Third Sunday in Lent (5)

 

                                                                Cruz de Ferro, The Camino 

1 LORD, you are the God who saves me;
    day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.                - Psalm 88

 Today marks the twenty fifth day of Lent, halfway through the season.  Psalm 88 reminds me of the long journey somewhere and my daughter Brittany asking are we there yet.  At first reading through the psalm, I feel the despair of the author as they recall all the troubles that have invaded their life.  The weight of all of life’s troubles have piled upon the shoulder of the author crushing and smothering out any hope in their call to God.  This reminds me of how we do not have the ability to see things from God’s perspective as we do not fully trust Him in all we do.  What blocks us from the ability to know and feel God’s love in our lives? In Lent we are walking to the Lord, trying to strip away our sin and separation from God so we may draw closer to Jesus and feel the agape love he has for each one of us.  The psalmist lays down the litany of woes at the throne of God, just as we must be honest expressing our own despair and separation from living as God wants us to do (sin).  As Lent goes on a hunger starts to devour me to turn myself over to God and trust that he has searched me and knows me, He perceives my thoughts at any moment and wants to draw close to every child of God. Are we there yet, no but getting closer!

Jeremiah 11: 4-5 

Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.” I answered, “Amen, LORD.”

The answer to our waywardness and woes is clear in Jeremiah, obey me and everything I command you.  I am afraid of giving control to God and fall short of this as I rely on my own choices and do not love as Jesus did, I covet, have stolen ideas, things, harboured ill feelings towards others in my heart.  What brings me back every week is my confession to God for my sin.  God knows I am trying to yield up everything to him not always succeeding.  Each day I am drawn away from his love by my own sinful yearnings.  God promises to fulfill my deepest desires with a land full of the needs of my heart.  My AMEN for his grace needs to move beyond just the appropriate liturgical response but a heart felt AMEN coming from the deep inner agreement of my mind and soul.  To do this I must listen to God and not to the world around me that draws me away from God.  Listening to God is one of the disciplines of Lent that moves me back to what God intended from his people.  

Romans 6:1-4 

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

After hearing Brother Jason’s sermon from February 28, this scripture carries different meaning for me.  New life comes from death as Jason pointed out and Paul’s word saying being baptized in Christ also means I am baptized (immersed) in his death.  With the immersion in Death(baptism), we emerge from the water rising from the dead and walking a new life in Jesus Christ.  Just like a newborn baby we need to learn how to be the spiritual beings Jesus designed us to be.  The rest of Paul’s letter brings words of great comfort as he reiterates that when Jesus died for us, he unites with us also in the resurrection.  When we fully believe in the Risen Lord, we need to put to death sin in our lives and live for God.  What a glorious message to hear midway through Lent to give us hope and a glance to Easter when we celebrate the majesty and power of our Risen Lord.  AMEN, let it be so.

I pray that each one journeying through the desert of Lent would be strengthened in faith to face the challenges of each day.  Lord, we give you our lives, to serve and live for you. Grant us a mind to think as Christ did.  His words for speaking.  His eyes for seeing and his heart for loving and forgiving.  Anoint us to do your will to advance your kingdom and give you glory.  Be our strength and joy, so our hearts may give you thanks. 

- Greg Young