Good FridayEach day we will take a look at a sentence from the Lord’s Prayer.Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son… Luke 15:18-19In Charles Dickens David Copperfield, there is a moving description of love for the lost. Emily has run away and Mr Peggotty announces that he is going ‘through all the wureld’ to search for her. But: ‘Every night as reg’lar as the night comes, the candle must be stood in its old pane of glass, that if ever she should see it, it may seem to say, ‘Come back, my child, come back.’The lost son in Jesus’ story did come back. He came back rehearsing his speech. But his speech did not begin with ‘Forgive’, it began with ‘Father’. The son knew that he had forfeited his right to the privilege of home and sonship. The father knew that he had every right to punish the son who had abused his love. But the father chose not to exercise his right. Instead, he stepped out of the realm of rights and into the realm of grace. Grace is a generous, free gift which the giver need not give but which often melts the heart of the receiver. This gesture proved that the father had already let go of any bitterness or hurt, anger or hatred he may have once felt. Even before his son could stammer out his confession, the father had already forgiven him. For ‘to forgive’ means ‘to let go’, ‘to drop’, ‘to release.’ In describing a father who expressed such forgiveness tangibly: ‘His father…embraced him and kissed him’ (Luke 15:20), Jesus seems to have been anxious to persuade us that God is not a God who extracts from his people remorse for their misdeeds. God is a God whose love is the candle in the window, who longs to let us off the hook, to release us from our past as hostages are set free from their captors, to liberate us from ourselves as prisoners are set free from prison, to pour into us the same kind of energy which adrenalin gives to athletes when they hear the starting pistol at the beginning of a race: the energy to come home.A projectThink about this claim: the only way we can come to God is just as we are. We must learn to accept who we are, because God accepts us as we are and loves us as we are. Place a candle with the Palm Cross, photo/names, battery, keys and bread, to remind you of God’s love.PrayAsk forgiveness for the things you have done wrong and pray for those who have hurt you.Just as I am… O Lamb of God I come.
Maundy Thursday Each day we will take a look at a sentence from the Lord’s Prayer.Give us this day our daily bread. Give us today our daily bread.While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ’Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ Matthew 26:26-28 When friends know that they are about to part, they often share a meal and give meaningful farewell gifts to one another. The Passover meal that Jesus was celebrating with his friends was a solemn occasion which every family in Jerusalem would also have been enjoying. It began with a prayer praising God for his deliverance, his guidance and his goodness. Because bread had become the silent symbol of God’s faithfulness to Israel, the father of the family would then take the crisp Passover loaf in his hands and break it. Jesus followed this tradition closely. He, too, took the pitta-like loaf in his hands, blessed it and broke it, but as he handed it to his friends, he added onto the traditional prayer one of his own: ‘Take, eat; this is my body’. Later, again taking the tradition, he took a cup of wine and haven thanks for it and gave it to them, and then he added, ‘Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood……poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’.I’m sure those first disciples felt moved and amazed if not confused by these events. For by breaking open the loaf, Jesus was implying that he himself was open to them, offering the whole of himself voluntarily. They would realise that Jesus’ offer to ‘take’ demanded a response: it was an invitation to them to commit themselves to him and his mission. For us when we come to celebrate the Eucharist, the Holy Communion, Jesus is saying – I am offering you the gift of myself. Will you in return, give yourself to me? A projectHold a lump of bread. Feel its texture. Smell it. Break it. Then eat it – slowly. Be aware that it is becoming a part of you. Think of Jesus’ invitation to ‘take and eat’. Think, too, of the wider implications of that invitation. Place a lump of bread with the Palm Cross, Photo/names, battery ad keys, to remind you that Jesus is our daily bread.PrayerMake your own response to the invitation.Bring your needs to God and thank Him that He meets those needs. Pray for those who are in need, especially those in need of food and friendship.
Wednesday of Holy Week reflectionEach day we will take a look at a sentence from the Lord’s Prayer.Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. You are God’s temple and God’s Spirit dwells in you 1 Corinthians 3:16Originally, the people who observed Lent were new converts to Christianity. Since they were all to be baptised together on Easter Day, Lent formed the final part of their Baptism preparation. The Lent readings included the story of the Transfiguration to show these young Christians that just as the likeness of his Father shone through the humanity of Jesus and transformed him, because the Holy Spirit lives in us and is at work in us, we can also be changed. In his Letters to the Corinthians, Paul uses powerful picture language to help us to understand.In the Book of Revelation Jesus tells us that he stands at the door and knocks. He is waiting outside the door of our life waiting to be invited in. When his life fills us, he transforms us and his glory shines through us. This is when God’s will is being done on earth and in heaven. A ProjectImagine that, day-to-day, Jesus literally knocks on your front door. You let him into your home, take him on a tour, invite him to take up residence there. How does it feel to have the King of Glory living with you? Can you hand over the keys of your life as well as your home to him? Place a set of keys (any old ones will do) with the Palm Cross, photo/names, battery to remind you that you have invited Jesus to live in your life and home.PrayerTalk to God about your reactions – the things you find difficult as well as the things which seem easier.‘I ask you Lord to rule over all parts of my life. Help me to let your light shine where ever I go.’
Tuesday of Holy Week reflectionEach day we will take a look at a sentence from the Lord’s Prayer.Hallowed be your name. Hallowed be Thy name."You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name." Exodus 20:7 Hallowed is another word for Holy or Sacred. We say those words so many times, but do we truly know what it means for God's name to be holy? In the King James Version of this bible verse the word 'vain' is used. The Hebrew word is 'shav', which means emptiness of speech, vanity, falsehood, lying, deceptive uselessness. Taking God's name in vain refers to treating the Lord our God in a frivolous, light manner.In the Old Testament the Jews’ name for God is referred to as 'Yahweh', which is the name we refer to when we speak about God the Father. And to Hebrew scribes, the name 'Yahweh' is one of the most revered words. It's so revered that when a scribe writes the name, he has to wash his hands before and after he writes it (very topical!). That's how revered, magnified and glorified the name of God is. We may not wash our hands before and after we write the name of God, (we may be doing lots of washing for other reasons at the moment!) but we are to inspect our hearts as we speak of His name because it is so holy to God.The holiness of God's name also speaks to us of how much power it has. Jesus teaches us to start off prayer by getting a revelation of God's hallowed name because it is in His name that we find the power that grants our prayers. It's by His name that His identity marked by grace and love gives us even the right to come into His presence. There is power in God's name because it is hallowed and holy. But thanks be to God that there is no name holier and more hallowed than the name of God. There is amazing, awe-inspiring power in the hallowed name of our God. PrayerHoly, holy, holy Lord help me to do only the things that will honour you today.A ProjectDo we truly understand the power in the name of God so that we are to view it as powerful and sacred and not something to be taken lightly? Think on these things. Place a battery with the Palm Cross from Sunday and the photo/names from yesterday, to remind you of the ‘Power of the name of God’.
