Fifth Sunday: Lent Daybook 33

Take a few deep breaths, settle your body, mind, and heart into a quiet space, and let’s begin with prayer.

Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Look: Latorlépés, (Thief Step), Faludi Galéria, Párbeszéd Háza, Budapest, 2021 - Source

Excerpt from commentary at ArtWay.eu: “The installation by Hungarian artist Boglárka Éva Zellei shows us something strange: figures are suspended in the choir area of an old church where otherwise the figure of Christ crucified would be seen.

But these are not printed copies of Jesus figures (mounted on honeycomb panels). Rather these are copies of old sculptures of the criminals who were executed to the left and right of Jesus. How can we know this? The most obvious sign is that the arms are tied to the horizontal beam of the cross and not nailed. This corresponds to Christian iconography, in which the intention is to emphasize the injustice suffered by the Son of God by showing Jesus with pierced hands and feet, while the criminals suffer a less cruel punishment. Here we see not simply two criminals hanging there, but many. What is the significance of that?”

Listen: O Sacred Head Surrounded, Benedictines of Mary - Text | Spotify | YouTube

Read: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:7-16; Luke 20:9-19

Pray: The Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Do: On Sundays during Lent, we break our fast (at least partially). Enjoy something you've given up, giving thanks to Christ for the abundance we receive from his obedience and great love.

We also feast on poetry! Read this week’s poem, “Lent, 1966” by Madeleine L’Engle, and spend a few moments preparing for the fifth full week of Lent.

*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year C of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 2)