Introduction

            From as early as the fourth century, the Christian Church has  observed a forty-day period of fasting before the festival of Easter. These weeks became a time of preparation for those adults wishing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil, and, for the whole  Church, a time of  examination, of prayer, of returning to the central things of life in Christ, of relationship with God.

             During this lectionary year which uses the Gospel according to Luke, we begin on Ash Wednesday with the admonition of the prophet Joel: 'Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart"; we enter into the wilderness with Christ for forty days to confront those things which keep us from God and the fullness of our own being; we make our way with Christ to Jerusalem, a journey that takes a full ten chapters in the middle of Luke's narrative. At the core of these weeks is the Parable of the Lost Son, mourned, missed, and welcomed home by the extravagant love of the Prodigal Father.

              May we have the courage to take this journey willingly, consciously, during this Lenten season. May we remember that Christ took this wilderness journey before us and walks the rocky road with us. May we call to mind that the Spirit gives us power in our weakness. May we always see the loving face of God reaching out to us in welcome and love. Blessed journey to us all.

 "O my brother, the contemplative is the man not who has fiery visions of the cherubim carrying God on their imagined chariot, but simply one who has risked his mind to the desert."             (Thomas Merton)

Prayers on Sundays

 Eric Milner-White (1884-1963) is the source for all the Sunday prayers in this year's Lenten devotional. He was chaplain to the British forces in France from 1914, then, from 1918-1941, served as Dean and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, where he developed the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, first for Christmas, later for Advent. In 1941 he was appointed Dean of York. He is the author of the well-known prayer used in this booklet in the Matins service: "Lord God, you have called your servants". (See Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Evening Prayer, p. 317, [language updated].) All prayers are from his collection, My God, My Glory, Triangle, London, 1994.

Resources related to the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15):

ART

 -    Minneapolis Institute of Arts, currently on view (all on 3rd floor):

            David Teniers, ca. 1640 The Prodigal Son, G312
            Pier Leone Ghezzi, ca. 1720 The Prodigal Son G308
            also, in the same area:  
            Titian, ca. 1516 The Temptation of Christ G330

The Institute owns many additional Prodigals, not currently displayed, which can be viewed online. http://www.artsmia.org, under Collections.

-    Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis:

Exhibit of art depicting the Parable of the Prodigal Son, from the collection of Jerry Evenrud, February 13-April 28, 2013   http://www.mary.org, Events.

-    The Museum of Russian Art:

Special exhibit, "Concerning the Spiritual in Russian Art, 1965-2011", includes a large painting by Olga Bulgakova of The Return of the Prodigal Son, January 26-June 9, 2013. Also on exhibit concurrently, "Cast Icons: Preserving Sacred Traditions", extended to April 2013. http://www.tmora.org

-    Luther Seminary houses the main body of Jerry Evenrud's Prodigal Son collection, a number of which are generally on display in the Northwestern Building, second floor.  http://www.luthersem.edu/prodigal

BOOKS

-    And Grace Will Lead Me Home: Images of the Prodigal Son from the Jerry Evenrud Collection,  Robert Brusic, Kirk House Press.

-    The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, Henri Nouwen, Image Books. An encounter with Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son propels Nouwen onto a spiritual journey. Also, Home Tonight: Further Reflections on the Prodigal Son, pieced together from Nouwen's notebooks and workshops, Image Books.

-    Home (novel), Marilynne Robinson, Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux.

       -    Great Expectations (novel), Charles Dickens.

-    The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (semiautobiographical novel), Rainer Maria Rilke, tr. Stephen Mitchell, Random House. The final pages are a prose poem on the Prodigal Son.



FILMS


"Gebo and the Shadow" (Portugese film, in French) 2012, directed by Manoel Oliveira 

MUSIC, THEATER

      -    1869, Sir Arthur Sullivan, oratorio, The Prodigal Son

-    1884, Claude Debussy, scéne lyrique, L'enfant prodigue (Édouard Guinand, librettist, adds the mother, given the name Lia, whose beautiful aria of regret and longing opens the scéne. The father's name is Simeon, the son, Azäel. Recommended recording: Jessye Norman, José Carreras, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on YouTube., 34 mins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ShjToPSsOM

-    1929, Sergei Prokofiev, ballet, The Prodigal Son, choreographed by George Balanchine. Libretto: Boris Kochno. Sets based on images from Georges Roualt. In this libretto, the Son has two sisters. Danced on YouTube by Mikhail Baryshnikov, approx. 35-40 mins. in 4 segments. (If you can only watch one, watch the 4th segment.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkN4lNDlKG8

      -    1961, Langston Hughes, one-act play, Prodigal Son

-    1968, Benjamin Britten, church opera, The Prodigal Son, Opus 81. Libretto: William Plomer. Inspired by Raphael's Prodigal Son in the Hermitage. Plomer's story line adds a Tempter, under whose  power the son undergoes three temptations. The Tempter was originally sung by tenor Peter Pears. Excerpt from a 2012 production at Church of the Transfiguration, New York: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKmr3s3bByM

POETRY

 James Weldon Johnson, "The Prodigal Son"

Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Departure of the Prodigal Son"

Christina Rossetti, "A Prodigal Son"

What others at Mount Olive are considering reading during this Lent:

Pastor Joseph Crippen

            Les Miserables, Victor Hugo (in a new translation by Julia Rose)
            Clowns of God, Morris West

Dwight Penas

            Balance of the Heart: Desert Spirituality, Lois Farag
            The Diary of a Country Priest, Georges Bernanos

Art Halbardier

            Beyond the Shattered Image, John Chryssavgis
            Cross-Shattered Christ, Stanley Hauerwas

Susan Cherwien

            The Breath of the Soul, Joan Chittister
            Seeking Life: The Baptismal Invitation of the Rule of Benedict, Esther De Waal

A Brief Order for Matins (Morning Prayer)

(or use the complete form in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 298)

To be sung or said aloud

(Trace the sign of the cross on your lips and chant or say)

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Psalm 108:1-4

One or more of the day’s designated readings may be read.

The day's reflection may be read.

Benedictus (Song of Zechariah): Luke 1:68-79

Prayer: O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Almighty God, the + Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit bless and preserve us.

Amen.

A Brief Order for Compline (Prayer Before Sleep)

(Or use the complete form in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 320)

 To be said or sung aloud

 (Make the sign of the cross and say)

Almighty God grant us a quiet night and peace at the last.  Amen

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praise to your name, O Most High,
to herald your love in the morning,
your truth at the close of the day.

Psalm 91:1-6, 9-12

One or more of the day’s designated readings may be read.

 Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.

Guide us waking, O Lord,

and guard us sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep we may rest in peace.

Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon): Luke 2:29-32

Prayer: I give thanks to you, heavenly God, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected me today. I ask you to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously to protect me this night. Into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angels be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me.  Amen

 The Lord’s Prayer

 Almighty God, the + Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us.

Amen

February 2013 - Year of Luke

Friday-Tuesday, February 8-12, 2013 – shrovetide

• Have a party, make doughnuts (see recipe).

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 – Shrove Tuesday

Mount Olive Youth-sponsored Pancake Supper: 6:00 PM, Undercroft

·         Put away any alleluias until Easter.