It was on Holy Thursday and all in the morning

They plaited a crown of thorns for our Heavenly King

And was not this a woeful thing

And sweet Jesus we’ll call him by name.

These words are from a traditional English carol called And All in the Morning.
(If you receive these blog posts in an email, you might have to go to the blog site to hear the song.)

Even though I am physically separated and sheltered from a worshipping community this year, Lent feels much less private than normal. I usually turn inward and spend more time alone during Lent. This year, to my surprise, my attention is drawn outward towards what is happening outside the four walls of my house and across the waters to other parts of the world. This worldwide virus event is like a banquet to which everyone on the planet has received an invitation and no one chooses to attend. There is sacrifice, hardship, disease, and death across the globe. But there is also comradeship and common interest and concern and conversation. To experience this pandemic during Lent is being IN the drama of suffering and sorrow rather than just commemorating it like we do each year. Jesus was willing to share and experience the suffering of fellow humans.

I like the round, globelike template this week as a way to focus on the solidarity and not the separateness of the world. From the center of the circle I can view the North, South, East, and West. I also like the circle because it gives me a framework and a boundary. With so much to obsess and think about, the simplicity and structure of the circle offers a starting place of ease and freedom. for drawing. HERE is the link to today’s template.

The Exodus reading for today is about the Passover. The Israelites prepare a banquet in accordance with God’s orders and place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and the lintel of their houses. This ensures that the plague will pass over them. Passover this year began last night and continues until April 16. It’s an appropriate time to pray that this modern day plague will pass by us and others around the world.

Here are the lectionary readings for the day:
Exodus 12: 1-4 (5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13: 1-17, 31b-35