Wednesday 3/22As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. It’s rare that we experience such a singularly exceptional moment as in this story. While Simon and Andrew certainly had a life-changing experience, more often than not, we are called to follow Jesus within un-extraordinary, day-to-day life. As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” The earliest writings of Christianity show that the liturgical prayer throughout each day, known now as the Daily Office (or Divine Office), has been a cornerstone in Christian life since the beginning. In fact, in some ways, the Daily Office is a development from Jewish daily prayer during the time of Jesus. One of the things I treasure the most about Christ Church Greenwich is that we offer the principal offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer during the week. On Sunday, the day when we remember the Resurrection, we celebrate one of the offices in a fittingly more elaborate, sung manner: Compline (the final Office of the day with a more meditative character) or, once a month, Evensong (sung Evening Prayer, often with a richer musical character). This coming Sunday, March 26, it is the latter and appropriately so: it’s the Fourth Sunday of Lent, nicknamed Laetare Sunday from the Introit for Mass Laetare Jerusalem (Rejoice, Jerusalem), the most festive day in the Lenten season when the liturgy has traditionally focused more on the coming joy of the New Jerusalem – heaven! While the structure of this daily prayer remains constant and its character changes predictably throughout the various seasons of the church year, the way this prayer can influence our lives is anything but predictable or routine. For example, how many Easters have we found ourselves, our community, our family, or even our world in need of resurrection in a different way than ever before? I recently heard the story of a priest whose son was instantly killed in a car collision. That day, the life of that priest was forever changed. That day, he experienced overwhelming grief. That day, he still went to Evening Prayer. May we during our Lenten journey to resurrection find our own constant in our following of Jesus. - Jonathan Ryan
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