Psalm 95** & 88; Lam. 3:37-58; Heb. 4:1-16**; Rom. 8:1-11***

** Intended for use in the morning
*** Intended for use in the evening

Psalm 95:8

"Today if you hear his voice do not harden your heart as you did at Meribah."

 

The word "Meribah" literally means place of rebellion, strife or contention. As I have contemplated my Christian life during the Lenten season and tried to prepare my heart for Easter, this scripture has called me to evaluate how rebellion plays a part in my own life.

During times of a hardened heart one can not produce fruit and will have no value to God or others. When we are stubborn and set in our ways we find ourselves alone without God and the promises this season brings. The most important promise being the rest and the joy we will share with Him at the end of our lives.

In Hebrews 4:1-4, the scripture speaks to us about the promise of entering into that rest and to be careful that we do not fall short since we have heard the gospel just as the early Jews had, but yet had hardened their hearts.

My own hardened heart, my own rebellion comes to me in times when I realize I want to be in control. I want the outcome to be my way and I lose sight of the One who has my life in order according to His will.

“Lord God, my Father, for this Easter season please bless me and those you love with an open heart. May we be fruitful and produce among us that which you will find good. Thank you for your Son and the sacrifice that has been made for us.” Amen.

Psalm 95** & 22; Lam. 3:1-9; 1 Pet. 1:10-20; John 13:36-38** John 19:38-42***

** Intended for use in the morning
*** Intended for use in the evening


Where do I begin….I had no clue. When asked a couple of months ago if I would consider writing a meditation to be included in the Lenten booklet, I immediately said yes. Why did I do that? I had to meditate over certain writings to be provided to me and then put my thoughts into words. Had I bitten off more than I could chew? So many more people at church are better read, more literate in the scripture then me. But I said yes…so I began to read. I was instructed to read the multiple passages over and over for several days and I would find what to say…..Okay!!

The first reading I tried was Lamentations 3:1-9. Okay, the more I read the more I could not relate. The passages were doom and gloom. Verse 7 “He has walled me in, and I can not escape.” Never felt that. “He has bound me in heavy chains.” Lamentations was not a reading I could relate to.

Then I went to the Psalm 95:1-11and Psalm 22:1-31. I usually like reading Psalms – short, to the point and usually not too heavy. Well okay, Psalm 95 was not that light- hearted. Speaking of how Israel had hardened their hearts to the Lord and in his anger “They will never enter my place of rest.” So I moved on the Psalm 22. This writing was more to my taste. But still nothing that I thought I could lose myself in. From there I moved to John 19:38-42 nothing struck me. Then Peter 1:10-20. Okay, this was getting closer, but still not it.

Finally, I read John 13:36-38. Who couldn’t relate and understand this writing? Verse 38: “Jesus answered, “Die for me, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times you even know me.” Who hasn’t denied someone they loved? But the more I read this passage, the verse that kept speaking to me was verse 36: “Simon Peter said. Lord where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can not go with me now but you can follow me later.”

How many times has someone we loved left us and we so badly wanted to follow? Simon Peter loved the Lord. Yet Peter was told he must remain behind. We all remain behind for a while. We all have a reason to remain behind. Hopefully, not always to deny those we love. But to make a better place for those we will later leave behind one day.

Psalm 102; Lam. 2:10-18; 1 Cor. 10:14-17; 11:27-32; Mark 14:12-25

Psalm 102:1 Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.

1 Corinthians 10:17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

All day today, news of the earthquake in Haiti has permeated the media. Now, this evening, I am unable to erase from my mind the images of devastation, the wails and moans of the injured and bereaved.

The verse from Psalm 102 seems fitting, such a plaintive cry of desperation, of hopelessness, of being forgotten by God. How many people in Haiti feel this now, and will in days and weeks to follow, as they come to full realization of all that has been lost?

Most had little before, and many have nothing now. How easy to feel deserted by God. Have we not all had times of feeling God has abandoned us, even though our own troubles pale in comparison with those suffered by the Haitians? In comparison to Christ facing the crucifixion? Yet even as he faced His own death, Christ literally showed his disciples the face of God as He cared for their needs at His last meal. Have you ever seen the face of God in a friend or stranger when you were in need?

As Corinthians says: “There is one bread,” Christ, and we “are one body” with the Haitians and all others who suffer, because we “partake of the one bread.” We who profess to be Christians have an obligation to do what Christ directs to help those in need. Not everyone can or should jump on a plane and rush to Haiti, nor would that even be productive. But to what does God call each of us, so those who suffer will not feel God has abandoned them?

My answer and your answer to that question may be very different, but each of us is part of that “one body,” and we can know the joy of allowing Christ to work through us so someone in pain feels God’s presence. We can each be, for someone, the “face of God.”