18 19
\nWednesday February 20, 2013
\n(Anne Germond)
\nReadings For The Day
\nJohn 3:1?10
\nPsalm 51:1?13
\nLuke 11:29?32
\nPsalm 51:1-2
\n?Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast
\nlove; according to your abundant mercy blot out my
\ntransgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and
\ncleanse me from my sin.?
\nPs. 51: 11-13
\n?Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take
\nyour Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
\nand sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach
\ntransgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.?
\nAlmighty God, to you all hearts are open,
\nall desires known, and from you no secrets are
\nhidden. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by
\nthe inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may
\nperfectly love you, and worthily magnify your
\nholy name; through Christ our Lord.
\n(BAS pg. 771)
\n?Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall
\nreturn+?; ?Remember that you are dust?+?;
\n?Remember+?; ?Remember+?. The words are
\nrepeated over and over again and can be heard throughout
\nthe church on Ash Wednesday as people line up to receive
\na smudged ash cross on their forehead. Then it is my turn
\nto hear the same words spoken to me as a cross is made
\non mine. ?Remember that you are dust, and to dust you
\nshall return+?. What are we to remember as we carry that
\nsmudge with us through the day, and though faded, through
\nthe season of Lent? They are a powerful reminder of our
\nmortality, but also that we are sinners in need of repentance.
\nLent is an opportunity for us to be honest about
\nthe power and the hold that sin can have over our lives
\nwhen we refuse to acknowledge them or turn away from
\nthem. We live with the guilt, the shame, and the disgrace
\nof what we have done, of who we have hurt, or of what
\nwe have neglected to do as followers of Jesus. David?s
\nsin was so great that he likely wailed when he sang of his
\ntransgressions and pleaded to God for forgiveness. ?Wash
\nme thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from me
\nsin.?(vs.2)
\nYet, even as we confront our failures this Lent our
\nashes are also there as reminder that our brokenness is no
\nmatch for God?s grace. ?Remember, remember, remember.?
\nRemember that at Baptism we were made children of God
\nand with a cross of oil on our foreheads anointed as Christ?s
\nforever.
\nIt is in the very moment that we acknowledge our
\nhelplessness before God that the way back to God is
\nopened for us again. David also sings of this ? ?Restore
\nto me the joy of your salvation.? (vs. 11) Our sin is not
\nthe end. The promise of forgiveness and life in union with
\nJesus Christ, a life of meaning, purpose and ministry is.
\nAs you carry the ashes with you throughout Lent,
\nmay they remind you that they are a sign of renewal and
\nrecreation, and that our God will not rest until we are all
\ntransformed to His likeness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
18 19 Wednesday February 20, 2013 (Anne Germond) Readings For The Day John 3:1?10 Psalm 51:1?13 Luke 11:29?32 Psalm 51:1-2 ?Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.? Ps. 51: 11-13 ...continue reading \"Lenten Devotion for February 20\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"h-entry","8":"hentry","9":"h-as-article"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":429,"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions\/429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christchurchnorthbay.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}