Friday in the First Week of Lent

Collect of the Day

Lord Christ, our eternal Redeemer, grant us such fellowship in your sufferings, that, filled with your Holy Spirit, we may subdue the flesh to the spirit, and the spirit to you, and at the last attain to the glory of your resurrection; who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm           Lessons

130            Ezekiel 18:21-28  Matthew 5:20-26

 

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. Psalm 130: 1-4

 I love today’s collect. Today we ask to be granted fellowship in Christ’s suffering, so that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit and subdue our flesh to the spirit and the spirit to Christ. When I am suffering, when I am in the pit, then all I can think about is how I can be better, kinder, more spirit-filled so that I can get out of the pit and never get there again. In my suffering I pray without ceasing. In my suffering I am more sympathetic to others who may be suffering and I am kinder and more patient to them. When I am broken I let down my barriers and allow others in, and allow God to touch me through the love of others. When I am faced with all my sins, I am so grateful for the grace of Christ and thankful to my core for all that I’ve been given. When I have lost my life is when I gain it.

However, I am plagued by long-term memory loss. Just as my inability to truly remember the pain of childbirth allowed me to become pregnant over and over again, my inability to remember the pain and fear and emptiness of the pit allows me to sin over and over again. It is insanity. I repeat the same mistakes, and every time I covet, every time I show pride, every time I fail to love my neighbor as myself I dig myself deeper. Perhaps it is impossible to live open and raw and vulnerable as I am in the pit without committing the sins that throw me down there. Luckily for me our God has memory loss as well. The psalmist assures us that when we cry from the depths, the steadfast love that heals us also wipes our slate clean.

 

 

 

 

Thursday in the First Week of Lent

Collect of the Day

Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm         Lessons

138              Esther (Apocrypha) 14:1-6,12-14  Matthew 7:7-12

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. Matthew 7: 7


One of the best qualities about one of my children is also one that causes me the most anxiety … his confidence. This child has never met a stranger. He believes that he is adored by all and is always confident that things will go his way, which leads to great anxiety on my part as a parent because I know that things don’t always work out in our favor. We don’t always make the team, or win the election and we aren’t always selected for honors. I worry that these eventual disappointments will bring his soaring spirit back down to earth.

 

Jesus reminds us to have the faith of a child. We are called on to pray with unbridled confidence. Esther faced death for revealing her faith, and prayed confidently to the Lord for deliverance. Matthew tells us there is no need to hedge our bets. God our Father, like any loving parent, will open the door when we knock. Yet we need to knock loudly. We need to knock boldly. We must knock with confidence. We should knock on God’s door with the unending pounding and faith of a child.

 
 

 

Wednesday in the First Week of Lent

Collect of the Day

Bless us, O God, in this holy season, in which our hearts seek your help and healing; and so purify us by your discipline that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm          Lessons

51:11-18       Jonah 3:1-10  Luke 11:29-32

 

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” Luke 11:28

 

One of the best essays I’ve ever read was written by a remarkable young woman as part of her college application. The writer had a hearing impairment and wrote about the art of listening. Early on she had learned that to succeed in school she needed to really focus in on the person speaking and truly listen to what was being said in order to compensate for her hearing loss. It was a skill that has allowed her to achieve success not just at school, but at life.

 

What would it mean for us to listen with total focus to our spouse, our children, our friends, to God? When Jonah finally listened to God and traveled to Nineveh, he was told to proclaim God’s message that because of their actions the city should be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh listened and believed, and they repented. It must have been frustrating to Christ when those hearing him preach did not listen, instead calling for signs and miracles.

 

Hearing happens automatically for most of us. Listening takes focus. Listening takes attention. Listening takes time. Where are we spending our time and focus? To what are we attentive? The only sign we will be given is the Son of Man. Are we listening?

   

Tuesday in the First Week of Lent

Collect of the Day

Grant to your people, Lord, grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only true God; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm                                    Lessons

34:15-22                    Isaiah 55:6-11   Matthew 6:7-15

Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9

Names are important. How many of us, when naming our children, chose names of people we loved or admired and shied away from names of those we disliked? A person’s name can be associated with specific traits. We expect a boy named Alabama to be better at sports than one named Francis. In Great Britain the names of royals, Elizabeth and James, are linked with intelligence and success. And as our names are given to us before the formation of our personality they effect the person we become as an adult. Imagine yourself with a different name. Would you be the same person?

The Hebrew people had many names for God. There was Elohim- the strong creator God, Jehovah, the self-existing one, Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God. God was called jealous, faithful, and mighty. God was a protector. But Jesus had a new name for God. He called God “Father”, and invited us to do the same, instructing us to pray to “God, Our Father”. Think about how radical of a change that is. Instead of praying to our Lord and Protector, a distant and mighty God, we pray to Our Father. We are in a loving relationship with Our Father. Our Father will protect us and answer our prayers because we are cared for and cherished. Something as simple as a change in name transformed our relationship with the Creator.

Lent is a great time to remember our name. When Jesus invited us to call God, Our Father, were adopted into his family and given the new name, Christian. It’s time we live up to it.