Lent daybook, 20: Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God has done for them
A Lent daybook for these 40 days of prayer. (You can see previous Lent daybook 2017 posts here)
Arabs I (Cemetery) by Wassily Kandinsky (source)
Song for today: Blest Is the Man - Psalm 32 by Katy Snow, Nathan Clark George
Listen to all of the Lent Daybook 2017 songs at this playlist on Spotify: Lent 2017
Readings for today: Psalm 80, Jeremiah 7:1-15, Romans 4:1-12, John 7:14-36
“David [said...]:
Fortunate those whose crimes are carted off,
whose sins are wiped clean from the slate.
Fortunate the person against
whom the Lord does not keep score.
Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never even heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciplines of God? We all agree, don’t we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?
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And it means further that Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the “outs” with God, as yet unidentified as God’s, in an “uncircumcised” condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called “set right by God and with God”! Abraham is also, of course, father of those who have undergone the religious rite of circumcision not just because of the ritual but because they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God’s action for them, the way Abraham lived long before he was marked by circumcision.”
Prayer for today:
“Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Spiritual practice for today:
Today, fast from television (or another form of entertainment).
Read some good poems instead. (Here's my 5 favorite poems for Lent.)
Pray for God to gift you with a rested mind and an enlarged imagination for His good gifts in the world.
(see all Lent daybook posts from 2016 here)