Friday 22 March 2024

Today is Friday the 22nd of March, in the 5th week of Lent.

The Choir of the King’s Consort sing Henry Purcell’s Hear My Prayer, O Lord: “Hear My Prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee.” As I listen, I too bring my prayer, my needs and my longings, the deepest feelings of my heart, before the Lord.

Today’s reading is from the Prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 20:10-13

For I hear many whispering:
‘Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
‘Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.’
But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonour
will never be forgotten.
O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.

Today’s reading begins in blackness, yet it ends in light joyfulness.

Jeremiah, reluctant prophet, yet with a burning message from God that will not go away. God uses all of us in our humanity. You might have Jeremiah’s temperament. Feeling on a very deep level. What helps you move from darkness into light?

How does Jeremiah in all his expressiveness reveal aspects of the character of God himself?

How might these dark words of Jeremiah reflect the mood of Jesus Himself as he faces His passion? As these words are read again, imagine them read by Jesus.

As this time of reflection draws to a close, sit with the dark world of Jeremiah, the pending suffering of Christ. Let these words ring out: “The Lord is with me like a dread warrior.”

You have given all to me
To you Lord I return it
Everything is yours
Do with it what you will
Give me only your love and your grace
That is enough for me.
Amen.