Lent 2022: Learning to Live With God...
"Not my will but Thy will be done"
"Not my will but Thy will be done"
Lent is a time of preparation for the Paschal mystery, when we awaken more fully to the reality of resurrection life. When we realize that God is at the center of all life, the self-denial traditionally associated with Lent becomes, ultimately, a process of self-fulfillment. Following Christ, we come to understand and experience our selfhood as intimately part of God's nature. Below, you will find material and practices offered with love by members of the Trinity community for your Lenten journey. Use the links sent in our Tuesday emails for new material, or just visit the website and browse at your pace. As we consider the overarching theme of these Lenten Meditations, we invite you to join us in using this Prayer to help you be more receptive to God's guidance in your life:
Make known to me Your ways, O Lord;
teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth,
and teach me.
~Psalm 25:4-5
teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth,
and teach me.
~Psalm 25:4-5
Meditations, Week 2
Collect and Readings, Second Sunday in Lent
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Link to readings: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35; Psalm 27
Collect and Readings, Second Sunday in Lent
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Link to readings: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35; Psalm 27
Offered by members of the Trinity Community...
That I May Know Him, Philippians 3:10Sitting in a very comfortable position, relaxed and still, away from other sounds and distractions with paper and pen to journal, play this video
+ Ask/Pray: "While you cannot be fully known, God, reveal to me more of who you are."
+ Wait : Be aware, mindful of what comes to you. Journal it. Submitted by A. Jean Arnold 
Submitted by Susan Lawson
Can We Snuggle, Lord?Can we snuggle, Lord?
The world is very much with us. Can I just stay safe at Your house, Your stronghold, under Your wings, at Home - In the day of trouble... When enemies surround... Among wars and rumors of war... When I am afraid? Or shall I count the stars – remembering your promises – and instead step out from Home to - Speak hope to the world as I await citizenship in heaven... Join with others in following Jesus’ examples of love and peace and justice... Spread wide my arms and “live” God into my world? Practice: sit quietly for a moment. Remember that God is our “home”. Think about how you can open yourself and step out from that home with confidence and bringing God’s love. Is there one practical way you can do that today? Submitted by Rebecca Clemmer |
A Meditation on Hymn 142
A Meditation on Luke 13:31-35In this reading from Luke’s Gospel, we see that Jesus’ death is a corner point in the whole story of what God is doing in his mission. He is told that Herod is planning to kill him. He responds with an insult to the scheming of Herod (“that fox”) and a firm resolve that he will not stop doing what he has set himself to do. The important point in all of this, to me, is that his death is already on the horizon, even in the midst of his miraculous works of healing and teaching.
The story of Jesus’ ministry is a story of his being willing to give himself totally, even to the point of death on the cross. This is the heart of what has been called the “Paschal Mystery”: his dying and being raised , to draw the whole world to himself in a new Life. Following him (which is what he asks us to do!) means being willing to enter into the Paschal Mystery ourselves, a mystery of dying in order to gain a greater life. This means also, our tradition says, being willing to die on a regular basis to what is the “old self”, what Thomas Merton called the ”little self”, to receive God’s gift of our “true self”, in union with Christ. Christian writers have written about the need to be willing to leave behind our “old self” (for the most part described as an ego-centric haze of self-interest, worries, limited vision) and be open to the new self God is hoping to form of us: a person who shares abundantly God’s love and care for God’s creation and God’s people. Bonhoeffer wrote a stunning line: “When God calls (us) to follow, He calls us to come and die”. The paschal mystery is not only about facing physical death in hopes of Resurrection, it is also about willing to give up trying to win a life for ourselves separately from God’s work in the world, and giving our life over to Christ’s action of love in the world. This, I think, is the heart of the Christian gospel and our call to follow him. It is not a light thing, but entails our total purpose and way of life. There is a wonderful prayer used by the National Cathedral for those who have not been able to be present for the Eucharist: “Lord Christ, may I never be separated from you, in this life and in the life to come”. I find this prayer very moving and on target. We can confidently pray this because his Paschal Mystery was the core of Jesus’ ministry for us! Exercise: take some time to just sit in silence with no one else but you and God. Put away during that time all the noise and rancor surrounding us so much. Just you and God, letting yourself be loved by “Him”. The promise is you will find nothing in that still presence but love and acceptance, and the promise of many who practice this is: you will be changed, a more loving, patient, grateful person. That is a worthwhile Lenten journey, being in the Mystery! Submitted by Randy Williamson |