Wednesday April 13, 2022
For a people who came out of the Puritan and Baptist traditions, we do not do well with what is called “Holy Week.” We want to go from Palm Sunday to Easter without the in between stuff of turmoil, suffering, and pain. Yes, we stop on Good Friday, but in spite of our hymns, we just blink and move on to Easter.
That week in Jerusalem was a tough one for Jesus. He’s teaching and preaching, and those in power are really uncomfortable. He’s told the scribes and Pharisees that they devour widows’ houses and then he notices a poor widow who has just put in her last two copper coins. She’s given everything she has.
The question Jesus raises for us is how do we give to God. The question is not just about money but about ourselves. What does it mean to have commitment to God? Do we give all we are or do we hold back from making a full commitment?
Prayer for the Day
Tempting are the ways of self-deception and self-indulgence,
But, you, O God, summon us to turn aside this day
Searching our hearts, we come to find the life you offer.
Freeing us from our presumptions and preoccupations,
We pray for strength and courage to continue the work of love.
In the name of him who is your gift of love,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Commitment is an act, not a word.
- Jean Paul Sartre, French philosopher (1905-1980)
One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.
- George Eliot, British novelist (1819-1880)
Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed o my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry my King and my God, for to you I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
In the morning I plead my case to you and watch.
Psalm 5: 1-3