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February 20, 2023

The Practices of Hard Days

Tex Sample   |   Read Genesis 2:15-17 , Read Genesis 3:1-7

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Lectionary Week
February 20–26, 2023
Scripture Overview

In this first week of Lent, we prepare our hearts for a period of reflection. We think about areas of our lives in which we might be falling short of God’s desires. The problem of sin enters the human story at the very beginning when Adam and Eve choose to follow their own wisdom rather than guidance from God. The psalmist highlights the importance of recognizing our sin and asking for forgiveness, which God is quick to give. In Romans, Paul argues that we all partake in the broken human condition because we all have sinned as Adam did. The teachings from the Sermon on the Mount warn us against misplaced desires and selfishness.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7. How might this story help you turn to humility throughout your Lenten journey?Read Psalm 32. What seeming dichotomies comprise the full picture of your life of faith?Read Romans 5:12-19. How do you sense the differences Paul draws between Adam and Christ prompting you to turn toward God?Read Matthew 6:1-6,16-21. How do you practice your piety? What is your treasure, and where is it?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Genesis 2:15-17

15 The LORD God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. 16 The LORD God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; 17 but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!”

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

Genesis 3:1-7

1 The snake was the most intelligent of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?” 2 The woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees 3 but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! 5 God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then they both saw clearly and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made garments for themselves.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

Three teenaged buddies and I were on a camping trip when we discovered a watermelon patch on a farm on the other side of a barbed-wire fence. The watermelon patch was dried up, and only one melon, about the size of a football, remained. As we crawled through the fence,...

Dear God, help us ultimately to desire only you and to cast off cravings that lead to our diminishment and death. Amen.


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