05/03/2026
GOING DEEPER
Questions for Personal Reflection, Prayer, and Discussion
❖ The martyrs of Lyons were “weird and subversive” precisely because they lived the Gospel without compromise—welcoming the marginalized, rejecting idolatry, and steadfastly confessing their faith even under torture. Does my Christian walk feel “weird” or counter-cultural today? Should it? How so? Where am I tempted to soften or hide that difference for the sake of fitting in?
❖ This year the Fourth Sunday of Easter falls on the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, commemorating St. Helena’s discovery of the Lord’s cross at Jerusalem, some three centuries after it had been buried and forgotten. In the same empire that would torture the martyrs of Lugdunum, that buried and forgotten cross would eventually become the sign of victory and salvation. As the martyrs embraced their own crosses with their simple and forthright confession of Christ, where in my own life is the Holy Spirit now inviting me to “invent” (discover) the power of Christ’s cross afresh—perhaps in a buried place of fear, cultural pressure, or unruly desire—so that my heart may be fixed where true joys are found even when following Christ still feels costly?
❖ In today’s collect we pray that God would securely “fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,” even amid “sundry and manifold changes.” Where have my own “unruly wills and affections” been pulled toward passing, worldly joys lately, and what practical step can I take this week to re-anchor my heart in the lasting joy promised by the risen Christ?
❖ Christian meekness is not weakness, and in our own time we must actively “want” to follow Jesus because the culture no longer does the heavy lifting for us. Looking honestly at my own heart, what is one concrete way I can ask God this week to order my unruly desires so that I desire what He commands and love what He promises—especially when it costs me something?
-The Rev’d George Willcox Brown, III
May 3, 2026
