“For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” – Romans 10:10

“For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” Well, that sure puts things into perspective as far as my faith is concerned. There is an emphasis on proclamation in this passage that is somewhat foreign to my spiritual leaning. I won’t, however, say that it is foreign to my experience. For many years Carol and I lived and traveled in the Islamic world, where the word is always “on your lips and in your heart.” Five times a day, to be exact. I suppose Paul’s linkage of confession with your lips as well as belief in your heart may have come from an Abrahamic tradition of chant and praise — the tradition of the Psalms. Because while I’m not personally inclined to bust out in worship at the drop of a hymnal, going to church and vocally praising the Lord with my fellow worshippers is good for my soul.

Lord, it is well with my soul to know that the word is always near me and that the word is you. Help me overcome my self-consciousness in connecting my heart to my lips in seeking the salvation you offer. Amen.
-Michael Boss

“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.” – Romans 10:8b

A couple of years ago, I started the practice of reciting a portion of the ancient Jewish prayer, the Shema. Traditionally, it is said every morning and evening, with the right hand covering the eyes to help concentrate on the message of the Shema, conscious of God’s unity and the unity that underlies all existence. I learned the first few words in Hebrew, trying to hear how Jesus might have sounded as he said the prayer. Allowing the words to sink into my being, I say, “Shema Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.” I can imagine Jesus offering this prayer, knowing its truth, and drawing strength from it. Starting and ending almost every day with these words has been a comfort and blessing to me in these crazy times.

In his letter, Paul affirms that in the Lord there is neither Jew nor Greek. For those of us who share this belief, we are called to be together in his name in good times and bad. This call across the centuries seems so important these days when Christian stands against Christian in heart-breaking division, all in the name of the Lord of all.

Keeping the Word of God within has given me unimagined peace and afforded a deeper and broader perspective on life than what I get from the words slung around by politicians and fanatics. It has also given me the strength to speak about my faith, a difficult thing for me in the past.

The Word of God is not only within, but also without—“the word is near you.” Knowing that I do not live in a vacuum but rather in a world filled with divine presence has been transformative. Feeling the love of God flowing through me and everyone (whether they recognize it or not) and everything around me fills me with hope, and it is well with my soul.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” Keep us ever mindful of whose we really are, blessed Lord, and hear us when we call your name. Amen.
-Carol Treston

“We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2

When I was a child, new to church (having been raised in no church at all), I didn’t know what to make of it. I didn’t know who Jesus was, except that he seemed to like children (“… suffer the children to come unto me”) and sheep (“I am the good shepherd”). While I was sure the Sunday school teachers and ministers were telling me the truth, I didn’t really believe them. I examined my life, and although I can’t imagine for the life of me (at that tender age of eight or nine) what I might have considered all my trespasses to have been, I was sure I was going to hell, regardless of what the Bible, pastor, or teachers told me. It wasn’t my deeds that concerned me; it was my soul. I was convinced I would approach the Pearly Gates a minute late and a dollar short.

Somewhere, somehow, and in some way, over the past fifty-five years since my baptism, confirmation, and ordinations (Deacon, then Priest) I came to let go of the part of my ego that told me my sins and brokenness were too much for God to handle. Personally, I believe thinking I am (or we are) too bad for God gives God a fit of the giggles. I mean, there are a few sins left in my bucket list, if I’m going to be completely honest. So it is in light of that I find Paul’s admonition to his friends quite helpful. “We BEG you on behalf of Christ, be R-E-C-O-N-C-I-L-E-D to God.” In other words, get over yourself. It is well with my soul because we are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and God has balanced the books in our favor.

God, I admit I often worry too much about me, and not nearly enough about thee, but you are One whose property is always to have mercy. Have mercy on me, then, and help me know it is well with my soul because you have said so; that settles it. Amen.
– Fr. Keith Axberg

“…but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger…” – 2 Corinthians 6:4-5

I am one of those strange people who love Lent and Holy Week.

Taking on something for Jesus? YES PLEASE!

Giving up something I love to grow closer to Christ? BRING IT!

Depressing readings and tunes from the 17th century written in a minor key? MY FAVORITE!

So, you’re giving up coffee for Lent, Jen? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA… NO. (It’s a safety thing—the safety of those who have to be around me.)

When it comes to how we do Lent in the West, we tend to be pansies compared to our siblings in the East. I keep Lent to Catholic standards as I hang out online with a lot of devout Catholics, and there are a lot of conversations about how “ohmigosh-today-is-Friday-I-have-to-plan-a-meatless-meal.” On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, there might be a conversation about what fasting rules look like, but none of it was impossible to do if one gave it a small amount of forethought.

My Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic friends, however, must give up meat, dairy, fish, oil, and wine in addition to abstaining from eating altogether on some days. I took on my friend Laura’s fast in the Coptic Orthodox Church a few years ago, and we had to modify it before I even started because not eating until noon was going to mess with my blood sugar badly. All I wanted for most of Lent was a freaking “I-really-hope-this-is-tuna” sandwich from Subway, which is usually a Lenten staple for me on Fridays, and to have something other than coconut milk in my coffee! I had to abandon the fast altogether at several points when I got bronchitis and needed some chicken soup.

Am I saying that we should all adopt an Orthodox style fast? Not at all. What I am saying is that we might want to find ways to draw closer to Jesus this Lent that may take us out of our comfort zones a bit. That might look like taking on extra prayer, extra reading, or giving up something you enjoy so that your thoughts about that item are directed toward God instead. You do you.

Gracious God, help us draw closer to you this Lent. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

“For he says, ‘At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.’ See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!” – 2 Corinthians 6:2

Something was wrong with my husband. He was getting winded walking up hills in our neighborhood and had stopped doing cardio at the gym. Sometimes he complained of indigestion or pressure in his chest when we were walking, and he looked a little gray. He’d had a physical in May and “everything was fine.” Well, it wasn’t!

In August, after keeping notes about how he felt for two months, he finally contacted our doctor. Two days before her well-deserved sabbatical, she scheduled him for a stress test, which indicated something was definitely wrong with my husband! It took a week to get an appointment with the doctor who was covering for our family doctor. That was possibly the longest and most difficult week of my life. I prayed unceasingly for strength and courage for us both.

Finally, the appointment came on a Tuesday and the whirlwind began. He had a referral to a cardiologist on Wednesday, a heart catheterization on Thursday, and on Friday, emergency open-heart surgery to bypass three arteries including the left main, which was 96% blocked! The left main is often referred to as the widow-maker since a blockage results in immediate death. Unquestionably, something was wrong with my husband!

During his four hours of surgery, I walked, prayed, and texted with prayer warriors who were supporting us both. The surgical team called to let me know when he went onto the heart/lung machine and when he came off. I felt a sense of calm, love, and hopefulness. All was well with my soul.

During his recovery, we were supported by each of our two sons spending a week with us with a one-day celebratory overlap when they both were here. Members of the parish brought food and checked in on us. The surgery was successful, and he worked hard at rehabilitation. Now, thanks be to God, all is well with my soul and my husband.

Thank you, God, for your love and protection for us and those we love. Thank you for prayer warriors, medical professionals, loving children, and caring Christian communities. Thank you for helping us on the day of our salvation. Amen.
-Cathey Frederick

“…but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities…” – 2 Corinthians 6:4

How is my faith holding together, you ask?

Over the past two years, like St. Paul, I have endured “troubles, hardships, and distresses.” I am not the person I was two years ago, for good or for ill. It has been a most trying time, filled with internal and external anxiety.

With the rest of the world, I watched the beating of George Floyd in horror as he called out to his mother. I raged at the killing of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. I made signs and marched—and have been flipped off and yelled at doing so, common decency a fleeting trait in the U.S. today.

I’ve spent sleepless nights worrying over COVID and politics and climate change and what kind of a world we are leaving our grandchildren. And then our grandchildren got COVID.

I’ve received disheartening medical news, been slandered by an old friend, and been criticized for my writing.

Sorrowful, shattered, fragmented, crushed? Yes. More than once, and on different levels.

Yet, no matter what I’ve endured, have I been always rejoicing, as Paul exhorts us to do in this passage?

Here I fall far, far short.

Last week, at St. Philip’s in the Hills in Tucson, Mother Taylor Devine reminded us of this fact. Throughout hardship, we must seek joy, she said. The unfurling of a flower, the sun’s rays on the mountain, a cool glass of water. However small, seek it.

St. Paul says though we may have (or think or feel that we may have) nothing, we yet possess everything in Christ. This is the kernel of truth I cling to as we enter Lent together.

How is your faith holding up?

Dear Lord, be with us day and night, shore us up, remind us to seek joy amid suffering. Amen.
-Ashley Sweeney