Blog: Praying Through Lent in a Pandemic Season

This year, as part of my own Lenten Journey, I am following the writings of Dr. Elisabeth R. Jones, the Minister at Cedar Park United Church in Pointe Claire.  For each day of Lent 2021, during the time we were observing stricter Covid-19 rules, Dr. Elisabeth chose a daily reading, followed by a prayerful reflection.

This Lenten Season, 2022, restrictions are easing but reflection continues to be a part of our Lenten devotions.

Each Friday, I will share with you the reading Dr. Elisabeth chose and the prayer she offered for deeper consideration.

I sincerely hope you will enjoy them as much as I am.

Friday, Week One

“Driven in the wilderness…..with the wild beasts…..and the angels serve him.”  (Mark 1: 12-13)

We’re not that used to wilderness these days, not creation’s wilderness at least.

Wilderness these days is more evident in human behaviour.  Raw hatred, envy, greed, sexual predation, racial violence…..all these things are the beasts with which we must contend.  Thank God there are angels here too, often unrecognizable as such, but there, nevertheless, to “attend”, to “serve” us all while we do the wilderness work within ourselves first.  We can’t deal with those worldly beasts, until we deal with the ways they work their harm within us, can we?

Dr. Elisabeth offers the following prayer:

I see now why we are “driven” by the Spirit into the wilderness, Holy One,

where the wild beasts have names like Envy, Greed, Supremacism.

We would not willingly venture into encounter with these inner and outer beasts without your provocation and your protection.

So, we pray for the attendant angels to guard us while we do this wilderness work, for as long as it takes.

Amen

As you follow Dr. Elisabeth’s readings with me this year, I would stress that we too are called to dig into the places we would rather not, to see with open eyes the things which cause us pain and disbelief.  This is the journey through the deserts of our own lives.  It is not a journey for the faint of heart. It is a journey which requires faith and the courage to travel with others to a destination of which we are unsure. 

On this first Friday of Lent, I leave you with these words: “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  (Joshua 1: 19)

In peace

Pastor Beryl, DLM