With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Lord Jesus, you once came to humanity in a rustic barn and a messy manger. Do not be distant from the rough places of our lives. We often find ourselves far from you. In mercy, come near to us, our Lord, Emmanuel; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: Luke 23:39
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him. “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.”
Meditation: Save Yourself
Today’s meditation is written by Susan Senechal.
When my daughter was two she had a saying she repeated often. “I do myself.” We may be adults now, with slightly better command of grammar, but I think we often express this same sentiment. Either we don’t want to accept help because we think it makes us look weak, or we think independence is a blessed virtue.
Alternately, we find ourselves in a pickle and we think we have to save ourselves or those closest to us. It’s my responsibility to make sure my son completes his homework assignment. My spouse is facing a difficulty and I have to fix it. I’ve dug a pit for myself and no one can do anything to get me out…I have to save myself.
Worse still is the temptation to blame ourselves when things don’t go well. “If only I would have…worked harder…done more…prayed harder.” Dangerous thinking. We cannot save ourselves. Only one can save us—Jesus, the Messiah.
As Jesus hung from the cross, soldiers mocked him, “save yourself.” Bystanders, ordinary people and rulers alike sneered “Let him save himself.” The thief on the cross beside him hurled insults, “save yourself and us.”
The irony is that of anyone, only Jesus did have the ability to save himself, and yet he sacrificed himself to save us. The other criminal on the cross nearby recognized it. “This man has done nothing wrong.” And then he yielded to him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) With those words he recognized, as we must, “I cannot save myself, but you can save me, Jesus. I put my faith in you.”
It’s not a last ditch, hail Mary in an all out effort to save himself, but recognition that he is a sinner in need of a savior. He cannot save himself. But he recognizes and believes that Jesus is the only way.
We too must recognize, in this age of rugged individualism, that we are sinners in need of a savior. We cannot save ourselves. And so we turn to the savior who did not choose to save himself on that cross, but submitted to his Father’s will so that we, you and I, might be saved. And believing, we know that when we breathe our last, we will be with him in paradise.
Dear Jesus, I am guilty. I am lost. I am in a pit. I cannot save myself. I surrender myself to you. You are Lord of all, and I give my life to you. Amen.
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)