For this holiest week of the year, I am taking a break. Time for me to be silent & for us all to just listen to God. I encourage you to participate in Holy Week services & liturgies near wherever you live. He died for us & lives forever to fully save all His people. Let us treat this week as holy. Peace be with you.
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We are on the cusp of Holy Week and our readings focus not just on the bigger purpose of God, but also on the known threat Jesus willingly walked towards.
Starting with our gospel reading (the most important & the lens through which we read the others). The raising of Lazarus has not only caused many to believe but has been the straw that broke the camels back for the authorities. Now they feel they have to stop Him.
Two things struck me in this passage. First, God using Caiaphas to prophecy even though he was so wicked & opposed to God; his office was still holy. Plus, what John calls out. That Jesus was about to die not just for the nation of Israel but to bring all the dispersed children of God into one new nation. In other words the gentiles as well as the Jews into the new nation of the Church.
Back in the prophecy of Ezekiel we read the intention of God from hundreds of years before. Through the symbolism of bringing back together the two nations of Israel & Judah (even though the northern nation was never seen again) – He speaks of the bringing together of all Gods children into a new relationship. One where the presence of God dwells amongst them. I heard again how corporate this is. God came to save not individuals but a people for himself. The church is His plan.
I’m always pleased when we have a whole Psalm rather than selected verses. In today’s song we are celebrating the great news that our help comes from God. Through the lens of today’s gospel let us welcome that Jesus will keep us – He is our God from whom our help comes. He made all & He will redeem all.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for your gracious plan. Despite our rebellion you always intended to redeem back to you all your people. Thank you for the church & may I recognise its holy authority even when imperfect, to speak your word & be a sign to the world.
ACTION: Appreciate your church today. Your brothers & sisters in Christ. Despite things you might not like, it is the nation for which God died. It is the very precious People of God. Find a way to appreciate & encourage it today.
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The theme I heard today was trusting the Father for deliverance & doing His works despite opposition.
Starting again with our gospel passage as the filter with which to read the OT, Jesus is defending His claim to be God’s Son. His works testify to the truth of His claim (and on Easter Sunday we celebrate that greatest validation). But also He reminds us that we should be sons of God too, living in that same vital relationship with the Father.
Our lament from Psalms should be heard as prophetic. Giving voice to Jesus as He faced such hatred and desire to kill Him. He was not cowed. He continues to call on the Lord & trust Him to rescue and vindicate Him. May I too not seek to justify myself or save myself. May I trust the Father who still cares even if my current experience feels like suffering.
Then Jeremiah is also a type of Christ. The weeping prophet gives us fresh insight into what it was like for Jesus to be the suffering servant. It is worthy of worship to think of Him as a human being facing such opposition & the destiny of the suffering of the cross – but still to always be aware of the Father with Him “like a dread warrior” who will prevail.
PRAYER: Lord, today as I look forward to Good Friday & reflect on all your suffering up to & including the cross – help me to trust more. In the midst of suffering & dark times, may I know the presence of the Father. Thank you that you never leave me & in the long view of heaven you always win.
ACTION: Today, take time to look at a crucifix and remember. Then catch yourself when about to complain about something minor. Instead offer your moment of suffering to God as a faithful sacrifice. Trust Him instead.
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A morning to meditate on God’s promises to Abraham, how they impact us & how Jesus fulfils all of them.
For a change, I think it can be helpful to read the older passages in the light of the gospel revelation (after all Jesus is constantly fulfilling or retelling the OT). So, in our gospel passage we see Jesus’ clear promise about not tasting spiritual death (the counterpoint to the curse in the garden, even the use of the word ‘taste’). But He also makes an amazing claim of divinity, that before Abraham was “I Am”. As well as the name of God being used & the implications, think about the plain statement, He was there with Abraham & before the garden of Eden.
So, now when we turn to the account in Genesis, I meditated on this being Jesus (the eternal Word of God) speaking to Abraham. It is Jesus who makes the promise in the first place. The promise that includes us gentiles & reveals the bigger picture of God’s plan to save the entire world. Plus, when He speaks of the ongoing covenant & Abraham’s “offspring”, He knows He is speaking of what He will do. Such a promise. Our God knowing we would fail set down the requirement “you shall keep my covenant” knowing not just the failures to some but His willingness to come & perfectly keep it for us.
The our song today from Psalms also celebrates His strength and wonderful actions. His miracles and judgements. Plus that promise that “He is mindful of His covenant for ever”. He always remembers the covenant He made to Abraham (and through Him all from all nations who would be children of the faith of Abraham). The covenant He promised and determined to fulfil Himself even when we failed to keep up our side.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: Take time today to reflect that He has worked for our salvation since the beginning. He has been faithful forever. All is gift and His initiative. But we have an essential part to play if we are to benefit from this. Faith/Trust in Him. So, it’s also essential that we radically depend on Him. Today do this: “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually”. Give Him time today – we need it.
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Another brief reflection today, sorry, as we are travelling to help suffering members of our family.
But what a joyful burst of light is today, amidst the darkness of Lent. No fasting today, it’s the Solemnity of the Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A day to celebrate that Jesus & Mary said yes to the Father’s plan of love & rescue for us.
In Isaiah’s prophecy to Ahaz we have God’s plan foretold. The Virgin will be with Child and he will be the future & forever king. She will say yes to this plan & we will be saved by the coming of the king.
In Psalm 40 we have a prophetic song. One that tells us the wisdom & willing sacrifice of the Son. In response to what God the Father truly wants, the Son also gives His yes. He will submit to coming to do the Father’s will on earth.
Further in the letter to the Hebrews we have the revelation that Jesus submitted to having a body. Plus we understand that the covenant of law was replaced by the covenant based on Jesus sacrifice & example of obedience. For us too, to obey is better than Sacrifice.
Then we come to the crescendo (foretold also in Hannah’s prayer which we heard in Morning Prayer today). Hail Mary that you said yes. She provides us with the great example of what should be our attitude to God. Under this new covenant of grace, because Jesus & Mary said yes, we should have this attitude (not one of entitlement & expecting blessings all the time): “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: As well as feeling joy today at all we have been given through their willing sacrifice, let us look to say yes to God’s direction today.
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We continue in Passiontide today looking forward to the passion of our saviour & today especially looking at the cross anew. Seeing more depth in what He did and does for us through his suffering & death on the cross.
Our OT reading gives the background the famous symbol of medicine, the reason for the bronze serpent on the pole. Three things stayed with me. The need to make a dead image of what had bitten them. The need to lift up that image so they could look at it. The victory of them being healed (saved from death) if they would look to what had been raised up.
The Psalms song today also celebrates the power of the Lord to rescue and our need to look to Him. To cry out to Him for deliverance. I also noticed that this is not a pray for a nice to have salvation for an easier or better life. No, rather it is a matter of life & death. The key action is that the Lord looks down from heaven (his initiative) “to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die”. We will never be free until we face the reality of our fate otherwise. Death.
Then in the gospel Jesus is still having trouble with the Jews & authorities neither understanding nor believing Him. But in the midst of all the frustration that He wants them to see the love of the Father, He shares this crucial line. At least one that struck me: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realise that I am he”.
Notice the parallels with the account in Numbers. Our salvation depends on the making of an icon/sacrifice of our fate (dead & with nothing due to the deadly bite of Satan & sin making us an enemy of God). He needs to be lifted up so we can look on Him & believe. We cannot be saved without recognising what Jesus did on the cross for us and that it is essential. But the good news is that we can be healed by looking on Him. As we believe and look more and more on the crucified Christ we cannot only be saved from death after death but also from the poison of sin in our lives now.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: Look at a crucifix today and thank God for Jesus being lifted up as our bronze serpent. He who defeated the great serpent & enemy of God makes a public spectacle & we should look on it daily. Look to Him & be healed today from sin & death.
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What mercy & rescue from our God today as He brings His justice to situations. An encouragement in three pictures of His character and how He will help us because of His love. Plus, a cumulative revelation of God.
In Daniel (this chapter is sometimes called Susanna & included separately) we read the story of her unjust accusation. Secret sin still causing hurt to others & the injustice we can be willing to commit to cover up our crimes. But the boy Daniel brings God’s wisdom & deliverance in the situation (and establishes a useful legal approach of keeping witnesses separate for questioning).
Building on this reason to trust in God to bring justice, even when all seems helpless, we have the beauty of Psalm 23. A song that most of us probably know by heart. I noticed anew that all this love and provision by God does not mean avoiding the Valley of the Shadow of Death nor the presence of enemies. Rather, in the midst of hurtful & unjust situations, God can provide all we need to know His peace and love in the situation. As we quiet ourselves beside the still waters of His presence, He can lead us in wisdom & provide a feast of goodness & mercy.
Then our reading from the gospel building an even great revelation. Beyond being the source of justice or even generous provision of peace in unjust circumstances – Our God can forgive us when we are guilty. Unlike Susanna, the woman had been caught in adultery. Nevertheless, Jesus spears our feelings of any right to accuse others. That is not our job. We should rather always remember how much we have been forgiven. Thank you my holy & loving Lord that though you are without sin, you choose not to condemn.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: Help me today, Lord, to remember these stories and to notice a moment to bring mercy. To live out your lavish mercy by not accusing others even when I feel I have the right to do so.
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Happy Passion Sunday, the start of Passiontide, when our focus changes from ourselves in Lent to look more deeply at Jesus’ passion. To walk with Him towards the cross as He willingly goes to die for us. I encourage you again, if at all possible this morning, to get along to mass & let the liturgical colour of red speak to you of this shift in Lent to Passiontide.
Our first reading is the familiar and dramatic story of Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones becoming a vast army. The vivid nature of that prophetic sign can sometimes distract me from the message God was giving His prophet. That He would raise us (his people) from the dead. Plus, He would put His Spirit within us and we would know Him. A promise of resurrection, the theme of today’s readings. Both a promise for the end of our lives & a promise of salvation in life.
Continuing this great hope our song today celebrates God as out hope. That we need to wait for Him diligently. But also a firm trust that in the end, however much we feel “in the depths”, He will redeem and rescue us for He has grace at power to redeem.
In his letter to the Roman church, Saint Paul reminds us that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us. Back to that twofold promise from Ezekiel. Not only does Jesus’ resurrection provide our great hope of bodily resurrection and life eternal after our death. It is also a promise of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Not just occasional words & anointings under the Old Covenant, but our very God living within us. If we struggle with sin and following God we can trust that His Spirit in us can give us life & holiness.
Finally, the longer gospel reading today to really transition us to Passiontide. The great miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead during his life. The words & actions of Jesus emphasise how important this is. Despite His love for that family, it is so important that we all see that He really has power over death, that he waits. He prays out loud for our sake. It is clearly critical that everyone present see & believe that Jesus has the authority to do this.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: Today, I ask myself do I really believe? Not just that after death I will live because of the final resurrection, but also that He can give me life now. Do I really believe the power of God lives in me to transform me? To set me free from sin so I escape the depths, stand a mighty warrior and know, deeply know Him within me. As at the Holy Eucharist, may I fully receive Him.
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Only a quick one today as I am travelling to see family. Our readings today bring us closer to Passiontide. The time at the end of Lent when we focus on Jesus’ willing movement towards the cross and His sacrificial death for us.
From the OT, the prophet Jeremiah prefigures Jesus as he is unjustly led like a lamb to the slaughter by those who wish to kill him. He has only spoken what God has told him to do (like Jesus) but for this they want to kill him. But he trusts all judgement to God, he does not seek vengeance or even argued out justification himself. He entrusts his cause to God.
Our song from Psalms continues the same theme. Trust God to bring right judgement rather than seeking to bring it yourself. He will save and defend you. Do not live your life as if such an active judge does not exist.
Then in our reading from the gospel according to St John, we see people divided about Him too. Some do believe, many are curious, but some also plot against him for his harm or death. Those who listen are amazed at his teaching, but some will not listen. He will not be given a fair hearing (as Nicodemus sought). But again even God entrusts judgement to God. Jesus does not seek to punish them or save his own skin. Because he is submitting for us.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: Today, when you feel unjustly treated or attacked, do lot lash out in response. Entrust your cause to God who judges rightly.
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Today we have OT readings that remarkably foretell in detail how Christ will suffer and a theme throughout that the wicked will persecute the righteous. That we should not be surprised at sufferings & difficulties in this life nor think that God has abandoned us when they happen. He is in fact closer than ever.
The prophetic poetry from the Book of Wisdom today both shows us the attitude of those who plotted against Jesus & the mindset of the wicked throughout time. Notice how the different lifestyle of the believer and their claim of God as their Father angers the wicked. Plus the fact that the godly do not participate in their sins provokes them. Surely we see this today, where groups who have achieved equality & freedom to practice sin are not content but get angry if others won’t join in with celebrating their lifestyle.
Today’s song from Psalms has a very similar theme. The reality of suffering, “many are the afflictions of the righteous”. But also the truth that God has not forgotten us through these times of desolation that must happen, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted”. Our trust is in the Lord even whilst we are suffering from persecution or other sorrows. We need to trust in the deliverance and setting of all things right that will come in the end.
Then in the gospel we see the reality of the attitude predicted in Wisdom playing out in the life of Jesus. The evil seek to kill Him and are provoked at His words. But our Lord is not cowed by this. He not only still goes up to the festival but proclaims God as His Father. He knows where He comes from & where He is going. This can be a weapon for us too. Remember your life is from God, by His gift or grace & will for you to be – you exist. Plus, by His grace, your destiny is heaven and eternal happiness in close union with God.
PUT INTO PRACTICE: Today, if you suffer or are condemned or mocked by others do not be surprised. Remember that God is with you and all is gift. Let His peace remain in you and live as you know is right. Trust in His ways.