Dear God, I now have two friends I’ve talked with this week who are experiencing marital difficulties. I know I mentioned one of them yesterday. I texted with a second last night. Life is hard, and our human frailty makes it harder. Help me to be what you need me to be for my wife. I was listening to a podcast yesterday that talked about strained relationships with adult children. And while I can appreciate and relate to that, how many more have strained marriages or are divorced. Oh, Jesus, we need your healing. Oh, Holy Spirit, we need your counsel and your comfort. Oh, Father, we need your love and acceptance. Thank you for making all of that available to us.

Here are the verses for today from Sacred Invitation: Lenten Devotions Inspired by the Book of Common Prayer.

• AM Psalm: 119:97-120
• PM Psalms: 81, 82
• Jeremiah 8:18-9:6
• John 8:12-20
• Romans 5:1-11

Psalm 119:97-120 – As I think about the author of this psalm, I wonder about what parts of scripture he (assuming it was a “he”) had available to him at this time. The books of Moses? Maybe Joshua and Judges. Job? Probably not Ruth or 1 & 2 Samuel. So much of what he knew of you was “law.” And he loved you so that’s what he meditated on. Your law. That’s how he entered into knowing you. By knowing what you wanted from/for him. How do I enter into knowing you? Fortunately, I have a much more complete picture of you because I have both the Old and New Testaments. I have the advantage of learning lessons–paradigm-shifting lessons–Jesus taught.

Jeremiah 8:18-9:6 – “My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!” This is the translation from the New American Standard and pretty close to the New Living Translation. I’ve been using the NIV for this Lenten season, but it had a note that the meaning of the original Hebrew was vague for the very beginning. It translated verse 18 as, “O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me!” I like calling you my “Comforter in sorrow.” I need to remember that.

John 8:12-20 – The Pharisees had a lot of problems and things wrong with them, but I sympathize with their situation. How were they to know? I certainly wouldn’t have known. But they were also very focused on maintaining their cultural structures. They needed to maintain the influence they had and the standing Judaism had within the current world order of Rome being in charge. Jesus was bothering that construct as well and their ability to see him for who he was ended up being tainted by their desires for self-preservation.

Romans 5:1-11 – Jesus, my reconciler with the Father, thank you!

Father, I am so grateful to be able to be here this morning, worshipping you, meditating on the words that have come through the efforts of so many people starting with those who originally wrote them. I am grateful for the redemption of my soul through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I am grateful for the laws you gave us so that we might have a chance at the fruits of your Spirit growing in our souls. I am grateful for my wife, my children, my job, my friends, my coworkers, my community, my state, my country, and this world. I am grateful that you meet with me here this morning, your Holy Spirit possessing me and loving me. I offer all that I am to you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen