Holy Week: Wednesday

Holy Wednesday

Scripture

Isaiah 50:4-9

Prayer

God of all creation, you left your throne to walk among us,

To work with us,

To eat with us,

To worship with us,

To care for us,

To be, in all ways but one, just like us.

And after all of that, knowing us, you chose to die for us.

How can we do anything less than live for you?

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

Holy Week: Tuesday

Scripture

Isaiah 49:1-7


Prayer

God of justice, your law provides your children with clear instruction for living a life pleasing to you, and yet we find myriad ways to fail you.

God of mercy, your love ordained, before the foundations of the earth, a way to redeem your children from our sinful lives.

God of us all, you offer your mercy, not only to those who call you Father, but to anyone who chooses your way.

Thanks be to God.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

Holy Week: Monday

Monday

Scripture

Psalm 36:5-11

Prayer

As you taught your disciples, teach us, Lord, to see beyond accolade and pageantry to the mission you have for us. 

Prepare us, Lord, as you prepared your disciples, for whatever challenge lies before us. 

Grant us faith, Lord, to accept your will even when we do not understand it. 

Grant us wisdom, Lord, to align our wills with yours.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

In focus

When dark, this space is like any other, drab, utilitarian.  But when the sun shines, the room vibrates with a crazy quilt of color, seemingly random, but still beautiful.  Only when you turn your eyes toward the sun does the picture come into focus and the intent of the artist become clear.

And so it is with faith.  While we might revel in the beauty caused by the Son, only when we turn our eyes to Him does He come into sharp focus.  And only by fixing our eyes on Him can we begin to understand, through faithful study, his artistry.

Stir me with with discontent, Lord.  Keep me from blithely basking in the rainbow of colors that radiates from your presence.  Draw me to the look directly into the Light, Lord, that I may focus on understanding your artistry in me, in the world, in Christ.

Hope Dawns

Immanuel Episcopal Church in LaGrange, Tennessee
photo copyright N. Y. Smith

Once a place of hope,

In time of peace a place of worship,

In time of slavery a place of divided communion,

In time of war a place of death,

In time, in God,

Hope dawns again.

Knowing

We spend so much time focusing on his divinity that it's really hard to imagine the temptations Jesus must have felt as his time on Earth was drawing to a close.  His humanity was as complete as ours. 

He knew hunger. 

He knew jealousy. 

He knew anger. 

He knew fear. 

He knew them all, but always resisted them, knowing that they would become distractions on his journey.  He continued on the right path.  He turned his face away from his old life and toward Calvary.  He listened to his Father, then took the path necessary for the redemption of his lost lambs.

What wondrous love.

Real Heroes

We are a society obsessed with heroes.  We lionize athletes, actors, entertainers--anyone who has achieved widespread, even if temporary, notoriety.  Protestant Christians are strangely loath to observe the sanctoral cycle, the annual commemoration of the lives of Christianity's pioneers.  The feast days in honor of the saints are not occasions to worship the honoree, but are perfect occasions to remember the stories and examples they provide us. 

The Handbook of the Christian Year describes the importance of remembering the saints:  "Properly understood, however, the saints are manifestations of the continuing work of Jesus Christ in human life.  Holy men and women are not testimonies to works-righteousness but to the transforming grace of God."  The saints are the ordinary men and women who believed God enough to dedicate their lives to Him.  The saints are the ordinary men and women to believed God enough to die for Him.  These ordinary men and women did more than achieve personal, fleeting fame; they were instruments of God in their world.  Now those are real heroes.

This calendar can help you remember when to study the heroes of the faith.

February 24                  Matthias
March 19                      Joseph
April 25                        Mark
May 1                            Philip and James the Less
June 11                         Barnabas
June 24                         John the Baptist
June 29                         Peter and Paul
July 22                          Magdalene
July 25                          James
August 15                     Mary
August 24                     Bartholomew
September 21               Matthew
October 18                   Luke
October 23                   James, brother of Jesus
October 28                   Simon and Jude
November 1                 All Saints
November 30               Andrew
December 21                Thomas
December 26                 Stephen
December 27                 John the Evangelist
December 28                 Holy Innocents

Resources:
Hickman, Hoyt L.; Saliers, Don E.; Stookey, Laurence Hull; and White, James F.  Handbook of the Christian Year.  1986.  Abingdon Press:  Nashville, TN.