Lenten Writing Project Reboot 2020! Writers' Reflections in the Wilderness of Lent
Words of Faith
Spirit to Spirit Writing Project
The word Lentcomes from an old English word meaning lengthening of days. In Christianity, it refers to the time before Easter, traditionally observed through repentance and learning. It's a season to be intentional about changing and growing. Some people give up items to create space and time for new life and habits to grow. Instead of giving something up, I invite you to try to commit to answering these writing prompts each of the 40 days of Lent. The discipline it takes to set aside time each day to reflect and write about God and your relationship with spirituality is a journey that you will emerge from with a renewed spirit. Every writer has their own special voice to add to this project, whether poetry, prose, essay, thoughts, lists, or through comments, prayer, and encouragement.
How do I participate? Each day, a writing prompt will be posted. A prompt is a question or statement that is meant to inspire your thoughts in whatever genre you feel moved to write. Post your reflections as a comment under each day's prompt (for further instructions, see 'How To Post' on the right side of the page). It is up to you if you write, read, or pray along with us each of the 40 days of Lent or just drop in from time to time when the spirit moves you to participate. Writing regularly is a discipline that many writers struggle with and this is a way to involve that discipline as a Lenten practice. Through writing and leaving encouraging words for others in this project, we become a supportive spiritual writing community
Friday, March 1, 2013
Storytime!
What is your favorite Bible story and how has it affected or strengthened your faith? Do you have another way of looking at it?
Drama brings together the full range of emotion. Lenten longing prepares the stage for this scene. Smell the sweaty street, Passion Sunday’s commotion, “Hail conquering hero!” lifts up a humble rider, voices keen.
Slowly dawns the realization, this is not just another high, holy week. Something’s changed, there’s expectation filling the town. Messiah talk has come to fullness; Faiths outcome seek. Politicos, powerful religious check their schedules with a frown.
Disciples, disconcerted, hear the agenda from Our Lord. “Get our Passover Room set. Stay close by. The Time has come.” From this place no longer unknown will come the redeeming word. Were silence to reign, stones would cry, “Come, Messiah, Come.”
Plot thickens dynamically as actions confront the lie. Holy space desecrated by commercial interests, in and out. Roman coins rolling ‘midst Hebraic temple shekels fly. An insistent voice, none can miss, rises in a lusty shout!
False witnesses secured, hurried demagoguery rises, Collusion, conspiracy, collateral damage all assessed. Street-wise faithful securing safety while sin despises, Disciple band infiltrated, Satan smiles at possessed.
‘On the night in which He was betrayed’, reminds the meal. This joyful, sobering Seder once again Passover told. “My body broken, my blood poured” spoken without zeal. Drama heightens, “Go Judas, may your plot unfold.”
Prayerful seclusion evolves into armed conflict, betrayer’s kiss. Disciples in disarray; plotting cabal, hustles their quarry to court; Roman might confronts humble King; High Priest cries out “Amiss.” Shuffled justice culminates in a huge mob crying, “Crucify” their retort.
Death’s rude cross between two like sentenced thieves. Saturday silent; deaths’ waiting room forever known, to be sure. Daybreak, Sunday dawn, marked deaths end for any who believes. Creation now marked by life’s Savior tried and pure.
The Red Sea story is so brutal! All the Egyptians wiped out under the waves - what gives? Then they sing and dance in celebration. This is the central story of redemption for both Jews and Christians? No wonder it is so difficult for us to "pray for our enemies."
Said Moses "No thanks Lord, I stutter" I'd have trouble giving your words an utter. So God changed the plan making Aaron the spokes-man and giving hope to others who stutter!
My favorite Bible story is anything with Peter in it. He's such a lovable screw-up. From trying and failing to walk on water, to cutting off a man's ear, to denying Jesus three times. He is so consistently well meaning, and yet has so many "epic fails" as my son would say, he gives me hope that God will find a way to use me despite my short comings. Melinda
I know I must have read this story many times without ‘hearing’ it. But I clearly remember the first time my ears were opened to it. I was preparing to teach the Sunday School lesson to a group of 3rd graders. My own girls were in other classes at the time.
It was the same week that something happened in my life that severely upset my Mother. She said to me, “Why have you done this terrible thing to me?”
Although I was extremely sorry to have hurt Mother, what happened was a far greater pain to me than to anyone else. I felt bewildered that Mother didn't understand my distress. And yes, I also felt that I had somehow sinned. I cried out to God to help me to understand, to find solace, to know which direction to turn and what to do.
I disciplined myself to set aside my tormented grief and prepare the lesson. I prayed for God’s Holy Spirit to show me what was needed, and then I read these precious words from John 9: “His disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
These words of Jesus filled me with peace that day, with the assurance that whatever I was suffering was neither my fault nor my mother’s. I was filled with expectation that God had a purpose and a meaning for what was happening, and that God would work it out in God’s perfect time.
Even now, as I struggle with diminished vision, I continue to trust that God is working all things.
"If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea..."
All I have to do is think of those words and I can feel my heart soar right out of my body and take flight. I feel like I can tackle anything and He will be there to catch me if I fall. I don't know why I don't take advantage of this gift of courage more often and for longer, but I get bogged down in the day's events and it slips away. I need to read this verse every morning for a while and see how I can apply it each day. Already as I write this down and try to analyze it, I feel it slip away. Maybe it is just better to call on it from time to time and let the energy flow. For now that is what I will do.
Holy Week
ReplyDeleteDrama brings together the full range of emotion.
Lenten longing prepares the stage for this scene.
Smell the sweaty street, Passion Sunday’s commotion,
“Hail conquering hero!” lifts up a humble rider, voices keen.
Slowly dawns the realization, this is not just another high, holy week.
Something’s changed, there’s expectation filling the town.
Messiah talk has come to fullness; Faiths outcome seek.
Politicos, powerful religious check their schedules with a frown.
Disciples, disconcerted, hear the agenda from Our Lord.
“Get our Passover Room set. Stay close by. The Time has come.”
From this place no longer unknown will come the redeeming word.
Were silence to reign, stones would cry, “Come, Messiah, Come.”
Plot thickens dynamically as actions confront the lie.
Holy space desecrated by commercial interests, in and out.
Roman coins rolling ‘midst Hebraic temple shekels fly.
An insistent voice, none can miss, rises in a lusty shout!
False witnesses secured, hurried demagoguery rises,
Collusion, conspiracy, collateral damage all assessed.
Street-wise faithful securing safety while sin despises,
Disciple band infiltrated, Satan smiles at possessed.
‘On the night in which He was betrayed’, reminds the meal.
This joyful, sobering Seder once again Passover told.
“My body broken, my blood poured” spoken without zeal.
Drama heightens, “Go Judas, may your plot unfold.”
Prayerful seclusion evolves into armed conflict, betrayer’s kiss.
Disciples in disarray; plotting cabal, hustles their quarry to court;
Roman might confronts humble King; High Priest cries out “Amiss.”
Shuffled justice culminates in a huge mob crying, “Crucify” their retort.
Death’s rude cross between two like sentenced thieves.
Saturday silent; deaths’ waiting room forever known, to be sure.
Daybreak, Sunday dawn, marked deaths end for any who believes.
Creation now marked by life’s Savior tried and pure.
The Rev. Ronald Allen Melver, M.Div.
1 March 2013
Have you read: between cross and resurrection-a theology of holy Saturday? Your poem encourages me to read this book I bought last year. Thank you.
DeleteJoel lohafer
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteguess noah n moses b brudders in da faith. hee hee
Deleteronaldo
Guess that's what I get for not proofreading! Thanks Ronaldo
DeleteThe Red Sea story is so brutal! All the Egyptians wiped out under the waves - what gives? Then they sing and dance in celebration. This is the central story of redemption for both Jews and Christians? No wonder it is so difficult for us to "pray for our enemies."
ReplyDeleteJoel Lohafer above post
DeleteThe Stutter
ReplyDeleteSaid Moses "No thanks Lord, I stutter"
I'd have trouble giving your words an utter.
So God changed the plan
making Aaron the spokes-man
and giving hope to others who stutter!
My favorite Bible story is anything with Peter in it. He's such a lovable screw-up. From trying and failing to walk on water, to cutting off a man's ear, to denying Jesus three times. He is so consistently well meaning, and yet has so many "epic fails" as my son would say, he gives me hope that God will find a way to use me despite my short comings.
ReplyDeleteMelinda
John 9:1-7
ReplyDeleteI know I must have read this story many times without ‘hearing’ it. But I clearly remember the first time my ears were opened to it. I was preparing to teach the Sunday School lesson to a group of 3rd graders. My own girls were in other classes at the time.
It was the same week that something happened in my life that severely upset my Mother. She said to me, “Why have you done this terrible thing to me?”
Although I was extremely sorry to have hurt Mother, what happened was a far greater pain to me than to anyone else. I felt bewildered that Mother didn't understand my distress. And yes, I also felt that I had somehow sinned. I cried out to God to help me to understand, to find solace, to know which direction to turn and what to do.
I disciplined myself to set aside my tormented grief and prepare the lesson. I prayed for God’s Holy Spirit to show me what was needed, and then I read these precious words from John 9: “His disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
These words of Jesus filled me with peace that day, with the assurance that whatever I was suffering was neither my fault nor my mother’s. I was filled with expectation that God had a purpose and a meaning for what was happening, and that God would work it out in God’s perfect time.
Even now, as I struggle with diminished vision, I continue to trust that God is working all things.
Thank you RuthAnn. Your personal stories are so moving.
DeletePsalm 139:9
ReplyDelete"If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea..."
All I have to do is think of those words and I can feel my heart soar right out of my body and take flight.
I feel like I can tackle anything and He will be there to catch me if I fall.
I don't know why I don't take advantage of this gift of courage more often and for longer, but I get bogged down in the day's events and it slips away.
I need to read this verse every morning for a while and see how I can apply it each day.
Already as I write this down and try to analyze it, I feel it slip away.
Maybe it is just better to call on it from time to time and let the energy flow.
For now that is what I will do.
Clarene Aitken
8 March 2013
This verse moves me too Clarene - thanks for your thoughtful writing.
Delete