Jeremiah 11:18–20
John 7:37–52
Psalm 7:6–11

“God is my shield and defense; he is the savior of the true in heart.” – Psalm 7:11

When I was writing my Senior Seminar paper in college, my subject was Celtic Christianity with a focus on how the Celtic saints like St. Patrick converted Ireland from paganism. One of the more fun legends I read about centered around his conversion of the pagan king Leoghaire. According to legend, the king sent henchmen to try and kill Patrick who was on his way to Slane to meet with Leoghaire, but the henchmen failed because Patrick passed by them in the form of a deer.

Why does this fit in with the verse I quoted above? Well, the prayer he allegedly prayed while avoiding these henchmen is called the “Breastplate of St. Patrick”, also known as “The Cry of the Deer”. (The full version can be found here.)

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
-Jen McCabe

Bonus: There is a beautiful hymn based on the prayer which can be found below.

Wisdom 2:1a,12–24
John 7:1–2,10,25–30
Psalm 34:15–22

John’s passage tells of a chaotic scene where Jesus rebukes people in Jerusalem. Although some pushed for Jesus’ arrest after the public uproar, the Scripture passage says no one touched Jesus, for “His hour had not yet come.”

This passage strikes me to my core. When will my hour come? When will yours? Does this thought empower you or cause you to fear? Do you live a little more or a little less when you think of your mortality?

O God, you have given us the Good News of your abounding love in your Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to proclaim the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
-Ashley Sweeney

Exodus 32:7–14
John 5:30–47
Psalm 106:6–7, 19–23

Israel screwed up.

Moses was up on the mountain speaking with the Lord and receiving the Ten Commandments, which left Israel in the hands of Aaron, and Aaron jumped the gun. The people asked him to make gods for them to worship because Moses was still up on the mountain and they had no idea if he was ever coming down. Aaron lacked a spine and allowed it, so a golden calf was made and the people worshipped it.

Given that the first two commandments Moses received were about not having any gods but the God of Israel and not to bow down to idols, Israel was in deep trouble. The Lord was all ready to consume them and blot them out for this, choosing to make a nation of Moses’s descendants.

Moses does something quite amazing: he tells the Lord off for this and brings up the promise made to Abraham and Isaac and Israel to multiply their descendants like the stars in the sky. The Lord changes course and chooses not to blot out the nation of Israel.

The Exodus passage is a reminder to me of both the folly of making hasty decisions (making the golden calf because they did not know when/if Moses was coming back down) and the folly of making decisions when angry (blotting out the nation). Some of the worst decisions in my life have been ones when I have been forced to decide without ample time to think it over, or when I am angry enough that I jump the gun and make a decision that does not need to be made. There is wisdom to be found in praying things over and discerning a reasonable path forward.

Help us, O Lord, to weigh our choices and to seek your will in what we do, lest we make a decision in haste that is not in our best interest.
-Jen McCabe

Isaiah 49:8–15
John 5:19–29
Psalm 145:8–19

“And I will turn all my mountains into a road, and my highways shall be raised up.”

When I was a kid, my family went backpacking for vacation. We backpacked all over the mountains in California from Sequoia National Forest to Klamath National Forest. We used to go out for two weeks every summer, logging as many as 100 miles in a single trip.

I discovered early in my life that being out in the splendor of the wilderness feeds my soul and helps me to put things in perspective. Now, I backpack with Douglas and the Boy Scouts from Troop 4100. I look forward to every opportunity to be out in nature, to unplug and unwind.

“You open wide your hand and satisfy the needs of every living creature.”

In our collect for today, we pray to God, who “sustained your ancient people in the wilderness with bread from heaven”. We ask that God “Feed now your pilgrim flock with the food that endures to everlasting life…”. Lent is about pausing to reflect and feeding your soul. How do you feed your soul? Take a hike!

Gracious God, thank you for the grandeur and majesty of creation, and the reminder that we are but a small part of it. Thank you for the generosity with which you shower us daily. Help us to see and appreciate all that we have and make us mindful of the needs of others. Amen.
-Rob McPeak

Ezekiel 47:1–9,12
John 5:1–18
Psalm 46:1–8

My twin brother and I were born the day after Mount St. Helens erupted, and it is the family joke that the eruption of the mountain coincided with my mother’s water breaking. My parents paid a visit to the mountain in 2005, right after my twenty-fifth birthday, and got ashes from the volcano for my twin brother and me.

Documentaries on the eruption bring to mind the power of God and how that power is played out in the natural world. The psalmist speaks of such power in today’s psalm as they describe “the earth [being] moved, and … the mountains [being] toppled into the depths of the sea; its waters [raging] and [foaming], and … mountains [trembling] at its tumult.” (verses 2-3) I have experienced large earthquakes and been out on the ocean in stormy seas. It never fails to amaze me that the face of the earth can change so much so quickly.

We face many things in our country that cause us to be fearful. As I read the latest headline on Skagit Breaking or see the latest tweet from Donald Trump, it is easy to lose hope. At these times, I recall psalms like this one and take comfort that God can work amid all these things in our upside-down world. If God can change the face of a mountain as happened in May of 1980, how small are the worries that I have in comparison?

How wonderful to be loved by a God described as “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble!” (verse 1)

Lord, you manifest your power so amazingly in the natural world. Help us to remember that You love us and want to be our refuge when we face adversity.
-Jen McCabe

Isaiah 65:17–25
John 4:43–54
Psalm 30:1–6,11–13

“Go, your son will live.”

I really want to believe that the father’s encounter with Jesus was that simple. Maybe it was. Maybe our knowledge and experience get in our way when it comes to Bible stories. I can imagine the societal power dynamic between the royal official and the son of a carpenter from a small town. We don’t know much about the father. We do know that he loved his son and was willing to do anything to save his life. It’s a dynamic that parents can relate to.

When Jesus told him to go, he left. The desperate father of a deathly ill son departed from what may have been his last hope for the boy’s survival. Why?

When I first laid eyes on Helen, God spoke to me: “That’s the woman you’re going to marry”. I knew that the words were true with utter certainty (a knowledge that caused some problems early in our courtship, but that’s a story for another time). Despite all the college-trained knowledge in my head, despite my life experience that pointed out the absurdity of that knowledge, I knew Truth. I imagine that was the father’s experience with Jesus, too. Perhaps that’s the learning. We have access to a form of wisdom that is deeper than knowledge. We know the voice of God.

Lord, help us to hear your voice and give us the courage to walk the path that you have laid out for us. Amen.
-Rob McPeak