Lent Daybook 31: When I Was Sinking Down

Look:  Moses and the Brazen Serpent, Augustus John - Source 

Listen*:  What Wondrous Love Is This, Blue Highway - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube  

Read**:  Psalm 119:145-176; Exodus 7:8-24; 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6; Mark 10:1-16 

Excerpts:

"With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes. I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to your justice give me life. They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law. But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever."

*

"Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.

... But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile."

*

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."

*

"And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

... And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them."

- Psalm 119:145-152 * Exodus 7:8-19, 22-24 * 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 * Mark 10:1, 13-16 (ESV)

Pray: from "Ash Wednesday" by T.S. Eliot - Source 

On Wednesdays through Lent, we'll use Eliot's words by speaking them directly to God as a prayer.

And pray to God to have mercy upon us

And pray that I may forget

These matters that with myself I too much discuss

Too much explain

Because I do not hope to turn again

Let these words answer

For what is done, not to be done again

May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly

But merely vans to beat the air

The air which is now thoroughly small and dry

Smaller and dryer than the will

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Do: Fast from spending money. Feast on giving alms instead.

This week, fast from spending money, and feast on giving alms instead.  Let each necessary purchase remind you of the reality of our complete poverty and helplessness before God and without the work of Christ. Instead of spending practice giving. Almsgiving is a traditional Lenten practice. This week pray that the Lord would show you his face in the most distressing of your neighbors, and lead you to ways that you can show compassionate mercy. 

Three giving opportunities to consider: 

  • Give locally, to a local mission or food pantry. With so many out of work, food pantries are already reporting shortages, and Bridgeport Rescue Mission will see a spike in daily meals served and food distributed. Church of the Apostles will be making a special donation to BRM to help in this time. Join us by dropping of non-perishable food items at the mission or making a donation. You can check out news from BRM by following this link.

  • Give at the U.S. Border as recommended by Sarah Quezada: "Abara is an organization I have visited and worked with on the border between El Paso and Juarez. They are on the ground and working to support migrants waiting along the border. They have offered specific donation requests (and of course, financial gifts are needed, too). Please consider supporting them!

* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify - Lent: Spirituals & Gospel Songs. Add it to your account by clicking ‘Save to My Library.’

** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Year 2).

LentTamara Hill MurphyLent Daybook 2020