“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10 (ESV)
The solemn and penitential season of Lent is upon us in which the faithful embark on an annual “pilgrimage.” It is a walk, as it were, with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry that began at His baptism and His temptation in the wilderness by the devil, leading to the events of Holy Week.
That Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross for our salvation, Lent offers us an opportunity to ponder the mystery through the Lenten disciplines – Pray! Fast! Give alms! These disciplines invite us to:
Think more about me – to remember that I am dust and to dust I shall return, acknowledge my sinfulness and my unworthiness, and that I am “prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love.” Temptations are all around and I am an easy prey to the subtleties of the deceiver, the father of lies. I would rather believe “another voice” than the voice from heaven that says, “Listen to Him,” the beloved Son. This speaks to the condition of my sinful soul.
Think more about Jesus - who for my sake emptied himself and became “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” overcame the crafty devil’s taunts and temptation and all the forces of evil, and has won for me the victory over sin, death and the grave. What wondrous love is this!
As the redeemed of the crucified Christ in holy baptism, God’s love abounds, and His mercy endures forever. The broken heart and contrite spirit are made whole, and the Holy Spirit makes things right; He bears witness with our spirit that we are the ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven beloved children of God.
Our Lenten walk ends with the glorious Third Day, which points to “a yet more glorious day,” when, in the new creation, we shall be pure and spotless. For now, prayer, fasting and almsgiving are works of the Holy Spirit in and through us. Our walk with Jesus is just what we/I want – for Jesus to walk with me. Amen.
Prayer:
O Lord, throughout these forty days You prayed and kept the fast; Inspire repentance for our sin, And free us from our past.
(LSB 418:1)
The Rev. Peter Deebrah
Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Matthew
New York, New York
Text: based on Claudia F. Hernaman, 1838–98; para. Gilbert E. Doan, 1930 Text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship.