Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent
March 14, 2022
Invitatory
Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.
Reading: Psalm 57:4-11
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongue a sharp sword.
They have laid a net for my feet, and I am bowed low; *
they have dug a pit before me, but have fallen into it themselves.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.
Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the dawn.
I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
Meditation – Peter Vanderveen
“You can always accomplish something by giving witness to joy.”
Søren Kierkegaard.
If I had to summarize the meaning and worth of Christian faith in the space of two or three sentences, this would be for me the lead statement. It has perfect balance, matched with great subtlety.
Joy is not something that can be conjured, or manufactured, or purchased and delivered to one’s doorstep; not even by Amazon Prime. Nor is it something that we can possess as strictly our own, stamped with the insistence that “this is mine.” Joy arises when we become aware that we are included within a world of immense graces that are not our own. We are recipients of and participants in such a wealth of good that every calculation of it fails. Which is why we speak of God.
And when we reflect this, when by our bearing and mood and step we “give witness to joy” (it’s impossible for me to think of any better description than this), then the beauty of life bursts forth. Accomplishment is not limited to the work we do or the efforts we complete or the goals we achieve; it is not merely our obtaining for ourselves the things we ourselves want. For this often sets us at odds with one another, chasing competing dreams. The accomplishments of joy are different. Joy invites, without limit or exclusion. It opens the world to us as if there were no end to possibilities and, thus, no need for conflict of any kind. Imagine achieving this stance.
I can’t remember the last time I read Psalm 57. It’s not one of the celebrated psalms, appointed to be read at almost every occasion. How unfortunate for us; because it includes some of the most powerful lines in all of Scripture. In the face of fear and immediate danger, nonetheless, the psalmist refuses to lose his voice and his song. Though all else may seem on the verge of destruction – in a very real sense – “his heart is fixed.” No matter the degree of evil that surrounds him on all sides, still, he has recourse to melody and, thereby, to shaking himself loose from denigration and despair. For how else could these words be spoken or recorded: “I myself will waken the dawn.” Ponder this. What is being said here? It’s a stunning pronouncement of the potential we have to “accomplish something by giving witness to joy.”
“I myself will waken the dawn.”
Set these words against all the complaint and resentment and hatred now so excitedly bandied about from all sides. All this noise is accomplishing nothing except setting us at war with one another – with everyone intent on achieving their own goals by means of the defeat of others. Escalating conflict seems inevitable, which makes the church deeply relevant: giving witness, singing, wakening to a grace that truly offers a new day.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
