First Monday in Lent

“Pressed Down, Shaken Together: Holy in the Small Things”

Opening Reflection

Is Lent only about what I give up — or about who I give myself to?

     As this first full week of Lent begins, I find myself standing at a crossroads. I am still healing from painful wounds on my feet. I am discerning a new career path. I am working to finish a novel I began last year. And in the midst of it all, I am committing again to prayer and fasting.

     But today’s lessons gently press the question deeper: Is holy discipline merely about restraint — or about becoming people poured out in love?

The Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us your gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of your most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Lessons Appointed

Leviticus 19:1–2, 11–18

Psalm 19:7–14

Matthew 25:31–46

 

Devotional Thoughts

In Leviticus, God commands: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” And holiness, we discover, is not abstract spirituality. It is intensely practical:

Do not steal.

Do not lie.

Pay workers fairly.

Do not mock the vulnerable.

Judge justly.

Do not hate.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Holiness looks like integrity in the small things.

     Then Psalm 19 reminds us that God’s law is not heavy — it “revives the soul.” It enlightens. It cleanses even our hidden faults. In keeping it, “there is great reward.” Not merely eternal reward, but present wholeness.     

     And then comes Matthew 25, the scene of final judgment. The King does not ask how eloquently we prayed or how strictly we fasted. Instead:

I was hungry.

I was thirsty.

I was a stranger.

I was sick.

I was in prison.

      And you came. Lent, then, is not a private improvement project. It is not merely giving up comforts. It is giving up self-centeredness.

      As I sit with bandaged feet, reminded daily of weakness and healing, I notice how easily pain narrows my focus. Career uncertainty makes every prayer about provision. Creative pressure makes every thought about finishing my work. Fasting can subtly become about spiritual performance.

But today’s Collect is clear: holy discipline in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.

Almsgiving.

Intercessory prayer.

Love enacted.

Am I making time for others — even while my own life feels unsettled?

Am I giving something tangible — time, attention, resources — even when I feel unsure about tomorrow?

Am I praying not only for my breakthrough, but for another’s burden?

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38:

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over…”

     The Kingdom economy defies fear. When we pour ourselves out, we are filled. When we loosen our grip, grace multiplies. When we look for Christ in “the least of these,” we discover He has been standing there all along.

     Holiness is not grand. It is faithful love in ordinary moments. It is choosing generosity when it would be easier to withdraw.

 

A Modern Example 

     In the early months of 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the United States, mutual aid networks sprang up across New York City. Neighbors — many facing job loss, uncertainty, and fear — organized grocery deliveries, medication drop-offs, and daily check-ins for elderly and vulnerable residents. Thousands volunteered to serve strangers while navigating their own instability.¹

      Later reporting noted that many volunteers described experiencing renewed purpose and unexpected joy. In a season of isolation, serving others became a channel of healing — for both the recipient and the giver.

Pressed down.

Shaken together.

Running over.

They did not wait until life was secure.

They loved in the middle of uncertainty.

Charge

This week, let your Lenten discipline move outward.

Fast from self-preoccupation.

Practice one hidden act of generosity.

Pray daily for three people by name beyond your own needs.

Release one grudge you have been carrying.

Look intentionally for Christ in someone overlooked.

Do this not as obligation, but as participation in the life of Jesus.

Closing Prayer

O Lord, my strength and my redeemer,

cleanse me from secret faults

and guard me from sins that seek to master me.

Heal what is wounded in me.

Direct my uncertainty into compassion.

Turn my fasting into generosity,

my prayer into intercession,

and my discipline into love.

Make me holy in the small things.

And as I give, press down and shake together

the grace You pour back into my life.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

Footnote

See coverage of New York City mutual aid efforts during COVID-19 in The New York Times, “In a City Locked Down, Mutual Aid Networks Spring Up,” March 2020.