Monday 11 March 2013

Monday - journey to Jerusalem

Prayer:  “Return to the Lord, Your God,  for God is tenderness and compassion.  O God of tenderness and compassion,  O Master slow to anger,  full of love and full of truth,  turn towards us and have compassion.   Give Your strength to Your servant, and salvation to all peoples.  Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and wisdom,  strength, healing and love.  Amen.”  (Taize  “Praise in all our Days”  Mowbray,  1981, pg. 183).

Read  St Luke  9: 51

Jesus knows that he is on a journey to Jerusalem.  This journey will not be easy.  It will be a time of teaching,  a time of preaching,  a time of healing but most importantly it will be a time of preparation.  Jesus will be preparing the disciples for living as a Christian after he is sent to death.   It will also be a time of preparation for Jesus  as he lives knowing that his death is in the not too distant future.

And how does Jesus prepare himself?   The Bibles says that he resolutely set out….he   steeled himself….  he  steadfastly set his face towards Jerusalem.    He did not go on this journey alone.  He was constantly in prayer with God.  Jesus also had the disciples.  While they did not understand the journey Christ was to take,  they are Jesus’ students and friends.   They are with him on this journey.  

We call Lent a journey to Easter.   Lent is a time when we do something more so that we can prepare our hearts to return to God.      While we often think that Lent is a personal time of repentance,  Lent is a time for the whole Church to journey together.    As a congregation,  we journey together through worship.    

Each Sunday we come together to worship God.   During the time of Holy Week  we worship together in Maundy Thursday Worship,  Good Friday Worship,  Holy Saturday Worship,  and then Glorious Easter Worship.   One of the responsibilities that Session has to the congregation is to inform everyone of these times of extra Worship.      If you do not know if the Church you attend has extra worship services,  now is the time to ask!

Prayer:  “Lord God,  it was Your will to call us,  instructing us and opening the way for us to follow.  You have given us wisdom and understanding for life eternal.  Be our rock and our fortress, O Lord.  Amen.”   (Taize,  “Praise in all our Days”  Mowbray,  1981,  pg. 184)

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