Remember mercy: Lent Daybook 2

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: Prayers of the People I, Meena Matocha - Source | IG

Listen: Amulet / The Jesus Prayer, Jeff Johnson & Janet Marie Chvatal - Bandcamp w/ lyrics | Spotify | YouTube

Read: Psalm 37; Habakkuk 3; Philippians 3:12-21; John 17:1-8

Excerpts:

“The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance.

But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving; for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.”

*

“O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.

… In fury you trod the earth, in anger you trampled nations. You came forth to save your people, to save your anointed. You crushed the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to roof.

Selah

I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones, and my steps tremble beneath me. I wait quietly for the day of calamity to come upon the people who attack us.

Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.”

*

“Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.

Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones.”

*

“Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.”

*

“The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.

Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.”

*

“After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.”

*

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

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.

*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year C 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 2).