Lent 2021
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Daily Reflections
A diverse group of writers from across our conference share their thoughts on Isaiah 58:11.
Easter Sunday – Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
Alleluia! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Joyful Easter greetings resound from a garden, well-watered, in an arid land. Jesus was crucified in a garden. In the garden was a new tomb. Mary came to the garden. Weeping, she saw Jesus but thought he was the gardener. The word garden echoes evocatively…
Day 40 – Rev. Chris Brady
I take solace in the promise of God’s nourishing hope that is available despite my shortcoming and frailties. For some, Lent is not a gift to embrace but rather a chore to be endured. Yet, Lent, in my opinion, is an opportunity to look honestly at our lives, not so we may criticize ourselves more…
Day 39 – Marisol Hernández
When I was a teenager, there was a popular game called blind man’s bluff. The game consisted of one person who was blindfolded and then disoriented. The other players had to call out to the “blind man” and dodge away from him. The player that the blind man touched took on the blindfold. I was…
Day 38 – Rev. Ismael Ruiz-Millán
“I Thirst” is the statement carved on one of the sides at the Communion table in Goodson Chapel at Duke Divinity School. During Lent, as one enters into the chapel through the main entrance, this phrase is a reminder to the guests, the tourists, and the seminarians that being thirsty is a sign of a…
Day 37 – Rev. Sunny Limm
When I was a kid, I watched a movie where a driver made a mistake and got into a fatal car accident. It was a quite traumatic moment that I came to be afraid of riding in a car. I was nervous if a driver would make a crucial mistake and worried about getting into…
Day 36 – Rev. Juan Turcios
Before the pandemic, my house had three plants. These past six months, my partner has been adding dozens of plants to our home, but somehow, I am always on watering duty. Near my desk resides a plant whose leaves dramatically droop over as if it is dying when it is thirsty. By adding a small…
Day 35 – Rev. Gypsie Murdaugh
One cold, cloudy winter morning, I was out “prayer” walking. As I journeyed through my small town, I lifted prayers for the households and businesses I passed. I thought that this day looked like how I felt, for I was quite dreary and forlorn at the time. The land was dry because of a lack…
Day 34 – Jin Lee
My husband survived an aortic dissection in 2012 and since then adjusted to a moderately healthy lifestyle. Of course, with this experience came a sense of second chance and a renewed purpose for both John and me. Shortly after Thanksgiving in 2020, he was experiencing concerning discomfort in his chest. A scheduled catheterization procedure revealed…
Day 33 – Kuda Kagura
Blessed are we the Children of God that we are continuously guided by a God who loves us so dearly. We are all called daily to be thankful to God for all that we have in our lives. In the words of our savior Jesus in Matthew 6, “if the birds do not worry about…
Day 32 – Rev. Sandy Kim
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus humbles himself, not regarding his divine status above humans, but knowing the true worth and value of even the most disinherited persons as equal heirs to God’s kingdom, his kin. He knows the cries of those suffering injustices, oppressed and shackled by yokes, and does…
Day 31 – Rev. Trey Harris
I’ve had plenty of time to grow closer to God during the pandemic, yet I still find myself in a spiritual drought. As I approach this Lenten season, I am thankful that God satisfies my soul despite the drought. Today my soul is content. But “How is it with your soul?” One of the questions…
Day 30 – Alejandra Fuentes
We moved to this country three years ago. My husband had the opportunity to get a veterinarian job in North Carolina. We decided to come because he had been without a job for two years, and our country’s insecurity was snowballing. We moved to the US with our two children, and none of us spoke…
Day 29 – Rev. Paul Lee
At my pro bono legal clinic, a client tells me in a hesitant voice, “Pastor Paul, even my pastor at my church does not know what I am going to tell you now,” signaling me to keep the story confidential. As an attorney, I assure the client of the attorney-client privilege. Only then, they get…
Day 28 – Rev. Donna Thompson
Decision making has taken on a profound significance as we find ourselves seeking the Lord’s guidance concerning important decisions we are confronted with in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, racial division, and political unrest. We may have to consider some decisions that might involve very controversial issues, such as: Should I wear a mask…
Day 27 – Rev. Dena White
This passage from Isaiah reminds me of Hagar. In Genesis 16, Hagar leaves what seems to be an impossible situation and flees to a wilderness place, a desert place, next to a spring. She is definitely parched, within and without. Hagar’s hope has run dry. Hope that there is redemption for the present; hope that…
Day 26 – Jay Locklear
Throughout the scriptures, one of the constant themes we read about is guidance. God leads Abraham to travel “to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) The Israelites are guided by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The prophets are led and inspired by God to proclaim…
Day 25 – Rev. Ernesto Barriguete
While in seminary, I was struggling financially. One day, all I had left was five dollars. That day, I walked to the gas station and bought a Coke and a sandwich. I had two dollars left and I wondered if I had enough to continue? I decided to buy two lottery tickets. After all, I…
Day 24 – Rev. Sylvia Collins-Ball
I grew up in a very rural part of North Carolina, and I came to live with my grandparents when I was three days old. I called my grandparents mamma and daddy. We lived on a sharecroppers farm, in an old wooden four-bedroom home, and no indoor plumbing. Our source of fresh drinking water came…
Day 23 – Rev. Joseph Park
Parched places are not where we want to be. We lack water. We are short of provision.. In a parched place we do not want to lift up our eyes to look around, let alone look up. That is because all our energy is dried up by the heat of the day or the loneliness…
Day 22 – Rev. Kenneth Locklear
The season of Lent offers us an opportunity for Spiritual Disciplines for our Christian faith. As we observe Lent, we focus on the sacrifice of Christ, praise and worship of God, and a deeper intimacy with God, to name a few disciplines. It is a time of repentance and spiritual fasting. A couple of years…
Day 21 – Lou Jennings
Some of my fondest memories in life center around water! As a child, I was always so excited when we had the opportunity to stay at a hotel that had a swimming pool. With my dad being 6’ 5”, I always felt so safe in the pool with him because he was always taller than…
Day 20 – John Hall
I grew up with a family garden – most all of the folks in our community had a small plot of land where every summer there was an abundance of fresh squash, cucumbers, and of course tomatoes. I didn’t really think about what I was learning about life during those hot summer days of watering…
Day 19 – Louise Mitchell
In this 2021 Lenten season, we know change has occurred due to the global virus causing us to do things differently. I reflect on the visual display stories of Jesus crucifixion we do at church. The excitement would mount to Resurrection Sunday when the congregation sang praises while adding flowers to a cross. This circumstance…
Day 18 – Rev. Lisa Yebuah
A gift of Isaiah’s poetic message is it keeps us honest without making us feel too bad about ourselves. God will continually guide us because, well…we need guidance. Our bones will be made strong because there are places in our lives where we feel weak. We’re promised a satiated life because we will experience seasons…
Day 17 – Rev. Yuko Miller
God’s unconditional love comes with conditions of his direction. The blessing of God’s promised message includes verses 1-10: the fall of Babylonian captivity, true repentant heart or not, along with true prayer and fasting or not, and worship. Truth examined by Almighty God who created all of us and sees everything, if we practice or…
Day 16 – Rev. Eleazar Partida
As we journey through different seasons in life, sometimes we find ourselves in dry desolate places. We have all experienced awful times when we feel lost, empty, tired, and ready to give up. We might even wonder whether God’s presence is near us. When my brother passed away last year my heart was broken, and…
Day 15 – Rev. Beth Hood
Is virtual worship really worship? It is a question that has been posed by many over the last several months. It’s a natural question for those who have gotten up, put on their best attire, and driven to church on Sunday mornings their entire lives. Parishioners and pastors alike have wondered. After all, we call…
Day 14 – Kennedy Gray
The Covid pandemic, racial tension, and political division provide us much to reflect on during this Lent season. For many of us, this may feel like a dry place as we witness death and despair on such a large scale. The message found in Isaiah 58:11 is one of assurance in the presence, protection, and…
Day 13 – Rev. Tim Catlett
Even before “COVID-19” and “global pandemic” became part of our everyday conversation, my family’s 2020 was disrupted. In January, my 12-year-old son broke both bones in his right arm while playing goalkeeper during a soccer scrimmage. The breaks required surgery during which titanium rods were inserted into his arm to stabilize the bones. The healing…
Day 12 – Rev. Mattheue Locklear
Reading Isaiah 58:11 reminds me of the nursery rhyme:Mary, Mary, quite contrary,How does your garden grow?With silverbells and cockle shellsAll in a row. I grew up in rural Maxton, North Carolina, during the 1980s. We did not see families like ours on television, and I felt our family must be inferior to the “normal” families…
Day 11 – Rev. Sung Moy
In January of 2015, I slipped on black ice and broke the tibia and fibula in my right leg. Apparently, my tibia had been shattered, and I required a lot of hardware. When I returned to the doctor in the first few months, he said that I was healing nicely. It was hard to be…
Day 10 – Sara Cortes
Since I was a little girl, I’ve never been able to keep a plant alive, let alone a garden! A couple of years ago, my daughter brought a gift to me from school. It was this little and fragile flower planted in a plastic cup. I knew I had to pay extra attention to this…
Day 9 – Rev. Rhonda Jordan
Summers in Franklin County, North Carolina, were hot and dry. The hotter the weather, the more parched the land. The sweltering heat covered us like a heavy wool blanket in August, smothering us, changing the landscape and peoples’ dispositions from green to brown. Even people of faith became concerned about their crops and gardens. As a child, I heard the…
Day 8 – Rev. Jon Strother
Before today’s reading was ours to ponder, it was offered to a people who had watched their nation be ripped apart; first from within, and then oppressed from without. “One nation under God,” became divisible. We know what that looks like, don’t we? We witnessed it right here – 160 years ago – North and…
Day 7 – Emily Lain
For the last 5 years, I have lived close enough to walk to the ocean in about 5 minutes. When you step outside, the air smells salty and kind of fishy. From the parsonage porch, when it’s hushed out, you can hear the waves. And while it’s good to be close to the ocean, it’s…
Day 6 – Rev. Robin Jones
My mind takes me back to the winter of 2004. My husband, Eric Todd, was preparing to retire out of the North Carolina Army National Guard after 30 years of service, our son was twelve years old, and life was going great. But soon, a massive number of troops were to begin to deploy for…
Day 5 – Rev. John Gumbo
Early morning in May 1963, as the sun was rising and the birds of the forest were singing songs of praise, in a small thatched mud house in Africa, a baby boy was born; weak and sick with no hope to survive. His mother, Victoria, a strong believer in God, told the priest to come…
Day 4 – Rev. Carolyn Cummings-Woriax
Joyfully, as we prepare for the Lenten Season, Isaiah’s action words – guide, satisfy, and strengthen – remind us of God’s faithfulness. Psalm 23 also demonstrates God’s continual faithfulness. We were excited to arrive at the Grand Canyon National Park. While hiking the trail down to the Colorado River, many “oohs” and “aahs” were voiced…
Day 3 – Rev. Alma Tinoco-Ruiz
God created a beautiful, watered garden that can produce all we need to satisfy our needs. Yet, for most of us, it is not enough. We live in a consumerist society where many are not satisfied with the springs of water that God continues creating within us, much less with what God’s garden produces. Our…
Day 2 – Rev. Edgar De Jesus
Summers in my homeland, the Philippines, are really hot and humid with temperatures sometimes rising as high as 100°F. During this season, there is not much rain and all there was, was heat— creating parched places and cracking dry grounds. As a result, crops are destroyed, animals die, and livelihoods devastated. This is a harsh…
Day 1 – Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
Today is a day to bow together in humility before God. We are human, limited, temporary. We will come and we will go. We will sleep and we will wake. We will live and we will die. As the pandemic rages for a second Lent, we acknowledge our mortality as we receive the gift of ashes. In his…