Monday of Holy Week (Lent - Day 35)

Lent - Day 35 (Holy Monday)

Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Isaiah 42:1-4

So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
John 12:7-8

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
Psalm 27:1

Palm Sunday (6th Sunday of Lent)

6th Sunday of Lent - Palm Sunday

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped....
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians' 2:6-11

Lent - Day 34

Lent - Day 34

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.  But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
Matthew 6:19-21

Bookends (Lent - Day 33)

Lent - Day 33

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Rev 22:13

Jesus = our bookends

I like that.

Covenantal Grace (Lent - Day 32)

Lent - Day 32

I will maintain my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
I will give to you
and to your descendants after you
the land in which you are now staying,
the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession;
and I will be their God.”

God also said to Abraham:
“On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.”
Gen 17:7-9

I am struck by how great God's gift is to Abraham. HUGE!!

And Abraham's response - his part of the covenant - is to pass it on, generation after generation.  I am awed with being part of this legacy. I am glad that God gives the grace to see it accomplished.

I pray I am daily open to that grace so that at the end of my days I may hear the words: "well done, good and faithful servant." To be a keeper of God's covenant. For God's grace is not for us alone, but to be shared and spread throughout the earth.

As a recent quote I saw says:  Heaven is filled with converted sinners. And there's always room for more!

The Annunciation (Lent - Day 31)

Lent - Day 31

Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
Psalm 40:7-11

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrating the beautiful day wherein the Angel Gabriel approaches Mary about becoming the mother of God.

I am awed with Mary's response: "I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word."

Mary's words and life seem to echo perfectly today's psalm and its refrain: Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Jesus wept (Lent - Day 30)

Lent - Day 30

And Jesus wept.
John 11:35

Scripture is the inspired Word of God. That means that there is not one word that is superfluous. Not one word, and therefore not one sentence is meaningless.

There is great comfort knowing that what is recorded in scripture is exactly what needs to be there.
There is great comfort knowing, too, that Jesus wept. This passage is from Sunday's Gospel reading: the Raising of Lazarus.

How many times can we encounter difficult situations - either in our own lives or in the lives of those around us - not knowing "why" and feeling the temptation to despair. God isn't the cause of suffering. He cannot be. He is the creator and source of all that is good. We are created in that goodness to be holy. Yet sin exists and we are active participants. Our sin affects ourselves and those around us, whether we know it or not. This is why the call to repent is huge. And so vitally necessary.

Yet amid it all, God is with us.  Emmanuel.  And in the face of death, weeps.