“A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.” -Proverbs 17:17

I blush to confess that this is my first encounter with this particular proverb, and it immediately struck me as something that Shakespeare might have written for Henry IV. Both this selection from Proverbs and King Henry’s stirring speech before the Battle of Agincourt (as dramatized by The Bard) make a point that resonates with me. As I look back on my life, there are a lot of people who have loved me and that I have loved in return. But when it comes to the those who have stood with me through thick and thin, brotherhood is truly forged in the crucible of adversity — for sooner or later we all confront our own “St. Crispin’s Day.” This is a truth that transcends theology but is nonetheless an emulation of God’s love for us. And on that note, I leave you with Henry IV’s exhortation to his “band of brothers”:

“For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

Lord, I thank you for the example you sent to us in the form of your son, our Savior, Christ Jesus, that love is given, not earned. It is not for us to be worthy, for Christ didn’t ask that of us. He simply asked us to love without condition, as God loves us. In that love, we are all truly brothers and sisters. Amen.
-Michael Boss

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” -Proverbs 10:12

It is so easy to hate. I watch the news and I find my soul twisting and turning and grief welling up inside. Yes, hate stirs up strife, and there are certainly things we can hate without distorting our souls too badly. I hate lies. I hate abusive behavior and ugly words. But love – God’s love – calls me to lay the cold steel of hate upon the altar and let God transform them into plowshares and pruning hooks. Then God invites us to take up those implements of peace and prepare the soil to receive seeds of grace and hope, joy and comfort, peace and justice.

God, you know how easy it is for me to hate. I can rationalize my bitterness and justify my words and actions, but I also know you have called me to come to a higher place, as a friend – indeed, as your very own child!. Help me live into that vocation so that your love will cover all my transgressions. Amen.
-Keith Axberg

“My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” -Proverbs 3:11-12

This passage could be taken several ways depending on how you were raised. If you were raised in a family where discipline was pain-based and where “spare the rod, spoil the child” (a phrase from “Hudibras” by Samuel Butler that may or may not take its origin from Proverbs 13:24a) was taken to be an advocation of corporal punishment, this passage is going to be very difficult for you. It is also an inaccurate reading of this proverb and the one Butler paraphrased. (An article on the subject is here.)

The way I interpret it (and Proverbs 13:24a) is that God gives us boundaries out of love for us and concern for our well-being. If you love someone, you do not leave them in the bad situation in which you found them. My Catholic friends speak of “helping their children to heaven” and I absolutely love that idea. I think that part of agape is helping each other to heaven and that God wants that for us. It means that I do not allow my son Daniel to do things that are harmful to himself and for others because God does not want me to do anything that is harmful to myself.

Lord, thank you for the reminder that we all belong to each other and that we are all to help each other to heaven. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

I received a formal depression and anxiety diagnosis in the fall of 1999 when I was 19 years old. I had been struggling with it since the age of 13, but I never received help for it because I never had the words to describe what was going on. I also had some trauma in my past, so I arrived at college with PTSD as well as the depression and anxiety that I was trying to hide. My first year was really difficult for me, and everything came to a head in September 1999 when I had a breakdown that I just could not shake. I was crying all the time, I was having a really hard time sleeping, and I could not keep food down. I was put on medication, but it took a little bit of time before that kicked in.

My roommate had her own mental health issues and a situation was created where we were feeding off of each other’s stress. Eventually, we had a really bad fight one night, and she left the room really quickly the next morning without talking to me. I was feeling really defeated and I was in tears when I walked into the dining hall to find my friend Amy sitting at a table. She asked me why I was crying, and I explained that my roommate and I were fighting. She then said the magic words that bring me to tears remembering them 20 years later:

“Jen, do you want to pray about it?”

The reason those words made me cry harder and can still bring me to tears is that Amy was not religious. She was not a practicing Christian at that point, but she had been watching me silently praying over my food at communal meals with our group of friends. The fact that she asked me if I wanted to pray about it was her telling me through her actions that she knew that my faith was a huge part of my life, and she understood that praying about what was going on would be something incredibly meaningful to me. She closed her eyes and sat there quietly holding my hand while I silently railed at God about how anxious and depressed I was.

Amy and I are still good friends 20 years later. When we lived in the same apartment during our last year at UC Santa Cruz, she would always ask to say grace with me if we were eating at the same time, and she occasionally went to church with me. I have told her how much I appreciated her that day, but I really don’t think she understands the gift she gave me that day.

Gracious God, thank you for the amazing people you put in our lives that show us how much you love us and know us. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

“Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.” -Psalm 66:20

As human beings, we know rejection. We know what it is to apply for a job and lose it to another candidate. We know what it is to fall in and out of love or to find our love rejected. We know what it is like to suffer violation of body or soul at the hands of those we thought were friends. We know what it is like to grow older and even our own minds and bodies fail us.

Despite all of that, we keep the faith. Deep down, we know that life comes with seasons, and people can be fickle – but not all people. We know we are subject to disease and decay, but most of us have known far more health than ill-health. We lift up our hands to God in prayer, and we may wonder if God listens; we may wonder if God hears; we may wonder if God knows; we may wonder if God will answer.

The psalmist says, “Blessed be God …” which really means, “I am thankful.” I thank God for not turning a deaf ear to my prayers or turning away from me in my time of need. I need not be anxious, because God’s love penetrates to the deepest levels of my soul – and heals.

Thank you, God, in this time of Lent, for calling me home to abide in your presence. You comfort me more than I can ever know, realize, or repay. Thank you for your Agape love. Amen.
-Keith Axberg

“But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.”-Psalm 59:16

David was in BIG TROUBLE! He’d made a mortal enemy of King Saul, who sent a band of assassins to kill him. All through the night (and for many more days and nights) David feared for his life. He called upon God for help and sanctuary. David pictured God as a fortress or high tower that would lift him up and protect him. All through the night and into the morning David sang songs of praise of God’s power, mercy, and strength.

I’ve never feared for my life as David did, but there have been times in my life when I worried about the safety of those I care most about. Nighttime was and is always the hardest. When activity ceases and we are in bed trying to sleep, the mind conjures up worst-case scenarios. Singing or listening to songs of praise to God helps me interrupt that downward spiral and to finally fall asleep secure in God’s love and care.

Dear God, help me to always remember to sing: “Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him! All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him. Let the Amen sound from his people again, gladly forever adore him.”[1] Amen.
-Cathey Frederick

[1] Hymnal 1982, #390