Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Week 6 / Holy Week: Baptized into Christ

Day 39: Wednesday in the Sixth Week of Lent

Psalm 130:5

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
….and in his word I hope.

These are days of waiting. The lights have dimmed. The musicians have come on stage. The principal violinist has come out and directed the oboist to sound the note. All the instruments tune. Then there is silence. We wait for the conductor to come on stage and the concert to begin.

Tomorrow evening the great drama begins; the rich liturgy of the next three days will commence. Feet will be washed, bread broken, promises spoken. The cross will be lifted up for us to ponder this great mystery of divine love. Prayers will be said. A new fire will be lighted and candles lit. The great salvation stories will be told. We will come to the waters and walk again from death into life. The cry will sound: “Christ is risen!” and darkness turns to light. Then we are at the table again, fed by the risen Christ.

When the Detroit Symphony first moved to a renovated symphony hall, the urban neighborhood around it was bleak. We arrived on cold, dark Michigan nights. There were empty lots and shuttered buildings. The only activity was in front of the hall. It was not a neighborhood for walking. But inside the hall was light and radiance and glorious music. The former auditorium had been cavernous, sucking up the music and robbing it of its glory. Here the music bounced off the ceiling and walls in wondrous, vibrant clarity.

The worship of most our churches will not be so dramatic as the concerts in that new Detroit Symphony Hall. But it will still radiate with a heavenly word. In the midst of this world and its sorrows rises a vibrant and transcendent song. Perfect love has come to us and cannot be stilled. Mercy fills the air. A heavenly grace bends to wash feet, stretches wide its arms in love, and cannot be held in the bonds of death.

And this divine word calls our name. Makes us his own. Washes us in grace. And sends us out as witnesses to an imperishable light.

Today we wait for this word, wait expectantly. It is our hope and joy.

Gracious God,
in a broken world you have raised up the broken body of your Son
that we may turn to you and live.
Wash away all that corrodes the human heart
and raise us each day into life that is true and enduring.

– A prayer for the sixth week of Lent

(For the themes and sermons of other weeks see the menu for Lent 2018 at Holy Seasons.)