The ransom of life is costly: Lent Daybook 8

Look: A military instructor teaches civilians holding wooden replicas of Kalashnikov rifles, during a training session at an abandoned factory in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on January 30, 2022. At the time, fears were growing about a potential invasion by Russian troops that had massed on Ukraine's border, Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty - Sourc e

Listen: Prayer, Sweet Honey in the Rock - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube

Read: Psalm 119:49-72; Psalm 49; Genesis 37:25-36; 1 Corinthians 2:1-13; Mark 1:29-45

Excerpts:

Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life. The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. When I think of your ordinances from of old, I take comfort, O Lord. Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, those who forsake your law. Your statutes have been my songs wherever I make my home. I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law.

“So I turned and went down from the mountain, while the mountain was ablaze; the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. Then I saw that you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God, by casting for yourselves an image; you had been quick to turn from the way that the Lord had commanded you. So I took hold of the two tablets and flung them from my two hands, smashing them before your eyes. Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water because of all the sin you had committed, provoking the Lord by doing what was evil in his sight. For I was afraid that the anger that the Lord bore against you was so fierce that he would destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also. The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him, but I interceded also on behalf of Aaron at that same time. Then I took the sinful thing you had made, the calf, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it thoroughly, until it was reduced to dust, and I threw the dust into the stream that runs down the mountain.

Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life; there is no price one can give to God for it. For the ransom of life is costly and can never suffice, that one should live on forever and never see the Pit.

Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Now who were they who heard and rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? And with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own. Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.

Such is the fate of the foolhardy, the end of those who are pleased with their lot.

Selah

When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone, for he himself knew what was in everyone. …

Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes.

You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was humbled I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.

— Psalm 119:49-55; Deuteronomy 9:15-21; Psalm 49:5-9; Hebrews 3:12-19; Psalm 49:10-13; John 2:23-25, 3:10-15; Psalm 119:62-68

Pray: On Wednesdays, we'll pray the Confession and Litany of Penitence from the Ash Wednesday service in the Book of Common Prayer. Include the specific names of people and places that come to mind as you pray. If you are able to pray this with someone else, one of you can pray the unbolded words and then pray the bolded words together.

If possible, offer this prayer while kneeling.

Let us humbly confess our sins to Almighty God.

Silence

Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you, and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned, through our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.

Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For all our unfaithfulness and disobedience; for the pride, vanity, and hypocrisy of our lives; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our self-pity and impatience, and our envy of those we think more fortunate than ourselves; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our unrighteous anger, bitterness, and resentment; for all lies, gossip, and slander against our neighbors; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our sexual impurity, our exploitation of other people, and our failure to give of ourselves in love; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our intemperate pursuit of worldly goods and comforts; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our dishonesty in daily life and work, our ingratitude for your gifts, and our failure to heed your call. Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our wastefulness and misuse of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you

For all false judgments, for prejudice and contempt of others, and for all uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our negligence in prayer and worship; for our presumption and abuse of your means of grace; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For seeking the praise of others rather than the approval of God; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

For our failure to commend the faith that is in us; Lord, have mercy upon us: For we have sinned against you.

Show favor to your people, O Lord, who turn to you in weeping, fasting, and prayer. For you are a merciful God, full of compassion, long-suffering, and abounding in steadfast love. You spare when we deserve punishment, and in your wrath you remember mercy. Spare your people, good Lord, spare us; in the multitude of your mercies, look upon us and forgive us; through the merits and mediation of your blessed Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Silence

Stand for the remainder of the prayer, you might consider holding open your hands as a gesture of receiving God’s forgiveness.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in his great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to him, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hear the Word of God to all who truly turn to him: If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

The Peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.

Share God's peace with someone else as you return to your day.

Do: On Wednesdays through Lent, consider fasting from spending money, and feast on giving alms instead. This week, consider giving to an organization providing relief to those affected by the war in Ukraine. The Anglican Relief and Development Fund: Support relief efforts for the people of Ukraine

Almsgiving is a traditional Lenten practice. This week pray that the Lord would show you his face in the most distressing of your neighbors, and lead you to ways that you can show compassionate mercy.

Let each necessary purchase remind you of the reality of our complete poverty and helplessness before God and without the work of Christ.

The ransom of life is costly: Lent Daybook 8

tamara hill murphy

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