Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2025 LENTEN Meditation Journey . . . A COMMONPLACE Lent

Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others. —Saint Augustine

For many of us, one of the hardest things to see is how much God has given us. This is understandable in a culture dominated by social media influencers selling us every imaginable product alongside messages of scarcity and need. The phone, the watch, the house, the car, the vacation: they are enough until, suddenly, they aren’t.

The same is true of our common life, especially in the church. It is easy to look at larger churches, younger churches and more financially stable churches and wish we had what they have. It’s easy to get stuck in the “if only” loop: if only we had an endowment, if only we had young families, if only we had better live-streaming equipment. But “if only” isn’t really the way of Jesus, is it? Instead, his way is loaves and fishes, shared crusty bread and a common cup. The way of Jesus is local presence and community assets.

The way of Jesus is cultivating an awareness of the abundance we have already been given and then looking to see who needs those gifts. Do we have empty buildings? Who is looking for shelter, a welcoming meeting place or a home base for their work with the poor? Do we have retired members? Who in our community needs tutoring, free business advice, or parenting mentorship? Do we have a lot of land? Who is looking for a place to grow food for their family or the food pantry? What flora or fauna needs a place to flourish so as not to become extinct? Who needs a green space to allow their children to play freely? All of our churches have a God-given abundance of something. The question is, are we willing to turn away from the “if only” to share “what is”?

For REFLECTION:

Do you or your church struggle with being distracted by the “if only” question? Try keeping a list of the gifts you already have for a month and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal where there is abundance. Want to go deeper? Check out the Called to Transformation resources at calledtotransformation.org

Click here to read the introduction to the 2025 Lenten Meditation “A Commonplace Lent.”

The Lenten Meditations prepared by Episcopal Relief & Development invite readers to deepen their spiritual practice during the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading to Easter. Our 2025 meditations explore the idea of “A Commonplace Lent.” This concept reflects Episcopal Relief & Development’s tagline: “Working Together for Lasting Change.” We share in common the work of advancing lasting change in communities impacted by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change.

We also share in common spiritual practices that strengthen our faith—prayer, worship, love, grace, service and so much more. The author explores another meaning of common in the  meditations: finding God in the common and ordinary as well as in the extraordinary mountain-top moments. Each day begins with wisdom from desert mothers and fathers, monastics and other spiritual leaders who offer insight into our common path of faithful discipleship and service. Each meditation concludes with a question for deeper reflection.

Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.

This Lenten Meditation Journey is provided courtesy of Episcopal Relief & Development and was authored by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, co-executive director and agrarian minister for the Procter Center, an Episcopal farm, camp and retreat center in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. As former manager of evangelism and discipleship for The Episcopal Church under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, she co-founded the Good News Garden movement and oversaw Way of Love and Evangelism initiatives for the wider church.