by Bishop Bill Gohl
Hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. – Psalm 130:7-8
The other day, I was looking for a particular place in a particular book for a particular thought that I needed to complete a particular sermon. The exact place was marked with an old bulletin from a service I shared with an Episcopal colleague in my first congregation 16 years ago, and I had marked this prayer and wrote in the margin, "profound."
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on thy whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of thy providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
It is the last of the solemn prayers in the Book of Common Prayer Good Friday liturgy. After hearing Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering servant and St. John's version of the Passion, after venerating the cross on which the Son of God emptied himself for us and for our salvation, God's people turn back in prayer. We pray for the world, the church, those who are to be baptized, the sick and suffering, for those who do not yet know God as he has been revealed in Christ Jesus.
And this prayer reminded me, as our Lenten journey takes a decided turn toward Easter, that you and I – the baptized, the Body of Christ – are a particular people God has appointed to accomplish this work of sharing the good news.
This prayer in briefest summary holds before us the great love of God in Jesus Christ: "...things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made." Raised up, made new, brought to perfection. That is what God desires for this people and God’s creation.
And, these are the same things we long for, for which our hearts cry in the midst of the waste lands. There is barrenness in each of our lives. The particulars vary, but the fundamental reality is the same. We are bowed down by the weight of our burdens and sin, we are worn out by the weariness of our journey, we ache to have our inadequacies and flaws done away. Even the most blessed of lives comes to an end. The depths of our hearts cry out: we long to be raised up and made new.
And that is precisely God's intention. How easy it is – easy at least for me – to forget the gracious love of our God. Let’s not finish our Lenten journey without being reminded that in Christ, all things are being made new. Especially us.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. – Psalm 130
It is the last of the solemn prayers in the Book of Common Prayer Good Friday liturgy. After hearing Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering servant and St. John's version of the Passion, after venerating the cross on which the Son of God emptied himself for us and for our salvation, God's people turn back in prayer. We pray for the world, the church, those who are to be baptized, the sick and suffering, for those who do not yet know God as he has been revealed in Christ Jesus.
And this prayer reminded me, as our Lenten journey takes a decided turn toward Easter, that you and I – the baptized, the Body of Christ – are a particular people God has appointed to accomplish this work of sharing the good news.
This prayer in briefest summary holds before us the great love of God in Jesus Christ: "...things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made." Raised up, made new, brought to perfection. That is what God desires for this people and God’s creation.
And, these are the same things we long for, for which our hearts cry in the midst of the waste lands. There is barrenness in each of our lives. The particulars vary, but the fundamental reality is the same. We are bowed down by the weight of our burdens and sin, we are worn out by the weariness of our journey, we ache to have our inadequacies and flaws done away. Even the most blessed of lives comes to an end. The depths of our hearts cry out: we long to be raised up and made new.
And that is precisely God's intention. How easy it is – easy at least for me – to forget the gracious love of our God. Let’s not finish our Lenten journey without being reminded that in Christ, all things are being made new. Especially us.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. – Psalm 130