...we all fall down.
Figuratively. Ethically, morally...
Ash Wednesday yesterday was again a reminder of my need for penitence, for contrition. "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise", says my patron saint, King David.
I've had the broken part, all right. I remember very well how that feels. The contrition part seems to come and go, ebb and flow, wax and wane. It takes an Ash Wednesday, a season of Lent, to remind me that contrition needs to be a regular focus, lest we (lest I) become complacent in my sinful condition.
I needed to hear the prophet Joel thundering in 2:13:
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
I needed to hear David's contrition in Psalm 51 again, the rending of his heart over its deplorable condition. I needed to sing out loud God's promise through Jeremiah in 31:33-34:
"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ... For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
And I needed to see in the mirror the image of a man visibly marked with God's call to repentance (and my assent to it.)
May God make this season of Lent fruitful for growth of character, beginning with contrition over the weakness of that same character.
Amen.
Can I get a witness?
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1 comment:
Amen! You know what I always say, "praise the Lord and pass the ammunition." LOL seriusly, good thioughts, can't wait to share more together in person!!!! -J1
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