Lent Practices – Week 3 – 2.28.2018

THEME: Subtracting our Shadow, Finding our Life

BREATH PRAYER: Lord, help me bring my shadow into the light.

CENTERING:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Colossians 3:16

SETTLING IN:

• In a journal, note the day, time, and place you’re sitting.
• Open with silence. Set a timer for 1, 3, or 5 minutes so you can be free to rest and breathe deeply.
• Complete the following sentence in your journal: Today, I feel ________________.
• Read the centering verse above slowly (aloud or silently).
• Pause for a few moments of silence, then pray this week’s breath prayer.

PRACTICE:
NARRATIVE ENTRY

In today’s practice, we seek to use each of our physical senses to witness an exchange between Jesus, Peter, Jesus’s disciples, and the crowd. Read Mark 8:31-38 slowly. Imagine you’re an unnamed follower of Jesus, learning from Him in this setting.

Picture the scene in your mind, imagining what the people and the area look like.

Imagine how your clothing feels against your skin, what you’re sitting on or standing near, what you see around you as you listen to Jesus.

What does the air feel like? What do you smell?

How does Jesus sound as He speaks? As He rebukes Peter?

Read the passage several times, letting yourself be fully present with Jesus. If part of the passage sticks with you, stay there, and ask Jesus to help you understand its significance. Write a few notes in your journal about the things that seem to be highlighted as you read.

Summary: Write in your journal a brief summary (five sentences or less) of your practice.

Closing: Lord, help me bring my shadow into the light.