Christ the True Vine, the Tree of Life

Psalm 80

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou who leadest Joseph like a flock! Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before E′phraim and Benjamin and Manas′seh!

Stir up thy might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry with thy people’s prayers? Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.

Thou dost make us the scorn of our neighbors; and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt; thou didst drive out the nations and plant it. Thou didst clear the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. the mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.

Why then hast thou broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.

Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock which thy right hand planted.

They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance! But let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man whom thou hast made strong for thyself! Then we will never turn back from thee; give us life, and we will call on thy name!

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

John 15:1-11

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Here is a poem, attributed to various Church Fathers with no clear concensus on who the actual author was. Regardless, it speaks to the image of the cross as the life giving tree.

There is a place, we believe, at the centre of the world, Called Golgotha by the Jews in their native tongue. Here was planted a tree cut from a barren stump:

This tree, I remember hearing, produced wholesome fruits, But it did not bear these fruits for those who had settled there: It was foreigners who picked these lovely fruits.

This is what the tree looked like: it rose from a single stem And then extended its arms into two branches Just like the heavy yardarms on which billowing sails are stretched Or like the yoke beneath which two oxen are put to the plough.

The shoot that sprung from the first ripe seed Germinated in the earth and then, miraculously, On the third day it produced a branch once more, Terrifying to the earth and to those above, but rich in life-giving fruit.

But over the next forty days it increased in strength, Growing into a huge tree which touched the heavens With its topmost branches and then hid its saccred head on high.

In the meantime it produced twelve branches of enormous Weight and stretched forth, spreading them over the whole world: They were to bring nourishment and eternal life to all The nations and to teach them that death can die.

And then after a further fifty days had passed From its top the tree caused a draught of divine nectar To flow into its branches, a breeze of the heavenly spirit.

All over the tree the leaves were dripping with sweet dew. And look! Beneath the branches shady cover There was a spring, with waters bright and clear For there was nothing there to disturb the calm. Around it in the grass A variety of flowers shone forth in bright colors.

Around this spring countless races and peoples gathered, Of different stock, sex, age and rank, Married and unmarried, widows, young married women, Babies, children and men, both young and old.

When they saw the branches here bending down, under the weight Of many sorts of fruit, they gleefully reached out with greedy hands To touch the fruits dripping with heavenly nectar.

But they could not pick them with their eager hands Until they had wiped off the dirt and filthy traces Of their former life, washing their bodies in the holy spring. And so they strolled around on the soft grass for some time And looked up at the fruits hanging from the tall tree.

If they ate the shells that fell from those branches And the sweet greenery dripping with plenty of nectar, Then they were overcome with a desire to pick the real fruit. And when their mouths first experienced the heavenly taste, Their minds were transformed and their greedy impulses Began to disappear; by the sweet taste they knew the man.

We have seen that an unusual taste or the poison of gall Mixed with honey causes annoyance in many: They rejected what tasted good because they were confused And did not like what they had eagerly grabbed at, Finally spitting out the taste of what they had for long drunk unwisely.

But it often happens that many, once their thoughts are set to rights, Find their sick minds restored and achieve what they denied Was possible and so obtain the fruits of their labours.

Many, too, having dared to touch the sacred waters, Have suddenly departed, slipping back again To roll around in the same mixture of mud and filth.

But others, faithfully carrying the truth within them, receive it With their whole soul and store it deep in their hearts. And so the seventh day sets those who can approach The sacred spring beside the waters they longed for, And they dip their bodies that have been fasting.

Only so do they rid themselves of the filth of their thoughts And the stains of their former life, bringing back from death Souls that are pure and shining, destined for heaven’s light.

Bridegroom Matins

Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again ,unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, o my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, O our God!

I was distracted during the service as the priest and choir exchanged turns chanting the Psalms and prayer. My daughter was fussing and kept trying to crawl away. A moments calm, I closed my eyes to soak it in and listen as they sang of God's faithfulness, of his love, of his extreme humility in coming to earth as a man. When I opened my eyes I was caught up in a blur of color and light and movement as the doors of the iconostasis opened and the servers, deacon and priest came through, fanning out in the temple, torches with candles and the priest carrying the icon [pictured above] over his head and I saw him. I felt like I did the first time I saw my bride on our wedding day - it took my breath away: the Bridegroom.

The rest of the service I couldn't take my eyes off of him, staring at his down turned gaze, his soft, humble expression, his gentle hands holding his simple scepter, his exposed ribs, the crown of thorns. This man, scorned and rejected, my Bridegroom, the one who had called me into the fellowship of His Body.

The service finished and I stood still as people began to exit, staring, fixated by his simple, broken beauty, the beauty of the Love that brought mercy to a fallen world, mercy to my fallen soul. I realized there were tears in my eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness, they were the same tears that I shed when I saw my beautiful bride for the first time, tears of love, of joy, of happiness. Beautiful Savior, Beautiful Lord.

Tenderest songs I, though unworthy, offer to Thee, and like the woman of Canaan, I cry to Thee: O Jesus, have mercy on me! For it is not a daughter, but my flesh cruelly possessed with passions and burning with fury. So grant healing to me who cry unto Thee: Alleluia!

I see Thy Bridal Chamber adorned, O my Savior, but have no wedding garment that I may enter. O Giver of Light, enlighten the vesture of my soul, and save me.

The Life Giving Cross of Jesus Christ

This is the sermon I preached at All Saints Anglican Church in Springfield, Mo on Holy Friday (March 29, 2013). I offer it here with humility and prayers that it may minister to some. Glory to Jesus Christ for the Life Giving Cross!

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord’s Passion

March 29, 2013 All Saints Anglican Church Springfield, MO

By The Reverend Father Micah Joel Chisholm

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we pray you graciously behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross. We pray, do not rebuke is in anger, but deal with us according to your kindness. Give us eyes to see you, ears to hear you, minds to understand you and hearts to love you as you are revealed to us in your Holy Gospel. Grant Father, that no false words would be allowed to pass through my lips, but only those which you have prepared for us to hear this evening. For yours is the might, and yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

My dear brothers and sisters,

As humans we have been given great gifts by our heavenly Father. We have been created in his image and given the whole world. We have the capacity to see all that is around us and appreciate beauty as it is before us. We understand the power of an image to communicate meaning and emotion. We cling to photographs and portraits to keep our loved ones with us and to hold on to memories of the past. Museums are filled with masterpieces behind glass to keep them from becoming soiled by time. The walls and shelves in our homes are lined with mismatched frames and faded photographs that give us a sense of connectedness of wholeness and familiarity.

We recoil from ugliness, from suffering and from that which is unclean. We work to protect ourselves and our families from seeing blood and brokenness. Yet dear ones, as we observe this most solemn day I invite you to join me in fixing our gaze on Christ as he hangs on the cross and to see in his broken and disfigured body the ultimate expression of beauty and love.

In the passion narrative recorded by Saint John we find quoted the words of the prophet Zechariah “they will look on him whom they have pierced.”1 On this awful and Good Friday we are challenged to come face to face with reality as it is, filled with paradox and mystery because when we look upon Jesus nailed to the cross we are uncomfortably confronted by cruelty and mercy, disfigurement and beauty, death and life.

At first we try to avoid it. We look down or to the right or to the left. We tell ourselves that it is distasteful to look at so much blood, so much suffering, it will only depress us, it will give our children nightmares, and we are really protecting ourselves if we don’t look we say. We try so hard to live such clean and tidy lives, untouched by the blood and dirt swirling around us. So we look away. We put up pictures of a smiling Jesus, Jesus healing a lame man, feeding the five thousand, Jesus with children on his knee. This Jesus is always fully clothed with nicely parted hair and a manicured beard. We feel comfortable around this Jesus. We feel safe. We feel in control.

Eventually, perhaps out of curiosity perhaps out of guilt, we allow ourselves to take just a peek at Jesus as he appears on the cross – just a glance mind you, we aren’t fixated on death–so we give a sideways glance, out of the corner of our eye, and we see him. We quickly look away for we know deep down that if we were to look full on him in all his broken glory then it would be more than we could bear. So we go back to our sweet baby Jesus, our laughing child Jesus, our tender Jesus the Good Shepherd.

We go on like this as long as we can, avoiding the cruel reality of the cross. And each year this day comes and presents us with the beautiful tragedy of the cross. And on this day we are forced, often times against our will, to look upon him who was pierced and to hear him say:

“My people, what have I done to you? Did I not fill Judea with miracles? Did I not raise the dead with just a word? Did I not heal every disease and illness? How then do you repay me?...In place of healings you have given me beatings. In exchange for life, you give me death…the giver of the law like an outlaw, the king of all one condemned.”2

Turn to him now. See him as he labors to take each breath – his breath which filled the lungs of Adam and gave life to all now comes forth as a gasp and with much pain. See the deep lines in his back, each one cut into his tender skin by the whipping ordered by Pilate.3 Recall the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”4 Though you be tempted to look away in grief and shame hold your gaze on him who for you was nailed to the cross at Calvary. See now the thorns, twisted by the mocking soldiers, an unworthy crown for such a noble head, pressed into the forehead once kissed by his mother, his hair matted and tangled.5 Each drop of blood shed is a fountain of life for those who bathe in it, look on this man and see the source of your cleansing, the physician who can heal you. Hands that held children and healed the sick and blessed bread now curl in pain around the very source of pain, unable to avoid the cross, the cross must be endured. Feet that walked dusty roads with friends from town to town and brought glad tidings of the Kingdom of God now hang limp, stationary, as the King of Life hangs in this moment and the entire universe hangs in the balance.

There he is, do you see him. Stripped of all dignity, naked and alone, the crushed God-man clothes us in mercy and grace, making us fit to enter the banquet of the master.6 Out of love for us “the Lord took us to himself; because he loved us…our Lord Jesus Christ gave his life’s blood for us – he gave his body for our body, his soul for our soul…let us [then] look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world.”7 Let us look to his pierced side, opening wide a fountain of blood deep enough and wide enough to cleanse the sin of the world. His opened side opens to us the doorway to his own heart and to the Kingdom of his Father. His wounds become the very passage through which we pass from death to life, for in his blood is plenteous redemption.8

Brothers and sisters, “Behold your King!”9 Behold your beautiful King. The question has been asked “what beauty will save the world.”10 The answer is found in this man Jesus. Behold this man and see not shame, not ugliness, but beauty, for “In the world there has only been one positively beautiful person – Jesus Christ.”11 Look then upon this beautiful Savior and see in him the salvation of your soul and body. See in his broken state your being put back together, in his disfigurement the likeness of God being restored in you. Hear the Savior as he says “It is finished.”12 Know that the curse of death died on that cross as the Son of God laid down his life. The Fall that occurred in Eden was being undone and Paradise was being opened up for each of us as his body was opened by wounds, wounds which become for you and me the tokens of our redemption. The fruit of the tree in Eden, the eating of which brought death has been replaced by the fruit of another tree, this fruit the very body and blood of the Son of God, life giving fruit from the tree of life. Brothers and sisters know this:

“We see a fearsome and perplexing mystery acted out today…The searcher of hearts and minds is unjustly tried…the one before whom heavenly powers stand trembling stands before Pilate, the Creator is slapped by a creature’s hand. Condemned to the cross is the judge of the living and the dead, enclosed in a tomb is he who overthrows Hades. You bear all of this out of sympathy, to save us from the curse.”13

In Holy Week, we are brought to the foot of the Cross. The sacred dynamic at the heart of this Holiest of Weeks pulls us steadily toward Calvary, where Jesus was tortured and executed as a common criminal by a people unable and unwilling to receive him as anything else. Much as we wish to bypass it all and jump to the joy of Easter, the Cross demands that we pause, that we look, that we contemplate. It is very difficult to do this. It is difficult because “we know — somehow, somewhere down deep — that the Cross tells the truth about us, about our brokenness and sin. This is painful truth to absorb and we dodge it in all kinds of ways.”14

However, the cross will not allow us to avoid it and difficult as it may be, we must learn to give thanks for the truth that the cross speaks, because without it we are left trying to heal ourselves, trying to find our way alone, trying to save lives that only the Author of Life can save. We need to realize that “In bearing the cross, we see Christ submitting to everything each of us fears and out of fear seeks to avoid: rejection, condemnation, humiliation, pain, failure and death. He does so freely, with no motive but love for those with whom he has become one in the flesh.”15

This reflection upon Jesus on the cross is not meant to merely be a cerebral activity but is in fact intended to stir us to action. As we gaze upon Christ as he hangs for us, we are also called to come and join Christ on the cross, as he died once for all for our sin, we are called to die to sin and rise to new life in him. Saint Paul speaks of this in his Epistle to the Colossians saying “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”16 Elsewhere, in his Epistle to the Churches in Rome he writes:

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life…We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin...For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”17

The cross will always be a symbol of pain and suffering and death, but as Christians who have received grace from the Holy Spirit we are able to look upon the cross and see in it tremendous beauty, indeed we can look upon it and see in it the power to heal us and to bring us to new and unending life. For us the cross is the tree of life.18 This day is indeed a day of sadness, but it is a “bright sadness” sadness that already contains within it the rays of hope that will burst forth in the Resurrection. There is healing in the pain, there is redemption in the blood and water that flow from his pierced side. And so “we need not hesitate to add the concluding words of Zechariah’s text: ‘On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness’.”19 In the cross there is forgiveness for all of our sins. In the cross “God forgives, and His forgiveness is in Christ, His Son, whom He sends to us that…we may share in His love and be truly reconciled with God.”20

Let us come to the Tree of Life, let us come to the Fount of Salvation. Let us all together, with hearts full of thanksgiving look upon him who for us was pierced.

And may Christ our true God, who endured dreadful sufferings: the life-giving cross, and voluntary burial for our salvation, have mercy on us and save us for he is good and loves us all. Amen and Amen.

1 John 19:37 cf. Zechariah 12:10 2 Excerpted from The Doxastikon of Great and Holy Friday 3 John 19:1 4 Isaiah 53:5-6 5 John 19:2 6 See the Parable Jesus told about a wedding banquet as recorded in Matthew 22:1-14. 7 Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians. 8 Psalm 103:7, see also Frederick Faber’s beloved hymn, There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy, 1854. 9 John 19:14 10 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot, 367. 11 Philokalia: the Bible of Orthodox Spirituality by Anthony Coniaris, pp. 11-18; Light and Life Publishing Company 12 John 19:30 13 Excerpted from The Doxastikon of Great and Holy Friday 14 The Rt Rev'd Chilton R. Knudsen, Retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, http://diolex.org /blog/bishops-blog/they-will-look-on-him-whom-they-have-pierced-john-1937/. 15 Jim forest, Praying With Icons, (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2008), 118. 16 Colossians 3:5 17 Romans 6:3-4, 6-7, 10-11 18 Theodoret of Cyr, Commentary on Isaiah 20.65.22, in the Ancient Christian Devotional: Year C, (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2011). 19 Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), 220. See also Zechariah 13:1 20 This comes from Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann in his wonderful little pamphlet Forgiveness Sunday.

Last night our family experienced something very new to all of us. While we are in a Western Christian Church (Anglican) and are thus nearing the end of the Lenten season, our brothers and sisters in Christ of the Eastern Orthodox Church have just begun their Lenten season. We had an open evening last night so we decided to attend a service where the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete was read. We don't know a whole lot about Orthodoxy, but we knew that this was a very important part of their Lenten observance. We had no idea what we were in for...

When talking about prayer Christians frequently use catchy phrases like "time to hit our knees in prayer" or "offer God some knee mail." The Orthodox mean it when it comes to "hitting their knees in prayer." We began the Canon, which consists of the priest singing a line or two and the choir and people responding with the words

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me

This goes on back and forth dozens and dozens of times. And each time we sang "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me" we hit our knees (literally), kneeling and then touching our heads to the ground before God. This is called a prostration (we read about that in Scripture and sing about it in some of our hymns, but I have never experienced actually doing it). Dozens and dozens of times knelt down and stood up, then knelt down and stood up. about half way through I was exhausted and my legs felt like jello! It was humbling, incredibly humbling. And painful. And it got the point across.

The point is that we all continue to fall short of God's glory, we still rebel, we become lost and in need of rescue, in need of God's mercy. Mercy, over and over, we beg for God's mercy.

Here is how the Canon begins:

How shall I begin to mourn the deeds of my wretched life? What can I offer as first fruits of repentance? In Your compassion, O Christ, forgive my sins.

Come, my wretched soul, and confess your sins in the flesh to the Creator of all. From this moment forsake your former foolishness and offer to God tears of repentance.

My transgressions rival those of first created Adam, and because of my sins I find myself naked of God and of His everlasting kingdom.

Some might object and say that this focus on our sin and brokenness will just make us feel bad and hate ourselves. That is not the goal - this is not focusing in sin just for the sake of focusing on sin. It is about being honest with ourselves about how we are and what we need. We are in need of healing and God is the Healer.

I think Stephanie and I both cried at different times during the service as the meaning of the service hit home for both of us. It's easy to not take our need seriously. It is tragic if we don't take God's mercy seriously.

As I have been reflecting on the experience God reminded me of a few passages from Scripture that deal with repentance and the need to take seriously, with determination, focus and discipline, the work of turning to God again and again, acknowledging our fault and asking for his mercy.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Luke 7:36-45 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

Even though we in the West are beginning to feel the excitement of Easter approaching and are ready to leave Lent behind and enter into the joyous Resurrection season, I am glad we went last night. I am glad for the reminder. I am glad for the soreness that still lingers in my legs this morning. I am glad for mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy.

Fifth Week of Lent - Bear Witness to His Reign

Bear Witness to His Reign

We believe that the church is called to proclaim and be a sign of the kingdom of God. Christ ahs commissioned the Church to be his witnesses. ~Article 10, Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, 1995. http://www.mcusa-archives.org/library/resolutions/1995/1995-10.html

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”~Matthew 28:18-20

The [next] building-block in following Jesus is to be involved in the mission of King Jesus. IT is to let his Spirit guide us outwards – to speak in his name, to show acts of love and compassion which speak deeply of his heart for all, and to do all that we can to bring the world under his just and kindly rule. By our words and actions, we are to bear witness to others that Jesus is the world’s true king; each of us has a part to play in this vital task. Peter Walker, The Jesus Way, (Grand Rapids: Monarch Books, 2009), 89

.

Daily Readings For the Week:

Monday – Matthew 13:1-9

Tuesday – Matthew 13:24-30

Wednesday – Matthew 13:44-52

Thursday – James 2:22-27

Friday – James 2:14-26

Saturday – Acts 1:1-14

Meditation For the Week:

To you is entrusted this demanding responsibility: to bear witness to the kingdom of God, to the truth. This means working to bring out ever more clearly the priority of God and his will over the interests of the world and its powers. Become imitators of Jesus, who, before Pilate, in the humiliating scene described by the Gospel, manifested his glory: that of loving to the utmost, giving his own life for those whom he loves. This is the revelation of the kingdom of Jesus. And for this reason, with one heart and one soul, let us pray: Thy kingdom come. Amen. ~Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of Christ the King, 2012.

Prayer For the Week:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen. ~A Collect for the Reign of Christ, 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 254.

Fourth Week of Lent: Participate in His Meal

Participate in His Meal

Vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood. ~Service of Holy Eucharist, Rite I in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 335.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. ~ 1 Corinthians 11:26

We should not treat this meal lightly. There is a real sharing in the body and blood of Christ. Even if this is hard to define more exactly, the Lord Jesus is present by his Holy Spirit and he is opposed to anything in our lives that stands against him. Though invisible, Jesus is effectively the true leader or ‘host’ at this meal; we are meeting, not just in his name, but actually in his presence. Peter Walker, The Jesus Way, (Grand Rapids: Monarch Books, 2009), 85.

Daily Readings For the Week:

Monday – John 6:35-51

Tuesday – John 6:52-69

Wednesday – Luke 22:1-14

Thursday – Matthew 26:17-29

Friday – 1 Corinthians 10:1-22

Saturday – 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

Meditation For the Week:

"Our Lord Jesus took in His hands what in the beginning was only bread; and He blessed it, and signed it, and made it holy in the name of the Father and in the name of the Spirit; and He broke it and in His gracious kindness He distributed it to all His disciples one by one. He called the bread His living Body, and did Himself fill it with Himself and the Spirit… After the disciples had eaten the new and holy Bread, and when they understood by faith that they had eaten of Christ's …He took and mixed a cup of wine. The He blessed it, and signed it, and made it holy, declaring that it was His own Blood, which was about to be poured out. ...Christ commanded them to drink, and He explained to them that the cup which they were drinking was His own Blood: 'This is truly My Blood, which is shed for all of you. Take, all of you, drink of this, because it is a new covenant in My Blood, As you have seen Me do, do you also in My memory. Whenever you are gathered together in My name in Churches everywhere, do what I have done, in memory of Me. Eat My Body, and drink My Blood, a covenant new and old.", ~Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Homilies 4.4, ca. A.D. 350.

Prayer For the Week:

May your holy Body and Precious Blood be the food of eternal life for me, O merciful Lord and the healing of all my pains. Though I am unworthy, O Master, grant that with faith and love I may worthily eat your most pure Body and drink your precious Blood. O Lord, grant me to partake without condemnation of your pure Body and your precious Blood that I may glorify your righteousness. ~Prayers Before Communion in A Prayer Book in Accordance With the Tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church, (Victoria, Canada: St Arseny Press, 2008), 122-3.

Third Week of Lent - Feed on His Scriptures

Feed on His Scriptures

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us to hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. ~Collect for Proper 28, The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 236.

I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. ~Psalm 119:11-16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17

As Jesus’ followers we should commit ourselves to read the Bible (or listen to it) whenever we can. And we should commit ourselves in advance to believe and obey everything that it clearly teaches. Peter Walker, The Jesus Way, (Grand Rapids: Monarch Books, 2009), 70.

Daily Readings For the Week:

Monday – Psalm 119:1-32

Tuesday – Psalm 119:33-48

Wednesday – Psalm 119:49-72

Thursday – Psalm 119:73 - 104

Friday – Psalm 119:105-136

Saturday – Psalm 137 - 176

Meditation For the Week:

Praying the Scripture is a unique way of dealing with the Scripture; it involves both reading and prayer. Turn to the Scripture; choose some passage that is simple and fairly practical. Next, come to the Lord. Come quietly and humbly. There, before him, read a small portion of the passage of Scripture you have opened to. Be careful as you read. Take in fully, gently, and carefully what you are reading. Take and digest it as you read…after you have sensed something of the passage, and after you know the essence of the portion has been extracted…very slowly, gently, and in a calm manner begin to read the next portion of that passage. ~Madam Guyon, Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups, (New York: Harper One, 2005), 302-3.

Prayer For the Week:

O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; for Thou are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good deed and every gift. Amen. ~From a prayer of Saint John Chrysostom to be prayed before the reading of Holy Scripture