"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 21

Friday, March 12th 

      “You were taught to put away the old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.”

                                                                                                                     Ephesians 5:22-24 

     As we make our annual spiritual pilgrimage to the cross, we're seeking to hear again its message of redemption, to marvel again at its timeless embodiment of sacrificial and unconditional love.   And the nearer we draw to the cross, the more acutely aware we are of our sin.

      If we believe Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, as the church has historically taught, then to spiritually stand in the shadow of the cross reminds us of our complicity in the suffering of Christ.   If he died for us, then we share a shouldered responsibility for his cruel death.  

      And if we continue to carry around the sins that make us co-conspirators to Jesus’ suffering, if we fail to challenge the remnant of sin we’ve allowed to remain in our hearts, if we stop short of striving for a life of true righteousness and holiness, then help us to hear again the call to put away the old self and to be clothed with the new self, to the glory of Christ.

Prayer 

     Christ of the cross, who suffered and died on our behalf in order that we might be saved, pour

     out upon us your grace once again.  Make us bold to follow you into human suffering, to care

     for the sick, comfort the grieving and to be advocates for those who suffer unjustly so that we 

     will be a reflection of your redemptive love and mercy that has been revealed through 

     your life, death and resurrection.  Speak to us once more your message of sacrificial love, 

     and give us courage to follow you faithfully. In your name we pray.  Amen.