Turn

It’s not possible to be familiar with 60’s music and ignore the song Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds. The rock band’s version of Pete Seeger’s song became wildly popular. It closely quotes ancient scriptures from Ecclesiastes, except for the words Turn! Turn! Turn! that Seeger inserted throughout the song. It is those words that made the song the easily recognizable rock anthem that it was (and is). Though the scriptures themselves are deeply meaningful, it is the refrain that lingers in my memory. I can’t imagine the song without them.

Today is Ash Wednesday, a day in many Christian traditions that marks the beginning of a period of penitence and reflection. I began my Lenten journey today contemplating what I might do to enrich this season. As often happens, I took a mental and spiritual sidetrack. I began to think about the word– the verb– Turn. It wasn’t long before the classic song Turn! Turn! Turn! began to play in my mind’s soundtrack (Hmm… Was it an 8-Track tape? Hah! Probably so). The idea of turning, and how that relates to the start of Lent piqued my interest. I did not abandon the traditional Lenten focus on sacrifice yet I set it aside to follow this thread. I thought about turning as a spiritual practice .It was surprisingly easy to see the connections between the Lenten Season and the idea(s) offered by the concept of turning.

Lent gives us an opportunity to turn towards something. Simultaneously, when we turn towards something, we necessarily turn away from something else. If I am on my patio looking at the Bosque River valley, I naturally turn towards this view, and away from the house behind me. If I sit on my front porch and turn my face towards the sunrise. I am positioned in such a way that I turn away from the Western sky where the moon is setting at that same moment.

Turning towards, turning away. Both can be positive or negative actions, depending on our focus or our goal. I think about this idea, this concept, this spiritual practice, of turning, and I know, deep in my soul, that Lent 2026 will be a time of turning. I’m not sure exactly how it will all turn out but I do know that this year I am to prayerfully consider the idea of turning. Turning can be dramatic, as in a big decision: to take up a new career, make a physical move, or make amends with an estranged friend. Turning can be as subtle as a shift in attitude, much as we shift our weight in a chair for a different perspective or clearer view. I fully expect that these ideas and more will come to the forefront as I read scriptures and devotions, as I pray and meditate, as I brainstorm with energy or rest in God’s wisdom. Somehow, Lent and Turning, and Learning, and Changing… all these ideas will mesh together. I have no doubt about the synchronicity that will appear. At the end of 40 days, I will not have all the answers to whatever puzzles me, saddens me, or challenges me. I will not even understand the many sources of joy around me. I will, however, have a deeper understanding of what it means to turn away and to turn towards. To turn inward and to turn outward. To turn around and to turn over.

Today I begin my Lenten journey in earnest and another song, beautiful in its simplicity and beauty, wafts through my mind and settles in my spirit. This hymn never was as popular as The Byrds anthem, but it is increasingly meaningful to me as time moves on inexorably with ever increasing speed: Tis the Gift to Be Simple, from the Shaker dancing and singing traditional worship. I turn to this song. It frames the Lenten season for me. I share the last line with you:

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,

To turn, turn, will be our delight

till by turning, turning we come round right.¹

It can be hard to turn towards something unknown or to turn away from something that beckons. It can also be easy to make a change in the natural order of things. One thing is sure. When we turn, we change in some way, subtly or dramatically. I turn with energy and purpose towards what Lent offers this season. I sing along with The Byrds and know that this is the time, this is the season, to turn.² I sing along with the Shakers and resonate with their assurance that by turning, turning, I will come round right.

Come along with me, if you will, on this journey of turning. Who knows what we will discover?

O God, you always beckon us towards your Presence. You teach us about stability. You teach us about change. Prepare us to be surprised as we turn our hearts, our minds, and our souls more intentionally towards You. Amen.

1 Excerpt from the Shaker Hymn: ‘Tis the Gift to Be Simple

2 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV