Friday after Ash Wednesday, 19 February 2021
And still we rise!
Reading: Matthew 6: 1-6, 16 – 21
Scripture: “Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)
Reflection: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”… a powerful reminder of our mortality. We fear death and see it as the end, but as a people of the resurrection, we should have no fear of death, for we know that it was through His death, His sacrifice, and through His love, that we can and will rise, and conquer the darkness of death.
Our current existence has caused what, for some of us, may seem like the sudden and untimely death of much of what up to now, we considered ‘normal’. And, in the context of our Lenten reflection/introspection we should ask ourselves and answer the question honestly; “How much of what we lost was truly essential to our relationship and connection with God?” We soon come to the realisation that much of what we now miss was of greater earthly importance and we will learn to not miss them for much longer as we strive for a greater closeness with God.
The absence of much of what we held dear, has left us with more time to commune in earnest with Christ, to think about how we must reshape our lives to more closely reflect our rising from the ashes of death, the ashes of all that separates and distracts us from God.
As we journey through Lent, we must therefore engage our entire beings in a deliberate and conscious effort at spiritual growth so that we can look forward to celebrating our rising from the ashes of our sinfulness to the glorious resurrection of a more robust and strengthened faith.
Meditation: “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.” (CPWI #539)
Prayer: I surrender Lord to Your power, Your mercy and Your grace. I pray for the strength to resist that which is earthly and distracting and set my mind, Lord, on learning to see You more clearly and to follow You more nearly every day. Amen.
St. Jude’s Church
Stony Hill
Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands
19 February 2021