2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 29 – Where is Our City?

I had the great blessing to visit the Holy Lands in 2020. Walking through the city of our Lord, the City of Peace, the place of Christ’s Passion changed my life. Still, it isn’t Jerusalem that we are destined to live forever. Our city, New Jerusalem, isn’t on earth. It is in heaven.

Yesterday, I invited you to spend this week focusing on renouncing the world. This begins with accepting that no place on earth is our real home. We are ‘just visiting’ until the Lord calls us home. Every earthly city will be destroyed by God. Come back after you read today’s readings.

“Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, says the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And the angel of the LORD went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went home and dwelt at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, slew him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover.” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city. – Isaiah 37:33-38:6

Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD. – Genesis 13.12-18

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined. He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh, but passion makes the bones rot. He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him. The wicked is overthrown through his evil-doing, but the righteous finds refuge through his integrity. Wisdom abides in the mind of a man of understanding, but it is not known in the heart of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. – Proverbs 14:27-15:4

All this talk about God saving the city and destroying the city must cause us to wonder what city He is speaking about. Looking back at history we know Jerusalem has been overtaken and conquered many times. Even today bombs are raining down on the City of Peace.

Fasting makes us hungry. Prayer urges our heart to consider something beyond ourselves. Combined we are hungry for something beyond ourselves, our New Jerusalem. We hunger for heaven.

Stop looking at life through your local city. Begin looking at life through the lens of the Church. The Church is our home on earth until God calls us to heaven. The problem comes when our hearts hold on here, and we refuse to let go.

That is the essence of renouncing the world. We don’t live as if the world is dead. We live as if the world isn’t our future.

If our Daily Lenten Journey has been a blessing to you this year, please consider making a safe online donation today and help up reach our fundraising goal.