Sixth Sunday of Lent: Palm/Passion Sunday

Scripture: Psalm 24

". . . Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory."

Hymn: "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," UMH 203
James Montgomery, 1821

"Hail to the Lord's Anointed, great David's greater Son!
Hail in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free;
To take away transgression, and rule in equity."

Prayer:

King Jesus! Blessed are you; you come in the name of the Lord!

But Jesus, there are tears in your eyes! Tears for your beloved Jerusalem, a city of fickle treachery, even now welcoming the Savior whom they will put to death in five short days.

Not I, Lord! I will stand by you. I will -- I swear it! But my heart stops cold at my own words, for even in the brightness of Sunday's midday, I can already hear the crowing of Friday's dawn.

Jesus! Oh, Jesus! Give me grace to face this holiest and darkest of weeks as I trace your path. Even now, the cross casts its shadow.

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Scripture: Psalm 131

". . . But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me. . . ."

Hymn: "It Is Well with My Soul," UMH 377
Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul. . . ."

Prayer:

I am too frantic and too busy, dear God. Quiet my soul. Soothe and calm my fears; settle the spoiled little child that I so often let myself become. Draw me close to you, and let me hear your reassuring voice.

Your love, gentle God, is all that I need. Nothing else matters, compared to the love that gave me life and keeps me in your sight. Call me home to your heart often, dear God.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

(Wow...I thought I posted this early this morning! Color me embarrassed . . .)

Scripture: Psalm 91

"You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust.' . . . When they call to me, I will answer them; . . . With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation."

Hymn: "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" UMH 139
Joachim Neander, 1680; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1863

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration! . . ."

Prayer:

O holy, living God! How strange it is that I so often run from you! You have promised to be near me and to sustain me, yet I force you to seek me when I could be enjoying the matchless peace of your presence.

Set my heart on fire with longing, O God, for the perfect dwelling place for my soul: in the shadow of your unending love.

Third Sunday of Lent

Scripture: Psalm 42

"As the deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. . . . By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. . . ."

Hymn: "Spirit Song" UMH 347
John Wimber, 1979

"O let the Son of God enfold you with his Spirit and his love.
Let him fill your heart and satisfy your soul.
. . . Jesus, O Jesus, come and fill your lambs."

Prayer:

This sacrifice, O Lord! When will it ever become a hunger for you, rather than a hunger for the petty things I choose to give up? I want to want you! Do you really honor the attempt as much as you would honor a complete victory? Will I ever know for certain?

Ah, Lord God, this day, I choose you. This hour, I choose you. In this very moment, I choose you. Fill me with your Spirit, I pray.

Second Sunday of Lent

Scripture: Psalm 84

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. . . ."

Hymn: "I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord," UMH 540
Timothy Dwight, 1801

"I love thy kingdom, Lord,
The house of thine abode,
The church our blest Redeemer saved
With his own precious blood. . . ."

Prayer:

God of holiness, who delights in the praises of your children, accept my praise today. I love you! You are my Creator, and I want nothing more than to be in your presence.

You made us with a need to come together for worship, O Lord. You make our ordinary little human structures holy with your presence in our midst. We worship not to make you greater, for you are perfect beyond our understanding. No, we worship because we need to remember Who you are and Whose we are.

May your Spirit guide our worship, O God, and make our offerings of gifts and lives holy in your sight.

First Sunday of Lent

Scripture: Psalm 23

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. . . . Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life . . ."

Hymn: "The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want," UMH 136
Scottish Psalter, 1650
"Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me; And in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be."

Prayer:

O Lord of the rod and the shepherd's staff, thank you for your love and care for this wayward sheep of your flock. How often you have searched for me, how often you have rescued me from disaster! Yet I continue to wander off again and again. How my waywardness must grieve you! Teach me, O Shepherd of my soul, to trust your boundaries and loving guidance. Call me again and again until I learn to listen for your voice alone. For I know, dear Jesus, that only in your care can I truly live.

Lent: Day 3

Scripture: Psalm 139

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me . . . you hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. . . . Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? . . . I come to the end--I am still with you."

Hymn: "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light," UMH 206
Kathleen Thomerson, 1966

". . . God set the stars to give light to the world.
The star of my life is Jesus.
In him there is no darkness at all.
The night and the day are both alike.
. . . Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus."

Prayer:

Seeking and finding God, how foolish it is for me to try to hide from you! Yet I do, so often! O God, help me to stay close to you, so that I have no need to hide my face and my deeds from you.\

With the psalmist, I am in awe of your perfect design and my unique place in your world. You wasted nothing and made no mistakes, dear God. Remind me never to waste myself on things that have no value to you or to those I love. Teach me to treasure your constant presence with me; help me to look to you as my Friend and Companion.

Walk with me today and always, dear Lord.

Lent: Day 1 (Ash Wednesday)

Scripture: Psalm 51

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. . . . a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (NRSV)

Hymn: "Be Thou My Vision," UMH 451
Ancient Irish hymn, translated by Mary E. Byrne, versed by Eleanor H. Hull, 1912

"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart . . .
Thou my best thought, by day or by night . . .
. . . Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all."

Prayer:

O God of new beginnings and second chances, accept this broken heart of mine. You made it, you know it through and through, and it belongs to you. Mend my broken places and make me clean again. Accept my tiny sacrifices as I learn to make the only one you truly desire: my life in all its fullness.

Walk this journey of Lent with me, O Savior, leading me where you walked so long ago. Guide me by your Holy Spirit as I seek your narrow way.

Advent, Week 1: Thursday (late)

Psalm 122:6-9 (NRSV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers." For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, "Peace be within you." For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good."

Peace...peace within. Within the city of God. Peace, which the Lord gives but the world cannot even understand.

Advent celebrates the promised coming of the One who is called Prince of Peace. Lord Jesus, whose reign is peace, rule in my heart, my home, my church, my city, my world.

Advent, Week 1: Wednesday

Psalm 122 (NRSV):

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!" Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem built as a city that is bound firmly together. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.

Psalm 122:1 is one of the first verses of Scripture that I learned as a child. Of course, as a little child I believed it meant that I should be glad to go to church, which makes sense because I always was glad to go to church. Church was one of the places where I knew I was loved and cared about, where I knew I belonged.

I've learned a lot more about the celebratory Psalms since my childhood. Now I marvel at how these dear, familiar words were almost certainly sung by pilgrims making their way up to Jerusalem for the festivals. I'm also reminded, in verse 5, that Jerusalem was a new city in the time of David, in some senses a neutral one, designed specifically to be the capital, where all twelve tribes remembered their commonality and renewed their unity.

The coming of Christ as Messiah was not to the throne city, which was already reduced to being capital of a divided mishmash of a conquered, occupied nation. Instead, the Son of David came to reign among the poor, as one of them. From his borrowed makeshift feed trough of a crib to his borrowed grave, the King of kings' earthly life was marked by embraced poverty. What few possessions Jesus owned, he held very lightly. Even his clothes were taken from him and divided by his executioners. Jesus came in such a way that we could -- indeed, we must -- accept him as he is, not for what he has. He permitted nothing to come between him and people, and though he no longer walks this earth in his human body, there is still nothing in the way of approaching him.

As Michael Card put it in his song,"Jubilee," we can "look into our Judge's face and see a Savior there." Jesus is our Jerusalem, he is our Jubilee, he is our Salvation! I am glad whenever I hear, "Let us go to Jesus."

Lent: Day 33

Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee

Text: Martin Luther, 1523, Eng. tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1863
Tune: AUS TIEFER NOT, Martin Luther, 1524

Out of the depths I cry to Thee;
Lord, hear me, I implore Thee!
Bend down Thy gracious ear to me;
I lay my sins before Thee.
If Thou rememberest each misdeed,
If each should have its rightful meed,
Who may abide Thy presence?

Thou grantest pardon through Thy love;
Thy grace alone availeth;
Our works could ne’er our guilt remove;
Yea, e’en the best life faileth.
For none may boast himself of aught,
But must confess Thy grace hath wrought
Whate’er in him is worthy.

And thus my hope is in the Lord,
And not in my own merit;
I rest upon His faithful Word
To them of contrite spirit.
That He is merciful and just,
Here is my comfort and my trust;
His help I wait with patience.

I apologize for missing this morning's post. Thank you for reading and for sharing your comments. --Ps.

Advent, Week 1: Monday

Recommended readings from the first Sunday of Advent (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36

Psalm 25 discusses the humility necessary to live in right relationship with God. Reading this Psalm responsively in worship yesterday brought home to me the truth of this principle. God desires to lead us in the way we should go, but we must be willing to be led. Not by pet theologies, not by self-designated human "leaders," not by our own plans and purposes, but by no one less than the Holy One who created and loves us.

Part of the "house cleaning" time of Advent is to sweep out the self-worship that is at the heart of all sin. Really, that's key: who's on the throne of my life, me or God? If I occupy that throne, there's no way God can lead me. If God occupies it, however, even if progress seems slow, I will be walking in God's way. Sooner or later, the growth I seek will be evident.

I intend to focus today on the details of everyday living, asking myself this question: "Who, or what, is directing my action in this specific matter?" Come to think of it, that can be a good form of prayer. God will reveal the true answer, without fail.

May you--and I--walk with God this day and all our days.