Help! My Daily Bread Dilemma

I need you help.

I started this blog just prior to Ash Wednesday last year with the intention of posting a daily devotion on Mark’s story of Jesus’ passion. It was a way, I thought, of responding to the number of church’s I’d noticed that weren’t producing parish Lenten devotions any more. And then I figured that as long as I had a blog up and going, I could maybe post on something else once in a while

Well…the once in a while became everyday (Sundays excepted!) and I enjoyed writing and sharing the Lenten devotions so much that I decided to continue, and so was born the “Daily Bread” devotions. Mark’s story of the resurrection seemed like a natural to continue along with, and then I just went back to the beginning of Mark and started from there until I’d caught up to the Passion. After Mark came Philippians, thinking that after Paul’s “letter of friendship” I’d start on Luke just as the new church year also turned our attention in that direction.

All well and good. Except for one thing. I was hoping to use this Lent once again to delve into the story of Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem and his crucifixion – the kind of thing we’re supposed to focus on in Lent! But the thing is, there’s no way I’m going to make it to that part of the story by next Wednesday, which happens to be Ash Wednesday. Partly that’s because Luke is a lot longer than Mark. Partly that’s because Easter (and hence Lent) is earlier this year. And partly that’s because I don’t rush through the passages but linger, sometimes looking at the same passage from a couple of directions over a couple of days.

Wherein lies my dilemma. I can either continue plodding – actually, let’s say “walking deliberately,” as that sounds better than “plodding” 🙂 – my way through Luke and get to the cross when we get there – probably in June! Or I can jump from wherever I am next Tuesday – probably still on the “sermon on the plain” – to the start of the Passion narrative and follow it through the resurrection, returning to the middle part of Luke’s story after Easter.

As much as I hate to jump around, at this point I’m kind of leaning toward jumping to the passion to preserve the sense of “Lenten devotions.” Jumping back to the beginning didn’t seem to throw anyone last year, and I think we’d be just fine this year as well.

But I’m torn. I really do like to do things in order. (My German ancestry, perhaps. 🙂 ). And if folks don’t care much about reading the passion during Lent or really don’t want to mess with the order of the story, I could certainly be persuaded.

Which is where you come in. I need your help. Let me know what you preference would be in the comments (my mailbox is already overfull so registering your opinion in the comments if you can do that would be helpful to me). I won’t make this a vote or tally up all the comments, but I will read them and what you say will, trust me, help me tremendously in making a good decision.

Thank you so much. For reading. For praying together. For helping me look ahead to Lent.

 

Post image: In case you’re wondering what in the world this painting has to do with the post… It’s Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting “The Fight Between Carnival and Lent” (1559) and seemed, somehow, weirdly and goofily appropriate. I’ll put the whole below:

fight-between-carnival-and-lent-1559