March 29/Good Friday I am forgotten like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken. ~ Ps 31.12-13 Years ago I had the opportunity to help create a mosaic, and participating in that process intensified my fascination with the form. The process of taking irregular and broken pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic and creating a…
Category: Songs for Lent
Song 38: Debt Service
March 28/Holy Thursday What shall I return to the LORD for all his benefits to me?The cup of salvation I will raise, and on the name of the Lord will I call. ~ Ps 116.12-13 At the day’s end, I spend a few moments reflecting on the gifts that God has given me. They can be large — decent health,…
Song 37: The Saving Turn
March 27/Wednesday of Holy Week Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none;for consolers, not one could I find. But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. ~ Ps 69.21, 29,…
Song 36: Our Help in Ages Past
March 26/Tuesday of Holy Week For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth.On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. ~ Ps 71.5-6 As I prepare to attend my [big number here] high-school reunion next month, I find myself thinking a lot about the gift of abiding friendships. …
Song 35: Lead, Kindly Light
March 25/Monday of Holy Week The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? ~ Ps 27.1 It is Monday morning — but not just any Monday morning. The hullabaloo of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on what we know as Palm Sunday is over. The…
Song 34: Weal and Woe
March 23/Fifth Saturday of Lent They shall come and sing aloud for joy on the height of Zion,and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd;their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. ~ Jer.…
Song 33: A Bulwark Never Failing
March 22/Fifth Friday of Lent I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! ~ Ps 18.2-3 Rock, fortress, and stronghold. Such rugged metaphors befit a psalm that is said to be an expression of gratitude to God after a…
Song 32: Promises to Keep
March 21/Fifth Thursday of Lent He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations –Which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. ~ Ps 105.8-9 Of all the lovely phrases that speckle the traditional marriage rite from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, my favorite occurs during the exchange of rings, when…
Song 31: We Got Rhythm
March 20/Fifth Wednesday of Lent “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. . .Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” ~ Daniel 3.52, 54 Sometimes prayer flows easily from our hearts to God’s ears; other times, we stumble over our words, or…
Song 30: Not for Naught
March 19/Fifth Tuesday of Lent The steadfast love of the LORD I will sing forever;through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. ~ Ps 89.2 As a new mother who many years ago left a job in a prestigious cultural institution to be at home with two young children, I sometimes wondered what the point of my life was. …