The Story for the
Second Sunday in Lent
February 28, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Psalm 22:22-30

I will declare your name to my kindred;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
Praise the Lord, you that fear God;
stand in awe of God, O offspring of Israel;
all you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
For God does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty;
neither turns away from them;
when they cry to the Lord, they are heard.
My praise is of God in the great assembly;
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship the Lord.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall give praise:
“May your heart live for ever!” 
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before God.
For sovereignty belongs to the Lord,
who rules over the nations.
To God alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship;
all who go down to the dust fall before God.
My soul shall live for God; my descendants shall serve God;
they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.

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Something to Do

Walking through Lent

This week’s breath prayer to accompany you on your walk:

This week, as you take a breath in,
My praise is of God
and, as you slowly release your breath,
in the great assembly.

End your walk by thanking God for keeping you company.

Draw the Circle Wide

Notice how the circle included in giving praise to God gets bigger and bigger – starting with the psalmist’s family to the congregation to the whole of Israel to all in need to all who seek to all the world to all who have ever lived to all who have or ever will live.

Apply the psalmist’s example to your prayer this week. Get a piece of paper and draw a set of concentric circles. Begin your prayer at the centre for those who are closest to you and work you way ever outward, expanding your prayer – and your heart – until it encompasses God’s whole world, past, present, and future.

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Something to Wonder

Praise the Lord…

We are called to praise even in the season of Lent. What does praise look like during a time of repentance? What does praise look like during a time of pandemic? What does praise look like during a time of sorrow?

Seek the Lord

What does it mean to seek the Lord?

Have there been times in your life (perhaps today) that you have sought the Lord? What does that look like for you?

Have there been times in your life (perhaps today) when you feel you have found the Lord? What does that look like?

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Something to Learn

Biblical Poetry

The Bible is full of poetry – whole books (including the Psalms), long stretches of the prophets, and even breaking out in the histories. Hebrew poetry uses different conventions than English poetry – or, perhaps more accurately, emphasizes and relies on different conventions that English poetry.

Read a fascinating overview of the conventions of Biblical poetry from MyJewishLearning.

And the Bible Project has a video series on Biblical poetry that is worth a watch (but note that their claim that the Bible is a unified story is true but only in a very complicated way!)

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

The Story for the
First Sunday in Lent
February 21, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Psalm 25:1-9

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you;
let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Let none who look to you be put to shame; let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.
Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long.
Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.
Gracious and upright are you, O Lord; therefore you teach sinners in your way.
You guide the humble in doing right and teach your way to the lowly.

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Something to Do

Walking through Lent

Go for a walk every day (or every week or whatever pattern works for you) and spend part of it in prayer. Consider using a breath prayer – a simple phrase to focus your attention and release your heart – taken from each week’s psalm.

This week, as you take a breath in,
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
and, as you slowly release your breath,
my God, I put my trust in you.

End your walk by thanking God for keeping you company.

You guide the humble in doing right and teach your way to the lowly.

Lent is a season of fasting not for the sake of suffering but as a tool for dragging our attention away from satisfying our own hungers towards the teachings of God.

How will you turn your attention to God in this season?

• simplify your diet – cut out sweets or dairy or processed foods
• attend to your time – get up or go to bed earlier or give up Netflix or commit to a lunch hour
• say your prayers – see above or try a daily prayer site/app (I am using this one these days) or use a finger labyrinth
• direct your resources – give your money or your time to the work of God (volunteering is tricky these days but you can use your time to learn)

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Something to Wonder

Where do you put your trust?

This psalm feels to be both a declaration of trust and a desire to trust in God, recognizing that it is not always an easy thing to do even when we want to do it.

What are your thoughts on trust? Do you find it easy or difficult to trust? Why?

In what, or in whom, do you trust? Why?

Do you trust God? What does that mean to you?

Remember me according to your love

God remembers us not according to our sins but according to God’s love. This is a beautiful way to think about forgiveness – an expression of our core identity as beloved by God.

Can you imagine forgiving someone by remembering them according to your love for them rather than according to their sins? What would that look like? What possibilities would it open up?

If you are carrying a burden of guilt, does knowing God remembers you according to God’s love for you help you to lay it down?

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Something to Learn

Sin

The Bible Project offers a thought-provoking and engaging video on the Biblical concept of sin. Find it here.

Repentance

To repent is to look, not downward at my own shortcomings but upward at God’s love; not backward with self-reproach, but forward with trustfulness. It is to see, not what I have failed to be, but what by the grace of God I can yet become.

Bishop Kallistos Ware

The Department of Christian Education of the Orthodox Church in America expands on Bishop Ware’s understanding in this very short article: Repenting is Not Just Lamenting

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

The Story for the
Feast of the Transfiguration
February 14, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Mark 9:2-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 

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Something to Do

Go up a mountain

Why are mountains so often thin places – places where there seems to be less distance between heaven and earth or the mundane and the sacred than usual?

We can’t do any mountain climbing these days but take a look at these Google Earth tours of some of the world’s highest peaks and let your spirit soar.

He did not know what to say

Do you ever find yourself at a loss for words – whether because you are frightened or sad or shy or just overwhelmed? Or perhaps you don’t feel at a loss for words, exactly. Perhaps your experience is more like Peter’s and words – any words – just spill out.

Either way, try silence. The next time you find yourself grasping at words, take a beat and see what you hear when you don’t fill the space with your own voice.

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Something to Wonder

Elijah with Moses were talking with Jesus

What a gift this moment was for Jesus – a visit with two great ancestors upon whose teaching Jesus himself stood.

Who are the ancestors whose teaching has shaped you? These might be literal ancestors, as in family members, or they might be ancestors in your professional or political or spiritual life.

How have they shaped you? In what ways have you drawn on and expanded their teachings in your own life?

…and he was transfigured before them

Seeing someone you love transformed is itself a transformative experience. Peter, James, and John came down that mountain different people than who they were when they went up it.

How do you think they were changed?

Have you ever witnessed a transformation (probably one that took more time than this one)? How did it change you?

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Something to Learn

The Politics of Bedazzlement

This is a wonderful (and brief) essay by Mark Davis on the transfiguration and our compulsion to put words on everything.

In the narrative of Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ journey to his cross in Jerusalem is interrupted by the incredible event of his Transfiguration. Peter’s rush to speech is characteristic of our frequent over-reliance upon words to process and respond to things that demand our silence and our wonder.
Read more.

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

The Story for the
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 7, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Mark 1:29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.  

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Something to Do

The whole city gathered around the door

Our city – and everyone’s city – is in desperate need of healing. Stand on the doorstep of your home or your apartment building and hold the city up in prayer. Use these words or find or your own or simple stand in silent love.

Lord Jesus Christ, you looked with compassion on all who came to you. Send your Spirit on this city and fill it with your peace. Strengthen the healers, comfort the sorrowful, soothe the sick, raise up the weary, and free us from all fear. Amen.

Everyone is searching for you

Go on a hunt for Jesus this week. Find him in the workers doing their jobs under difficult circumstances; in the masked faces on the street; in caregivers; in people receiving care; in people sitting on sidewalks as others walk by; in the people who share your life most intimately.

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Something to Wonder

In the morning, while it was still dark

Imagine yourself into Jesus’ head. Mark is describing the early days (weeks?) of his public ministry. He has come back from his time of testing in the wilderness, gathered his first four disciples and seems to have become very well-known very quickly. Seekers – for teaching, for healing, for salvation – have come from all over.

And now Jesus has gotten up while it was still dark and slipped out on his own. Why was he up so early – was he unable to sleep or did he set a 1st century alarm or was he just an early riser? How was he feeling? What did he say to God during that quiet time?

Consider taking the time to actually write your thoughts down.

Let us go on to the neighbouring towns

Although most of us don’t live on the road the way Jesus did during his teaching ministry, many of us have lived in a variety of places – whether different towns and cities or simply different neighbourhoods.

How would you tell the story of your faith through those places. What did God teach you in each place? What opportunities for serving God did you find? What questions were raised for you? How was the kingdom revealed? How do you continue to carry each place with you?

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Something to Learn

Praying the Hours

The Liturgy of the Hours is a daily pattern of prayer that marks the passing of the day though 7 times of prayer – sanctifying the whole day and infusing it with prayer.

Vigils (Midnight or later)          Waiting and reverie
Lauds (4-5 am or daybreak)     Waking
Prime (6 am)                            Beginning
Terce (9 am)                             Doing
Sext (Noon)                              Pausing
None (3 pm)                             Doing
Vespers (Sunset)                      Ending
Compline (Bedtime)                 Surrendering

Learn more about this ancient practice and ways to incorporate it into your own prayer practice.

Praying the Hours: Reclaiming my time

Explore the Divine Hours: a complete guide to the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

The Story for the
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
January 31, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Adam Brown

Mark 1:21-28

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

²¹ They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴ and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

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Something to Do

“Be silent”

Sometimes the anxieties and depression and all the other negative unhealthy stuff in our minds overwhelms us without us even realizing it. Take a moment to be quiet for a bit. Identify all the layers of how you’re feeling, why you’re feeling them, and then let them go with a deep breath.

Declutter

Take a moment to find a corner of your house gathering dust or clutter and tidy it up. When you’re finished take a moment to feel good about how good it looks.

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Something to Wonder

Societal unclean spirits

What are some “unclean spirits” plaguing our society (Globally? Nationally? Locally?) and notice how education and dialogue often make no room for these unclean spirits anymore. How will you educate yourself and grow in empathy and understanding?

“Have you come to destroy us?”

Notice how the unclean spirit asked if Jesus came to destroy him. Rather than choosing the path of destruction Jesus told the unclean spirit to simply be quiet and leave – that it was no longer welcome here. How might that inform how we personally deal with things, people, or events that trouble us?

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Something to Learn

The Immovable Ladder

The Rev’d Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a monumental advocate for striving for social change through the use of nonviolence.

You can read more about his journey to nonviolence, as well as his practical and theological thoughts on it, here: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/nonviolence/

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.