03/03/2021 Wednesday Lent Week 2
Remember Matthew 20:28 The Son of Man came to serve.
Jesus took the Twelve to one side and said to them:
‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified;
on the third day he will rise again. He came to serve us. ‘
Reflect Christian Service
Some of the Old Testament prophets had a very thin time of it. Their messages about God’s judgement were feared, unpopular and unwanted.
The prophet Jeremiah: For forty years his message was consistently dismal and tough, he kept repeating:
‘God is going to punish the people and destroy our nation.’
Jeremiah was called a traitor and a failure, beaten, thrown in jail, kept in a muddy damp cistern and threatened with death. But he never gave up. He remained a loyal servant to God and his people to the end.
Jesus’ was very different. His was of service to the end, like the parent who spends the whole day and a lot of the night looking after her/his sick child. His message was a consoling message of a loving God who was deeply concerned with every moment of our lives, both here and hereafter. He promised us a share in the very life of God, urging us to be more like our Father.
Jesus talked the talk and walked the walk and was crucified for his message – so that we might live better lives here and hereafter. He was happy to do that for us – to serve with his life.
A 20th Century Poet Elizabeth Cheney, wrote beautiful spiritual poems. Here is a short one
The Robin and the Sparrow”
Said the robin to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin,
“Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”
Prayer
Lord,
help us to be brave, loving and caring like Jesus
and have a deep trust in God our Father and
not be afraid to stand by our beliefs, hopes and families.
We were Jesus’ passion and that is why he died for us!
Now we need to make him our passion.
Amen
Hymn
‘How Great Thou Art’ is a hymn that was originally written in Swedish, but has since become one of our great Christian songs in English.
Verse 1:
Oh Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds your hands have made
I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Chorus:
Then sings my soul my Saviour God to Thee
How great thou art how great thou art
Then sings my soul my Saviour God to Thee
How great thou art how great thou art
Verse 2:
And when I think that God His Son not sparing
sent Him to die I scarce can take it in
that on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
Verse 3:
When Christ shall come with shouts of acclimation
and take me home what joy shall fill my heart
then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim
my God how great Thou art.
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