This Lent we follow Jesus as he faces evil in the hours before his death. What is evil? Who is doing evil against Jesus during Passion Week? What are ways in which we are complicit in evil? Do we take evil seriously? As we experience evil in our own lives, discover how Jesus stands in the face of evil.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord, you experienced evil by your death on the cross. Death is the great foe we all face. Yet you overcame the power of death by your resurrection. So fill us with this power that even now our lives may be filled with genuine hope. Hold us now and until our life’s end. We cling to you, our crucified and risen Savior, Jesus. Amen.
Meditation: Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed
“Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed”
by Isaac Watts,
adapted by Alex O’Nan and Brooks Ritter
Isaac Watts, an English minister, was a prolific eighteenth-century hymn writer, whose works include “Joy to the World,” “Our God our Help in Ages Past,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” The lyrics below are an adaptation of Watts’s “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed” by Sojourn Music, who recorded two albums of updated versions of Watts’s hymns.
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die.
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
His body slain; nailed to the cross
Bathed in his own blood
There received the wrath of God
His soul in anguish stood.
It was for crimes that I had done
That kept him on the tree.
Amazing mercy, matchless grace
And love beyond degree.
When Christ, our own creator died
And took upon our sin
Not even in that darkest hour
Could glory be shut in
My thoughts fixed on His sacrifice –
The cross that draws me near
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt my eyes to tears.
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die.
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
Drops of grief cannot repay
The love I owe to you
Lord, I give myself away
It’s all that I can do.
My thoughts fixed on His sacrifice –
The cross that draws me near
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt my eyes to tears.
Sending
Almighty God, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.