Lenten Devotional Series

When asked which commandment was greatest, Jesus replied, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” But then he added a second command to stand alongside the first, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

In Luke, this conversation appears near the middle of the gospel. In Mark and Matthew, it’s near the end, when Jesus has entered Jerusalem for the final time with his disciples, ahead of his arrest and crucifixion. Sometimes the question comes from one who seems truly curious and at others from one who wants to see Jesus stumble over the answer. In each gospel, those who hear Jesus recognize the wisdom and compassion in his answer.

Each year, the SWPA Church in Society committee seeks to lift up a cause or concern that affects our communities, by providing resources and reflections to help us journey more faithfully and lovingly together through the season of Lent. This year, our focus is on mental health. After all, Jesus called us to love God with heart, soul, and mind – our whole self. That includes our mental and emotional well-being.

Lent has long been a season of reflection and the deepening of not only faith, but faithful relationships, too. Relationships with God, with family, with friends and neighbors. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that nearly 1 in 4 adults in the United States live with some form of mental illness, ranging from mild to severe. And all of us have mental and emotional health that needs to be cared for and nurtured, just as we care for our bodies and souls.

So, how do we care for our mental and emotional well-being as people of faith? How do we love and care for each other in community? Each week of this challenge, a new reflection, prayer, and resource page will seek to accompany you in answering these questions with love and compassion.