Not Home. Come Home.
2025 Lenten Reflections
At the Matthew 25 Initiative, we desire to see the unseen and to treasure the marginalized.
Join us for daily reflections in your inbox! This year’s M25i Lenten focus on HOME explores how almsgiving—sharing our time, resources, and care—can bring God’s love to those who cry out with the ache of “not home.”
Each week we focus on a different theme (at-risk youth, prisoners, the hungry, etc.) and each day we look at that theme through a different lens (biblical theology, history, statistics, saints, stories, and prayers, including Prayer of the People for use in Sunday services).
We invite you to join us on a journey of normalizing Anglican justice and mercy by thoughtfully engaging in this historic Christian season. This Lent, go beyond mere armchair reflections—step into action through prayer and response. Discover how you can create belonging, shelter, and hope for the vulnerable as we journey together toward the heart of God.
Illustration by Eunice Sunmie Derksen
See artist statement below
Join us for the 2025 Lenten Journey:
Last year during Lent we explored themes of justice and mercy in Isaiah 58. If you would like to use this resource for your parish or personal devotion, you can download the entire series here:
Not Home. Come Home.
2025 Lenten Reflections
WEEK 1: NOT HOME. COME HOME.
Day 1: Ash Wednesday
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
-
Ash Wednesday (M25i Lent Series)
On Ash Wednesday, we remember our mortality and dependence on God, offering ourselves through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This Lent, M25i explores "home"—reflecting on God’s heart for belonging and responding to the ache of "not home" in our communities. Each week, we’ll discover ways to love, serve, and create home for others.
Continue Reading…
Day 2: Not Home
Our deep longing to dwell in the house of the Lord.
-
HOME
Scripture reveals that home is both a spiritual journey and a place of belonging. Abraham’s faith journey, Ruth’s story of provision, and the Exodus narrative all point to God as the source of safety and restoration. Jesus himself redefined home not as a location but as love, hospitality, and relationship with God.
Continue Reading…
Day 3: A Prayer for HOME
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed.
-
We fast to awaken within us both a hunger for God and the hunger of God. As our longing for God grows, we experience his longings for us and for the world. He longs to hold us in his love, our truest home.
Continue Reading…
WEEK 2: AT-RISK YOUTH
Day 5: Shelter for the Vulnerable-at risk youth
HOME is more than a structure, it is a place where the vulnerable find shelter from the storms they face.
-
HOME is more than a structure, it is a place where the vulnerable find shelter from the storms they face. As followers of Christ, we are called to invite others into this deep knowledge of safety, warmth, and belonging to those who have none—especially children and at-risk youth.
Continue Reading…
Day 6: Lean In & Learn-at risk youth
Today we consider the statistics – knowing that each number represents a real child or teen.
-
As members of God's family, we are called to protect and support vulnerable children and youth, ensuring they do not fall through the cracks. Yesterday we grounded ourselves in biblical theology and history. Today we consider the statistics and facts – knowing that each number represents a real child or teen, with a real name and story. And each of these children are deeply loved by God.
Continue Reading…
Day 7: Contemplative Activist-at risk youth
As followers of Christ, we strive to emulate Jesus' rhythm of contemplative prayer and active service.
-
As followers of Christ, we strive to emulate Jesus' rhythm of contemplative prayer and active service, recognizing that he often withdrew to pray before ministering to others. In the Anglican tradition, this balance is foundational; our prayer life fuels our outreach to the vulnerable. In turn, engaging with those who suffer deepens our sense of Christ’s nearness as the Suffering Servant.
This Lenten season, we will explore the lives of five contemplative activists who exemplify this pattern, demonstrating love for "the least of these" through the Holy Spirit's empowerment.ese children are deeply loved by God.
Continue Reading…
Day 8: Anglicans on the Streets-at risk youth
Dr. Jean Dunham is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Austin, Texas, who has dedicated her career to supporting at-risk youth.
-
Dr. Jean Dunham is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Austin, Texas, who has dedicated her career to supporting at-risk youth. Her extensive experience in both community mental health and the foster care system has exposed her to countless stories of hardship, resilience, and transformation.
Continue Reading…
Day 9: Prayers For -at risk youth
“My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”
Isaiah 32:18
-
In our very broken world, fragmented systems and poor, individual choices often conspire together, resulting in a child or teenager being stripped of home – and everything that "home" means. At their most vulnerable moments of learning what it means to grow up and be formed into God’s image, they receive the devastating blow of abandonment and hurt. Yet each one of these children and teenagers is precious to God.
Continue Reading…
WEEK 3: PRISONERS
Day 11: Rest for the Restless - Prisoners
"God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing."
Psalm 68:6
-
Throughout Scripture, we see God's relentless pursuit of reconciliation—welcoming prodigals, restoring outcasts, and embracing those who were once lost. Jesus especially comes near to those who have walked the hardest roads or served time behind bars.
Continue Reading…
Day 12: Lean In & Learn - Prisoners
"“I was in prison, and you visited me.’”
Matthew 25:36b
-
Psalm 68:6 says that God “sets the lonely in families, and sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.” Just like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God embraces and welcomes us back home – even after we sin, or break the law, or reject him. His heart is always seeking reconciliation and our full restoration – and his Word tells us he wants to give joy to those who have been in prison.
Continue Reading…
Day 13: Contemplative Activist - Prisoners
“I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’”
Isaiah 49:9
-
This Lenten season, we will explore the lives of five contemplative activists who exemplify this pattern, demonstrating love for "the least of these" through the Holy Spirit's empowerment.
Continue Reading…
Day 14: Anglicans on the Streets - Prisoners
“Scott Murphy works full-time with a high-tech company and spends much of his free time caring for men in prison.
-
Scott Murphy works full time with a high-tech company and spends much of his free time caring for men in prison. Alongside many ecumenical volunteers across central Texas, Scott serves those who are incarcerated at a men’s prison through Kairos Prison Ministry International.
Continue Reading…
Day 15: Prayers For - Prisoners
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free..." Luke 4:18
-
As you pray for prisoners, keep in mind that there are many brothers and sisters in Christ who live behind bars. Theirs is the Kingdom of God. We look forward in hope to the day when we all will be fully restored into the Love and rejoicing of the Father.
WEEK 4: FOOD INSECURITY
Day 17: A Place at the Table - Food Insecurity
"As followers of Christ, we affirm the goodness of food as a gift from God. Meals are central to worship and community, from the Eucharist to shared meals in fellowship. As Anglicans, we believe that food is sacramental, connecting believers to God and others.
-
From the beginning, God has revealed His heart for the hungry. He provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites (Exodus 16), multiplied loaves and fish to feed the crowds (Matthew 14:13-21), and ultimately offers the Bread of Life—Jesus Himself—to satisfy the deepest hunger of the human soul (John 6:35).
Continue Reading…
Day 18: Lean In & Learn - Food Insecurity
“Food insecurity is defined as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. Key drivers of food insecurity include unemployment and poverty.
-
Marginal food insecurity means worrying about running out of food or having a limited selection of food.
Moderate food insecurity means compromising the quality or quantity of food.
Severe food insecurity means missing meals, having a reduced food intake and, at the most extreme, going day(s) without food.
Continue Reading…
Day 19: Contemplative Activist - Food Insecurity
“[This is] God’s will: peacefully do at each moment what at the moment ought to be done.”
St. Katharine Drexel
-
This Lenten season, we will explore the lives of five contemplative activists who exemplify this pattern, demonstrating love for "the least of these" through the Holy Spirit's empowerment.
Continue Reading…
Day 20: Anglicans on the Streets - Food Insecure
For almost 17 years, Joel Siebersma has served at Springs Rescue Mission in Colorado Springs, where the unhoused can seek shelter, food, and other resources.
-
At just under six-foot-three, bespectacled, and with a graying beard, Joel Siebersma is a quiet man whose appearance and demeanor belies the fact that every day he is helping bring HOME to countless men and women experiencing homelessness. For almost 17 years, Joel has served at Springs Rescue Mission in Colorado Springs, where the unhoused of the city can seek shelter, food, and other resources, including job training and addiction recovery services.
Continue Reading…
Day 21: Prayers For - Food Insecure
“My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”
Isaiah 32:18
-
Today's prayer is designed to bring an awareness to our hearts and minds of the particular struggles of people who are living rough, especially those facing food and home insecurity. As you pray these words, enter into God's heart for those without a home, praying that He might shelter them under his loving wings.
WEEK 5: REFUGEE CARE
Day 23: Welcome for the Stranger - Refugee Care
God's commands to welcome the stranger are not mere acts of charity; they are reflections of his heart, his justice, and the very nature of his Kingdom.
-
From the earliest pages of Scripture, God aligns himself with the marginalized, calling his people to extend compassion to the foreigner, the displaced, and the refugee. This is not a suggestion but a decree, woven into the very fabric of his covenant with Israel.
Continue Reading…
Day 24: Lean In & Learn - Refugee Care
Today, we will lean in and learn more about immigrants and refugees in North America. This is a complicated topic and the landscape is changing quickly. We will examine this issue in broad strokes.
-
An "immigrant" is a person who comes to a different country to live there permanently. There are many reasons why someone might become an immigrant, but today we will focus on those who come to a different country as "refugees" and "asylum seekers
Continue Reading…
Day 25: Contemplative Activist - Refugee Care
“Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another." Zechariah 7:10
Day 26: Anglicans on the Streets - Refugee Care
Throughout Lent, we are highlighting Anglicans across North America who are doing the work of bringing HOME to those who need it most.
-
This Lenten season, we will explore the lives of five contemplative activists who exemplify this pattern, demonstrating love for "the least of these" through the Holy Spirit's empowerment.
Continue Reading…
-
Gary is the Founder and Director of Kataluma, a migration hospitality ministry located in the greater Boston area. According to their website, Kataluma is a “very old Greek word which refers to a guest lodge or guest room where visitors can lay down their load, be fed, sit for conversation, sleep, and prepare for the next stage of their journey.”
Continue Reading…
Day 27: Prayers For - The Displaced
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:2
-
Our world is so very noisy when it comes to policies, laws, and crises. But as Anglicans, we have the invitation to return to the still, small voice of God. Together let us return to His heart for "the one" that Jesus highlights in the three parables in Luke 15: the one lost sheep, one lost coin, and one lost son. God goes to great lengths to pursue every person who is lost, desperate, and away from "home."
We hold the precious lives of migrants before a big and loving God, knowing that he desires all people to experience his love and to find HOME both in this sacramentally beautiful world and in Him through Christ.
Let us now bring this vision into conversation with God, because we believe prayer can and will change the world.
WEEK 6: CARE FOR THE ELDERLY
Day 29: A Bed for the Weary - Elderly Care
Aging, sickness, and death—these are not just distant realities but the roads we all must walk. Our culture often looks away, glorifying youth and vitality, as if turning a blind eye could somehow delay the inevitable.
-
Let’s be honest: old age is not easy. The body weakens, memories fade, and loneliness can creep in. But in God’s eyes, the elderly are not forgotten; they are still bearing fruit (Psalm 92:12-14).
Continue Reading…
Day 30: Lean In & Learn - Elderly Care
“Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:32
-
An "immigrant" is a person who comes to a different country to live there permanently. There are many reasons why someone might become an immigrant, but today we will focus on those who come to a different country as "refugees" and "asylum seekers
Continue Reading…
Day 31: Contemplative Activist - Elderly Care
“Love God very much, so that you can look after the aged well, for it is Jesus whom you care for in them.”
St. Jeanne Jugan
-
This Lenten season, we will explore the lives of five contemplative activists who exemplify this pattern, demonstrating love for "the least of these" through the Holy Spirit's empowerment.
Continue Reading…
Artist Statement
Eunice Sunmie Derksen
It is not uncommon to hate one’s own finitude—or perhaps even another’s. The inner soul voices, “If I was more self-sufficient and if you were more self-sufficient, I would not experience as much inconvenience, affliction, or setback.” The lenten season is an antidote to the attitude of self-sufficiency that suffocates love for the Other. The antidote comes with the power of remembrance; remembering that we are all creatures of God, finite and dependent on the one who gives life. In Lent, we learn to purify our vision to see our humanity as a gift from the Creator—a gift that is soaked with fragility, freedom, and dignity.
These artworks invite us to remember our own creatureliness along with the creatureliness of others, especially of those who are marginalized and vulnerable. Somehow, all of creation being a gift coexists with the groaning of creation waiting to be set free from the bondage of decay. The artworks seek to open a horizon in which the abundant grace and piercing fragility of creation come together.