Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

During the pandemic, I got addicted to videos from the YouTube channel, “The Pointe Shop”. The owner, Josephine Lee, does pointe shoe fittings for ballet students and visits studios and ballet schools across the country. My favorite series of hers is one where she meets with professional ballerinas at ballet companies attached to these schools (such as Pacific Northwest Ballet) and asks them about how they alter their pointe shoes. The answers can be very brutal. Exacto knives, slamming them in doors, Jet glue, sewing with dental floss, and other things are involved. Each shoe is made on a specific form, and they don’t come made into left and right models. Dancers have to sew their own and break them in before classes or shows. These shoes cost upwards of $100 per pair, and some professionals can go through multiple pairs per show.

Unlike pointe shoe makers, we are not made on a specific form. We were created in Christ for good works, as the verse says at the top, and we were made for a specific purpose. God prepared us for this purpose, and each person’s purpose is unique to them. It may sometimes feel like Exacto knives are being taken to our souls, but God is making us into the people needed for where we are placed in this world. Knowing that I was created for the place I am sitting is something that gives me hope.

Sustain us during those times when we are being molded for our place in this world, Lord, and remind us that we are Your workmanship. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

“You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived” – Ephesians 2:1

Strong language. Question: was I really that bad? Answer: Well, yes, I have been guilty of seriously separating myself from the truth of being God’s child. It took me the first 26 years of my life to get around to commitment. What can be done for me, for anyone who stands outside? Ephesians said my off-course soul was correctable with no strings attached.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8

So how do we follow that? What comes next with God?

“For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” – Ephesians 2:10

Lent is, among other things, good and freeing news. If there’s something to “give up” in Lent, it might simply be any trace of negativity. Remember: God wants this time with each of us.

Dear God, thank you for the grace, love, and gifts of life. Amen.
-Tom Worrell

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” –1 Corinthians 1:25

One of my favorite authors, Fr. James Martin, S.J. of America Magazine, has quoted this many times in articles:

Good news! 1.) God is in control. 2.) You are not God.

It makes me laugh, but it also brings to mind the fact that I am not responsible for fixing every issue in the world today. I cannot make Israel stop committing genocide in Gaza, nor can I make Russia withdraw from Ukraine. I cannot make both parties behave and pass appropriate legislation in Congress. I cannot change people’s hearts and make them stop engaging in systems of oppression.

But God can.

The verse at the top of the page brings me hope because it reminds us that God is so much stronger and wiser than we are.

Help us to remember that you are in control, God, and fix these things that are impossible for us. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” – 1 Corinthians 1:25

The imagined God of my childhood was strong and wise beyond comprehension. Learning the descriptors omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent helped place God in a far-off place removed from my everyday life. This God, somewhat like Santa Claus, knew when I was bad or good. So, mostly, I tried to be good.

Thankfully, I soon encountered believers in a personal God who loved me so much that God sent God’s Son to die for my sins.

“Foolishness” is a polite translation of the Greek word that Paul used in his letter to the church in Corinth. The translation of the Greek word “fool” to English is “moron.” God made what seems to many as a “moronic” choice to use the cross as a means of our salvation.

Not only did God eschew the rich and wise to carry God’s message but chose a poor Jewish peasant who ate with sinners and prostitutes, healed the sick and lame, and preached by the sea and on the mountain. Could anything be further from the established ways of the world where power and wealth guarantee success?

Like the church in Corinth, there is disunity in Christianity today. Christian Nationalism, differences over the “worth” of women, immigrants, the poor, and the homeless divide us. God calls us, through Jesus Christ, to focus on God’s wisdom and strength, not our own.

Dear God, help us to recognize our limitations and weaknesses and rely on You and Your wisdom, strength, and guidance. Amen.
-Cathey Frederick