One: Lent Daybook 32
Take a few deep breaths, settle your body, mind, and heart into a quiet space, and let’s begin with prayer.
Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: Seventy Times, Jacob Adent - Source | HT
Listen: One, Sandra McCracken - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read: Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-13; Psalm 33; Jeremiah 23:9-15; Romans 9:1-18; John 6:60-71
Excerpts:
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease. …
Let those who are wise pay attention to these things and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
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My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth. Give victory with your right hand, and answer me, so that those whom you love may be rescued.
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The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind. From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth—he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.
Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield. Our heart is glad in him because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
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Concerning the prophets:
My heart is crushed within me; all my bones shake; I have become like a drunkard, like one overcome by wine, because of the Lord and because of his holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course has been evil, and their might is not right. Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their wickedness, says the Lord. Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, says the Lord.
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This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. For the word of the promise is this: “About this time I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac: even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.” As it is written,
“I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.”
What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!
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When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not believe and who was the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
—Psalm 107:33-38, 43; Psalm 108:1-6; Psalm 33:13-22; Jeremiah 23:9-12; Romans 9:8-14; John 6:60-71
Pray & Do: On Saturdays during Lent, we’ll spend about 15 minutes practicing a devotional exercise known as an examen. This is a spiritual discipline of prayer first modeled by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The prayer practice has remained a dynamic, deeply-meaningful way to develop our capacity to hear God and our own hearts as well.
Start with silence. Take some time to be silent, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the first few days of Lent. I’ve come to call this time a selah pause.
The Hebrew word selah (see-lah) is repeated throughout the Psalms. The definition of this word is probably a musical reference, calling for a break in the singing of the Psalm. The Amplified Bible (AMP) adds the explanatory phrase "pause, and calmly think of that!" each time the word selah shows up in the Psalms.
There’s no need to strive for a profound insight during this time. Just be still.
If you begin to sense thoughts or feelings bubbling up in the quiet, notice them without trying to analyze them. You might breathe a simple prayer each time you're tempted to become distracted. For example, when you feel distracted or anxious, breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and exhale “Have mercy on me, the sinner.” Another option is to echo the psalmist: "Selah, pause, and calmly think of that.”
After about 5 minutes of silence, pray through the questions listed here:
Ask God for light. I want to look at my week with God’s eyes, not merely my own.
Give thanks. The week I’ve just lived is a gift from God. I give thanks.
Notice places you felt connected to the love of God, others, and yourself. I calmly think back on the week just completed, trusting the Holy Spirit to help me recall whatever’s helpful. I notice the places I felt most connected to the love of God and others.
Notice places you distanced yourself from the love of God, others, and yourself. I acknowledge what I’ve done or left undone that made it difficult for me to connect with the love of God and others.
Look forward to the week to come. I ask God where I need help and a greater connection with love for the coming week.
Trust God as your Heavenly Father to be present with you through Christ and by his Spirit. End your time with a simple prayer or chorus.
Go about your day and into the weekend with peace.
You might also enjoy: Examen For The End of the Week via Pray-As-You-Go
*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year A of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1)