Dear God, one thing I have NOT liked about going through this devotional book for the last 34 days is that it has taken away some of the flexibility in the approaches I sometimes take with these times with you. Like yesterday, we sang this lovely song in church. I took a picture of the page in the hymnal so I could remember it for later and look at it later. It’s the kind of thing I might have focused on this morning to help keep these times with you fresh. Now, as I’ve done this 34 days in a row and I have 13 days left I am finding myself not as enthusiastic as I was at the beginning of this seasonal commitment. But then again, maybe that’s also part of this journey. Getting beyond the emotion of it and pushing through. Finding you when my enthusiasm isn’t there. Disciplining myself to submit to you and hear from you.

Speaking of hearing from you, I think I heard from you this morning. I have a complicated thing to deal with from my work, and I felt like you gave me a word about that this morning. Thanks for that too.

With all of that said, here are the passages from Sacred Invitation: Lenten Devotions Inspired by the Book of Common Prayer. Please speak to me as I read them this morning:

• AM Psalm: 31
• PM Psalm: 35
• Jeremiah 24:1-10
• John 9:1-17
• Romans 9:19-33

Psalm 31 – What strikes me here is how down David could feel. I’ve said this before, but I’ve had people read my prayer journals and ask if I’m doing okay. What I tell them is I’m normally doing just fine, but some of this pain is inside me and it comes out through these prayers to you. It’s nice to be reminded that David himself, the most revered king in Israel’s history, felt this way often. I’m so impressed that he was vulnerable enough to share it in this way.

Psalm 35 – When I see these psalms of David where he is wishing ill on his enemies and claiming himself to be innocent, I am now experiencing them in a different way since I first discovered this concept a month ago. The concept is to think about David writing these words on behalf of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband whom he murdered. David was not alone in his life as a victim. And his abusers were not alone in their lives as abusers. We are all in both camps: abusers and victims. And when I say abuser, I’m not talking about child abuse, sexual abuse or things that are that heinous. I just mean people who sometimes either accidentally or intentionally cause harm to others. We all do that.

Jeremiah 24:1-10 – I would imagine the people being exiled were desperate in that moment. Downtrodden. Forlorn. But you were working it for their good. You were using it to refine them.

John 9:1-17 – It seems like Jesus did these things on the Sabbath intentionally. And maybe not. Maybe he healed so many people on the other six days it didn’t get mentioned, but the Sabbath healings always caused a stir. Either way, the Pharisees were split on who Jesus was. I would imagine Nicodemus was in the “Jesus is Messiah” camp. Your current church is split on so many issues. Oh, Holy Spirit, make us one. As Jesus and you and the Father are one.

Romans 9:19-33 – Paul’s words at the beginning of this passage, right after talking about you choosing to show your mercy to this one or that one, remind me of the lesson Job learned by the end of his story. Who am I to question you. You are God and I am not. They will be done.

I offer all of these prayers to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen