Discover a Lenten Journey Through John's Gospel
A Journey Through John: 32 Days in the Gospel of Love
📖 Gospel of John | ⏱️ 4 min read | 💡 Lenten Devotion | ✝️ Encountering the Living Word
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1, NABRE)
I Want This Lent to Count
Lent is not something that simply happens to us. It is something we enter.
And this year, I want to enter it with intention. Not just giving something up. Not just checking the boxes of a religious season. I want a genuine encounter with the living God. And I can think of no better guide for that journey than the Gospel of John.
Starting Thursday after Ash Wednesday, I will be walking through the Gospel of John in 32 posts, Monday through Friday, all the way through to Good Friday. One passage at a time. One day at a time.
Why John?
John is unlike the other gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke give you the story. John gives you the meaning behind the story. He draws back the curtain on who Jesus really is, and he invites you to see what the disciples themselves were only beginning to understand: that the Word made flesh was standing right in front of them the whole time.
John's Gospel opens not with a birth narrative but with eternity. "In the beginning was the Word." He wants you to know before you read a single miracle or hear a single parable that you are dealing with someone who existed before time itself.
That changes how you read everything that follows.
KEY INSIGHT:
John's Gospel is the only one that calls Jesus "the Word" (Logos in Greek). In Jewish thought, the Word of God was the creative, sustaining power behind all of existence. In Greek philosophy, the Logos was the rational principle holding the universe together. John takes both of those ideas and says: that's a person. And his name is Jesus.
What to Expect
Each post in this series will focus on a specific passage from John. We'll look at what the text actually says, what it meant to the people who first heard it, and what it means for us today. I'll be drawing on the wisdom of the saints, the Church's rich tradition of biblical reflection, and the conviction that Scripture has something to say to ordinary people living ordinary lives.
The posts will run Monday through Friday, beginning this Thursday after Ash Wednesday, and carrying us all the way to Good Friday. Thirty-two days. Thirty-two encounters with Jesus in John's Gospel.
You don't need a theology degree to follow along. You don't need to be Catholic, though I write from that tradition. You just need to be willing to come and see.
Who This Is For
This series is for the lifelong Catholic who wants a fresh encounter with a familiar text. It's for the thoughtful Protestant asking bigger questions. It's for the person who senses that something deeper is available during Lent but isn't quite sure how to access it.
And it's for me. Writing is how I think, and thinking is how I pray.
YOUR INVITATION: Read along. Sit with the passages before you read my reflection. And when something speaks to you, say so in the comments. Which verse landed differently than you expected? What question did the passage raise that you're still carrying? This kind of reading is better when it's shared.
Come and See
That's the invitation Jesus gives the first disciples in John's Gospel, and it's the invitation I'm extending to you now.
Not "come and have everything figured out." Not "come and agree with everything I write." Just come and see. Spend these 40 days in the Gospel of John and let Jesus meet you right where you are.
Lent is a gift. Let's not waste it.
Lord, as we enter this Lenten season, open our eyes to see what John saw. Give us ears to hear what the first disciples heard. Let these 32 days in your Gospel do what only you can do: change us from the inside out. Amen.
GOSPEL OF JOHN SERIES • INTRODUCTION
A 32-Day Lenten Journey Through John's Gospel
Next: Day 1 - "In the Beginning Was the Word" (John 1:1-5) →
