Weekly Meditations and Prayer Prompts, February 19-25, 2023

Sunday, February 19, 2023 Transfiguration of the Lord Matthew 17:1–9 (ESV)

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 

And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 

(iStock, view from the Chapel of the Transfiguration)

Prayer prompt:  I am of the age that I turn down the radio in the car in order to see better when I’m driving.  It’s a joke, of course, the problem is with concentration and reaction time, not physical vision or hearing, although both of those are fading too.  Peter on the Mountain of Transfiguration also seems to have some issues with what he’s seeing and hearing, especially with his immediate response to the event.  The voice from the cloud seems to focus his attention on one thing, the voice of Jesus.  Pray this week that you too will be able to concentrate on what matters and that you’ll have the courage to follow where Jesus leads, and not to fear.

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Monday, February 20, 2023 (Presidents’ Day)

Nehemiah 11:1-4 (ESV)

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. 

These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. 

Prayer prompt:  How did you come to live in the place where you live?  Do you live in a family home that has been handed down through the generations?  Did you move to be closer to family or to follow a spouse?  Were you pursuing a career?  The passage from Nehemiah talks about people who chose to live in Jerusalem and those who were chosen to do so.  It is as if some of the returning exiles have a divine mission to the place where they live.  Pray today that God will show you a bigger purpose in living where you live.  And on this Presidents’ Day, pray for the President and for all those who exercise authority in your community, city, state, and nation.

***

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 (Shrove Tuesday)

Joel 2:12–17 (ESV)

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, 

“return to me with all your heart, 

  with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 

  and rend your hearts and not your garments.” 

  Return to the Lord your God, 

for he is gracious and merciful, 

  slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; 

and he relents over disaster. 

  Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, 

and leave a blessing behind him, 

  a grain offering and a drink offering 

for the Lord your God? 

  Blow the trumpet in Zion; 

consecrate a fast; 

  call a solemn assembly; 

  gather the people. 

  Consecrate the congregation; 

assemble the elders; 

  gather the children, 

even nursing infants. 

  Let the bridegroom leave his room, 

and the bride her chamber. 

  Between the vestibule and the altar 

let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep 

  and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, 

and make not your heritage a reproach, 

a byword among the nations. 

  Why should they say among the peoples, 

‘Where is their God?’ ” 

Prayer prompt: On this eve of Lent 2023 there are reports of a revival taking place at Asbury in Wilmore, KY.  Though I do not have direct knowledge of what is going on there, reports suggest that what is taking place accords with a long history of religious awakenings with biblical precursors.  Here in Joel the image of a trumpet serves as both a warning of coming judgment and a call to summon the community to prayer.  Pray today that the season of Lent 2023, which starts tomorrow, will awaken in you the desire and dedication to turn away from destructive behaviors and instill in you a renewed sense of life and purpose.

***

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 (Ash Wednesday)

Psalm 51:10-13 (ESV)

  Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

and renew a right spirit within me. 

  Cast me not away from your presence, 

and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 

  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 

and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

  Then I will teach transgressors your ways, 

and sinners will return to you. 

Prayer prompt:  Jesus famously says to get the log out of your own eye before you attempt to “help” your neighbor with the speck of dust in their eye.  Lent is about tending to that log that tends to cloud our vision of God, and of ourselves, and of our neighbor.  Pray today that God will help you to see where the difficulties of life have marred your spirit and the constant, frenetic activity has erected a barrier between your own spirit and God.  Pray that God will restore the joy of knowing God your Savior and give you a spirit that is genuinely willing to serve others.  By allowing God to help you with the log in your eye, you will become an example for others who struggle in their relationship with God.  Pray today for the grace to see yourself aright.

***

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Isaiah 58:6-8 (ESV)

  “Is not this the fast that I choose: 

to loose the bonds of wickedness, 

to undo the straps of the yoke, 

  to let the oppressed go free, 

and to break every yoke? 

  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry 

and bring the homeless poor into your house; 

  when you see the naked, to cover him, 

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 

  Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, 

and your healing shall spring up speedily; 

  your righteousness shall go before you; 

the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Prayer prompt:  It is so easy for us to allow religious observance--intended to make us attend more closely to God--to distract us from what God desires most.  The prophets of the Hebrew Bible were constantly pointing out this issue to anyone who would listen.  This Lent, pray that God will help you to practice a truly holy fast:  forgiveness, freedom, feeding of the hungry, befriending those who have no house in which to live, and clothing and healing those who are most at risk.  A Lent full of this sort of fast will, according to the promises of God, give way to a glorious Easter Resurrection morning.

***

Friday, February 24, 2023

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 (ESV) 

…as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;  as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. 

Prayer prompt:  Lent is the upside down, rightside up season.  Like the upside down ladder of the Beatitudes of Jesus, Paul demonstrates what it means to be an ambassador of reconciliation.  As you read his description, pray that God will reveal to you the real substance of one or two of these paradoxical pairs.  Ask God what it might mean to you to “live like you are dying,” or to stay true while being accused of lying, or to use your poverty to enrich someone else.  Pray especially in this time of Lent that God will show you the true meaning of forgiveness, both the giving and receiving of it.

***

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Matthew 6:1–6 (ESV)

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

Prayer prompt:  Once again, the warning from Jesus is about outward displays of religion that mask an inner hypocrisy.  He reminds us that the reward for the outward display of religiosity is temporal and temporary, a fleeting praise and 15 minutes of fame, but the reward for turning our hearts toward God is spiritual and eternal.  Pray today that God will reveal to you where your actions are motivated by the show and that God will help you to give, and work, and serve so as to receive the reward that is spiritual and eternal.