2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 2

We have completed the first day of Great Lent, the Great Fast. The Church asks used to pray harder, fast more, and sin less. Were you successful yesterday? Many Churches began their Lenten services yesterday. Did you attend? Many say the purpose of Great Lent is repentance, and I agree. One of the meanings of repentance in Hebrew, where the Greek work μετανοία is taken, means “back to the beginning.” To that end our 2023 Daily Lenten Journey will focus on the daily readings from Genesis. We’re going back to the beginning!

When I was in seminary, I came to appreciate everything about our salvation story begins in Genesis. It makes sense that we read from this book for Great Lent. We also read from Isaiah and Proverbs. In the three books we receive our preparation for the glory of Christ’s resurrection. Here is today’s reading from Genesis.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.”  And it was so.  And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.  And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.  And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens.”  So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis 1.14-23

Yesterday’s reading from Genesis was the creation of the Earth. Today we hear how God began His creation of the living creatures. The birds of the air and the sea-living creatures. I won’t say fish since we know not everything that lives in the sea is a fish. I’m not one of those ‘bible purists’ who refuses to acknowledge the gift of science that God has given to us. For my host parish in Tarpon Springs, that means God created sponges on this day!

I noticed a couple things today. First, God had to create the Earth. We all needed something to live ‘on’ before He could create living things. Then we can’t survive without light. In both cases I am pondering God. He has created heaven for us to live ‘in’ and He IS the LIGHT. So, right out of the gate of Great Lent, we are reminded of God’s love for us.

God doesn’t do anything randomly. It is why I dislike the phrase ‘random acts of kindness’ so much. If we do something without intention, we are robots. Since we are created in the image of God, as we shall see in tomorrow’s reading, then we should also act with intention.

I pray your Great Lenten journey will be more than just following the fasting rules. I pray your journey will be filled with acts of intention. I pray you will attend Church, not to check a box, but to spend time with God.

“God saw that it was good.” Let our journey be good in the eyes of God.