Season 15: Lent Week 1 | Fashioning Our Own Wilderness

Ruth Haley Barton and Steve Weins will journey through Lent with a spirit of self-examination and desire for intimacy with God. Each episode will highlight a particular temptation found in one of the passages from Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary for Lent that is relevant for leaders today and Ruth and Steve will provide practices to combat those temptations.

In week one, Ruth and Steve examine the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4. How do we see these temptations to be relevant, spectacular, and powerful show up in our own lives? How can the practice of hiddenness be the antidote to this? What does it look like to fashion our own wilderness? We’ll discuss all this and more in today’s episode.

Ruth wrote a reflection for Ash Wednesday over on our Beyond Words blog.

Support the podcast! Patrons at the $10 level will receive a digital download of Ruth Haley Barton’s Lent: A Season of Returning. It includes Cycle C scriptures and space to journal your own thoughts and prayers. This season $10 patrons will also receive guided spiritual practices like Lectio Divinas and Examens that correspond with each week’s episode. Become a patron today by visiting our Patreon page!

 


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Listen to other episodes from Season 15 Access past podcast seasons


Mentioned in the episode:

The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen

Lectio Divina for Luke 4: This week we are giving all listeners a chance to hear what happens over in our Patreon community. Please enjoy this guided Lectio Divina reading of the scripture used in this week’s episode,  available to everyone on our Patreon page.

Find all of our lent resources here.
Practicing Lent for spiritual leaders with books Ruth recommends for Lent
Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder

Music Credit:

Kingdom Come by Aaron Niequist
Returning from Lent Music In Solitude

Support the podcast! Patrons at the $10 level will receive a digital download of Ruth Haley Barton’s Lent: A Season of Returning. It includes Cycle C scriptures and space to journal your own thoughts and prayers. This season $10 patrons will also receive guided spiritual practices like Lectio Divinas and Examens that correspond with each week’s episode. Become a patron today by visiting our Patreon page!


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We desire to see churches and Christian organizations become communities of authentic spiritual transformation – and that begins with transforming leaders. We seek to strengthen the souls of pastors and leaders, equipping them to guide their churches and organizations to become spiritually transforming communities that discern and do the will of God in their settings. Read more about the Transforming Center.
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This podcast was powered by Holy Spirit anointed timing. It rang all the bells alerting me to be aware of this season and the very groans of prayer were answered by Psalm 91. I receive the instruction to step away and wait and see.

So grateful to hear this.

Thank you for these thoughts. As I was listening while on the road, I realized that in my ministry as Lent is beginning, Covid masking is relaxing and the demands/expectations/hopes for what we can do in ministry right now for Lent and Easter are ramping up. I appreciate the counsel to not try to be “relevant” in this way, and to guard the reflective wilderness spaces.

That is so good, Karen! I’m glad you recognized the temptation while there is still time to do something about it!

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