gratitude. However, the Lenten season invites us to consider the importance of gratitude anchored in what may appear to be inconsequential moments of life. Notice Lazarus’ presence in the house during this gathering. Every sight, every smell emerging from the kitchen, every sound of laughter or conversation must fill Lazarus’ heart. Why? He is the one that, just a few short moments ago, was held firmly in the grasp of death and for whom all of these ordinary moments of life, once taken for granted, are now precious. Mary and Lazarus remind us that in every fragile moment of human existence, no matter how momentous or mundane, the joy of God’s presence invites us into an experience of gratitude.

The Sixth Week in Lent

The Writing on the Wall APRIL 4

•

DANIEL 5:1-31

I invite you to take this devotional outside. Go and sit on your patio, or your porch, or on the steps of the Chapel. As I write, I, too, am sitting outside. I am listening to the rumbling of construction equipment and watching brittle brown leaves fall from the trees. I have sat in this place many times. I spent much of the pandemic on my apartment’s patio, writing papers and virtually attending session meetings. Here I have often prayed for a mysterious, disembodied hand to appear and write the answers to all of life’s questions on the wall beside me. . . or at least the conclusion for my latest exegesis paper. Yet, so far, no hands have appeared. Instead, my prayers are frequently answered by a gust of wind, a pale butterfly, or a sudden, absolute silence. With these minor interruptions of my space, I am reminded of God’s interrupting presence. Our God is a God who interrupts. A God who interrupts royal dinner parties with a divine hand. A God who interrupts our routines and plans. A God who interrupts our space. Allow God to interrupt you this Lent.

Emily D. Sutphin Student Government Association

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Queen Vashti Protests APRIL 5

•

ESTHER 1:1-22

the problem with palaces someone has to build them someone has to clean them someone has to decorate them someone has to heat them someone has to light them someone has to dust them someone has to dish up in them someone has to serve in them someone has to put on a show in them someone has to dance in them someone has to be presentable in them someone has to obey in them someone has to be master in them God I am told lives in a tent

Dr. Hanna Reichel Associate Professor of Reformed Theology

The Sixth Week in Lent

Esther Wins the King’s Favor APRIL 6

•

ESTHER 2:1-18

Imagine how Esther felt as she moved from her uncle’s house into the lavish world of the palace and was presented to the king. She enters this space as woman, deeply under the power and desires of the patriarchy. She enters this space as an Israelite, unable to reveal her identity. She enters this space as a daughter, carrying family trauma of loss and captivity. In the palace, parts of her identity are objectified, and parts must be hidden. What must this have felt like for her? We also enter spaces holding complex identities in our bodies. Think of a place you have entered where parts of yourself are not welcome. What do you feel in your body? Now picture a place you love, a place of safety and full belonging. What do you feel differently in your body in this place? The politics of space and belonging are at play in each place we enter. May we be aware of who are and are not welcome in the spaces we love. And may we, in step with the expansive Spirit of Christ, create, love, and advocate for places where all people can belong in their full identities in safety, love, equity, and joy.

Emily Campbell Wood Third-Year MDiv Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Haman Plots Against the Jews APRIL 7

•

ESTHER 3:13-14; 4:1-17

Human history is filled with death sentences. In our passage for today, Haman schemes for the king to write a decree to kill all the Jews. As the news of the decree spreads to every province in the region, there is great mourning and lamenting—Mordecai wails in protest at the gates of the palace. Queen Esther, as a last defense, sends word to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day.” After prayerful consideration, the death sentence scheduled for all Jews is commuted. In 2002, Julius Darius Jones is sentenced to death row. Many petitions are submitted, hundreds gathered in protest, and thousands of calls are made, to no avail, which yields great mourning and lamenting. On Thursday, November 18, 2021, around 12:45 pm during his final hour of visits, Mr. Jones receives word that after “prayerful consideration” (quoting Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt), his death sentence, scheduled for 4 pm that day, was commuted. Prayer has the power to make any space special— palaces, provinces, or prisons, even if for a moment. Friends, pray without ceasing.

Rev. Daniel Heath Student Life Resident

The Sixth Week in Lent

Esther Saves Her People APRIL 8

•

ESTHER 5:1-8; 7:1-6; 8:3-16

Queen Esther had position, prestige, and power. Her position as queen gave her access to places that other Jews had no access to. Her prestige as queen came because she was chosen amongst many other women and found to be one of great honor. She had power because of her title, influence, and the king’s love for her. But one of the most important things she possessed was wisdom. Her wisdom determined the way she would steward her position, prestige, and power. This wisdom was displayed in the ways she would disclose her true identity to the king. What may have appeared as stalling could be seen as a strategic move on her part. It is obvious that despite the aforementioned authority she carried, speaking at the wrong time could have cost her life. But instead, using wisdom afforded her the salvation of an entire nation. In our lives and in the work of justice that we participate in, we must use wisdom in our methods to employ change. Despite the passion and urgency of our discourse, discernment is necessary. We must understand that although we have influence, we must steward our power well to ensure we achieve our anticipated outcome.

Rev. Lenmarie Pascall Third-Year MDiv Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT The victorious story of Esther saving her people is one of courage, resilience, patience, and faith. While the passages given to read today show a courageous Esther who knew of her power and exercised it, it is important to recognize that she was not always aware of her own strength. Because of the encouragement from her cousin, Mordecai, Esther was able to tap into a strength she did not know she had. Today, you are also invited to tap into a power within yourself that perhaps you, too, are unaware that you possess—the power housed within your body. Please use the QR code below to view and follow the video of the guided body movement meditation. After participating, you are encouraged to write a reflection on your experience.

Kamaria Byrd-McAllister Third-Year MDiv/MSW Student

ONLINE COMPANION ptsem.edu/lent

The Sixth Week in Lent

The Israelites Return to Jerusalem APRIL 9

•

EZRA 1:1-11

Being able to witness the fulfillment of God’s prophecies and words means that sometimes we must endure the waiting. The season of waiting may be long, and it certainly might be tough, but the time will come when God will come stir not only our hearts into action, but also the hearts of those around us. God is meticulous, and God is thorough. When God calls us to move, God prepares our paths by stirring up the hearts of those that we will be encountering along the way. Thus, sometimes, help comes to us from unlikely sources. This Lenten season, let us recall instances where we have received help from those around us. Which neighbors’ hearts were softened and prepared to receive us? When did we find mentors when we least expected them? Even further, how has God positioned us to be of help to others? May we find joy and comfort in these moments, for this is God’s divine providence at work. Faithful God, help us to see your love for us when we are in a state of waiting, and open our hearts so that we may pour into the lives of others. Amen.

Linda Kwak Korean Student Association

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Luke 19 28-40 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! PEACE IN HEAVEN, AND GLORY IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Palm Sunday

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry

April 10

•

Palm Sunday

ZAINAB KAJANG STUDENT

•

INTERNATIONAL

Starting school online in the fall of 2020 was challenging. That was the first time I had to spend so much time online. I did not see how it was going to be productive, or how I was going to learn and be engaged. Learning online felt almost as unlikely as Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a colt. But through WebEx, like the stones that are silent, I was able to cry out. Chapel rendezvous were a blessing, and I was always looking forward to the faces in the little boxes on the screen. Through those little boxes, I saw God transcend the screen in my worship, study, and even in getting in touch with friends. Just like the little colt that Jesus rode on, God met me, and maybe some of you, several times on that little screen. This goes to show that God works in unlikely ways, and God can use even a screen to meet our needs. I was able to cry out even when the world kept everything silent.

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Dedication of the Temple APRIL 11

•

EZRA 6:13-22

For the Lord had made them joyful? Have you ever been stopped in your tracks and begun to acknowledge how God has protected, guarded, and blessed your life? Every time this happens to me, I am in sheer awe at first, and then I get this overwhelming feeling in my gut and I can’t contain my tears. For a long time, I just didn’t understand why this happened during certain worship services and intimate conversations. I now know that this is God’s way of turning my heart to joy. It is again another testimony to God’s grace and favor for my life in the midst of challenging times. It is God’s way of saying to me, “I got you, trust me, and know that I am God. Know that you are my child and I am guarding your life, and I have been and will continue to bless you. Trust that I will show up to supply exactly what you need, and I will rejuvenate your beautiful soul and heart, TRUST ME!” That is what this verse reminds me of. It testifies to God’s behind the scene orchestration of partners and enemies to return the exiles and rebuild the temple. They can rejoice and be joyful because, once again, God got them!

Rev. Joanne Rodríguez Director, Hispanic Theological Initiative

Holy Week

The Remnant of Judah Repents APRIL 12

•

EZRA 10:1-17

Ezra knows that the Israelites are not to marry those from the land of Canaan lest they be tempted by idolatry. At the realization that the Israelites had broken the law and sinned against God, Ezra wept and threw himself down... and the Israelites’ wept also. While the decree to divorce the foreign women should rightly concern us and give us pause, for the sake of this devotional we will focus on how the Israelites grief over their sin is a timely reminder that we tend to the condition of our own souls. We might be quick at reciting creeds and confessions, yet when was the last time we truly grieved—wept bitterly even—at our own patterns of sin and brokenness? It can be easy to forget that pursuing holiness is also part of our vocation as ministers, that we offer up our intellect, desires, and habits to God so that Christ can mold us into his likeness. The Israelites’ weeping led to their confession, as should the examination of our own hearts lead us to repentance. Let us take some time to investigate where the longings of our hearts lie and offer again our whole selves to God.

Maddy Bishop First-Year MDiv Student

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

a sprout rips past its husk, slogs up the underworld’s dark towers, hatching from abundant damp, the dirt, decay glaring at a creature, a dying root, abandoned mandibles (for a moment, she loves them) find light and reach, no, be lifted, yes! lifted in the end as the prima donna of the land by force, which will mold itself gentle for the sake of earth that it might know the sun as something other than violent

Holy Week

Seminary

BY BRENDAN FINCH & HANNA WATSON

N. ABOUT 1440, A PLOT WHERE PLANTS ARE RAISED FROM SEED The Chambers Dictionary of Etymology

Nehemiah’s Purification Of Israel APRIL 13

•

NEHEMIAH 1:1-3; 2; 5; 6; 8

Undoubtedly this last year has been a year of hardship, desolation, loss, and ruin. A year in which isolation and loneliness seemed to be ever-present. We emerged in our multi-staged and often chaotic protocols to go to church, parks, work, and restaurants. Yet a question remains: What are we going to do now? In a world of violence, injustice, or climate crisis, what will we (re) build on this ruined landscape? Nehemiah emerges as an example of a spirit that enlivens us as we come back together. In the grief, despair, and chaos of the destroyed Jerusalem, Nehemiah offered the exiles (continued on next page)

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

a simple hope of Jerusalem. This triggered a collective response, “‘Let us start building!’ So they committed themselves to the common good.” (Neh. 2:18b). This Lenten time invites us into the pain around us. This Lenten time also invites us to conceive of new landscapes and places to explore this communal expression: “Let’s start to rebuild.” Let us together as a seminary community in our various roles envision this proclamation, “Let’s start to rebuild.” Let us, as a Lenten community, commit ourselves to the common good.

Stephen Di Trolio PhD Student

John 13 1-17, 31-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”

Holy Week

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

April 14

•

Maundy Thursday

REV. JANICE AMMON CHAPEL

•

MINISTER OF THE

The evening before my husband and I celebrated our wedding, we gathered with beloved family and friends around a long table. We joyfully shared the anticipation of what was ahead. My father passed away at 3:00 pm in the afternoon. By 7:00 pm, my family was seated around a table in a nearby restaurant. With broken hearts, and one empty chair at the table, we began to share the anticipation of what was ahead. When we reflect on significant places, tables are often in the middle of them. Tables where we multiply our joys and divide our sorrows. This was certainly true for Jesus and his disciples. In this last evening with his beloved followers, Jesus invites them to gather around a table. Before the meal is shared, Jesus wraps a towel around his waist. With deep love and tenderness, he washes the feet of each disciple. Jesus was inviting his beloved followers, who I imagine were filled with worry and sorrow, to share the anticipation of what was ahead. There would be an empty place at the table, but only for a while. Soon, all will be invited to gather at this joyful feast of love and grace.

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

John 18 1 - 19 42 And Jesus, carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “THEY DIVIDED MY CLOTHES AMONG THEMSELVES, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.” Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Holy Week

The Crucifixion of Jesus April 15

•

Good Friday

DR. MELISSA D. HAUPT • CHAPEL PROGRAM AND PUBLICATIONS MANAGER The meal has been shared. The disciples’ feet have been washed. The piece of bread has been handed to Judas. And later that night we find ourselves in the garden: a familiar place where Jesus often met with his disciples. But that evening a group of soldiers and police carrying torches and weapons are also in the garden. Jesus is bound and arrested, questioned before Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilate, denied by Peter, and sentenced to death. As night becomes day, Jesus is flogged and dressed in a purple robe with a crown of thorns placed on his head. He carries a cross to Golgotha where he is crucified. There, hanging on that cross, he tends to his mother and the disciple whom he loved, making sure they would care for one another. Then he bows his head and gives up his spirit. His body is taken and prepared for burial and laid in a new, empty tomb in another garden. As we pause today and travel with Jesus, may we consider our own gardens and crosses: places of beauty and hope, pain and despair. Sometimes our spaces of safety and refuge are interrupted. Sometimes it is in the moments of deepest sorrow and grief that acts of love are most realized. And sometimes in the places that are borrowed—that aren’t ‘ours’—miracles are waiting to happen.

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Practice

FOR REFLECTION AND EMBODIMENT Typically, when we think of burials, tombs, and gravesites, we think of grief, loss, defeat, and death. However, as Christians it is possible to see something that is normally a point of lamentation as a point of liberation. As you reflect on this passage, you are invited to go in search of (or on a search for) something that most people might not see as beautiful, but you do. Take a photo of what you find and write about it. You are invited to share what you found with others.

Kamaria Byrd-McAllister Third-Year MDiv/MSW Student

Matthew 27 57-66 So Joseph took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.

Holy Week

Jesus’ Burial April 16

•

Holy Saturday

EMMA LIETZ BILECKY FELLOW

•

FARMINARY

A heroic act, this one undertakes, to roll such a great stone to cover the hole in the rock where the body lay. A hole in the rock he had hewn, no less, and how long did that take, anyway? A hole big enough for a body, at least, and a body, limp and heavy, and capacious enough to hold God. This body, filled and animated now by the love of this friend who carries it with his own, and clothes it in a dignity denied it hours before, that dark afternoon. Now, in this dark but sheltered place, this white linen, woven by some woman, consecrates this cold, stiff body, fit inside this cold, hard rock. What fear did they have, these anxious ones, that the dead, the still, might leak out the cracks in this still stone? Murmurs of disbelief, they knew something they sought to hide—that bodies, divinely breathed, even places of death—might yet become alive, despite heavy evidence to the contrary. Those hands that care make the difference, preparing a resurrection of which they are not certain, though manifest in the act, this faith in mourning loss.

•

OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

John 20 1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU WEEPING? WHOM ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Easter Sunday

The Resurrection April 17

•

Easter Sunday

REV. DR. M. CRAIG BARNES SEMINARY PRESIDENT

•

Over Lent this year we have thought about the special spaces in our community where our theology, faith, calling, and relationships have grown. Every place on our campus is actually just a building or piece of ground. It’s the things that happen in and on them that can make them sacred. Our text today begins in the ordinary place of a tomb in a garden. And when Mary Magdalene saw that it was empty, she had the ordinary expectation that someone had stolen Jesus’ dead body. Then several holy things happen in this garden to Mary. A couple of angels show up inside the tomb and the risen Savior appears behind her. But she thinks he’s just an ordinary gardener. It is not until Jesus calls her by name that she recognizes him and calls him Rabbouni, which is the name she used to call him. At this point it would be ordinary to expect a big embrace. But Jesus said to her, “Don’t cling to me.” Extraordinary. No one can spend time in a seminary community without having to give up something about Jesus to which we want to cling. That’s as hard for us as it was for Mary because our experience of him became ordinary and familiar. But there is always more to Jesus than we know.

•

2022 Lenten Devotional Team Michael Cuppett �� Coordinator Hanna Watson �� Co-Coordinator, Contributing Poet Brooke M. Foster �� Devotions Editor Brendan Finch �� Contributing Poet Janice Ammon �� Minister of the Chapel and Devotional Supervisor

All Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.