The Lamb: Lent Daybook 2

Look: The Lamb surrounded by the Four Living Beings (detail of the Conques Triptych), François Peltier. - Source

Listen*: O Sacred Head Now Wounded, Page CXVI - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube

Read**: Psalm 37:1-18; Psalm 37:19-42; Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Titus 1:1-16; John 1:29-34

Excerpts:

“Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him.”

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“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”

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“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”

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“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

- Psalm 37:37-40 * Deuteronomy 7:6-11 * TItus 1:15-16 * John 1:29

Pray & Do: Sit in silence for 5 minutes, praying only the ‘Jesus Prayer’.

The Jesus Prayer is one of the best-known traditions within Orthodoxy. It’s a short, simple prayer that has been widely used, taught, and discussed throughout the history of Eastern Christianity.

Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ,

Υἱὲ Θεοῦ,

ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλό

Its words say simply:

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of God,

have mercy on me the sinner.

As you enter this time of prayer, find a comfortable position. Quiet yourself. Don’t worry about inner and outer distractions. Notice them and let them point you toward the words of the Jesus Prayer. For example, “Oh, there’s my noisy neighbor. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner.” Or, in response to galloping thoughts about an upcoming event, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner.” Even, “My neck and wrists are sore from bending over a screen too long today. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner.” 

If you’re able to sit quietly without distraction, notice your breathing and occasionally breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and exhale “have mercy on me the sinner”.

Here’s a bit more about the history of the Jesus Prayer from Spirituality: an introduction to the Jesus Prayer by Patrick Comerford.

“In order to enter more deeply into the life of prayer and to come to grips with the Scriptural challenge to pray unceasingly, the Orthodox tradition offers the Jesus Prayer – which is called the “Prayer of the Heart” (Καρδιακή Προσευχή) by some Church Fathers – as a means of concentration and as a focal point for our inner life.

The exact words of the prayer have varied from the most simple possible involving the name “Jesus,” or “Lord have mercy,” to the more common extended form: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

I also appreciate this insight from Allison Backous Troy: Praying the Jesus Prayer showed me Christ via Faith & Leadership.

Recommended Reading for Lent 2021:
I’ll be drawing much wisdom for our Lent Dayboom Meditations from two books this year:

• Open and Unafraid: The Psalms As A Guide To Life by W. David O. Taylor

• Lament For A Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff excerpted in this companion article in The Christian Century: On grief, and not theologizing about it

* Today’s song came from my playlist for 2021: Oh to be Loved: Lent 2021 Worship & Prayer. Add it to your account by clicking ‘Save to my library'.

** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year B 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).