the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ

“Singing songs of expectation, onward goes the pilgrim band” that is, through the Lenten darkness, into the light of Easter dawn where, Alleluia, Christ is Risen, the Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!.

I always enjoyed finding a Gospel hymn to go with whatever I would preach about, and I did that for today because “the Word of the Lord”/ “the Word Jesus Christ” so jumped out at me in the Propers. But my first choice was NOT “Singing songs of expectation”. I selected hymn #381, with the same tune:

Thy strong word did cleave the darkness,

at thy speaking it was done;

for created light we thank thee,

while thine ordered seasons run.

Alleluia, alleluia, Praise to thee who light dost send!

Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!

I had forgotten it had all the “alleluias” which make it taboo for Lent, but I had wanted it because it echoes the Word of God that appears in two places, though quite subtle:

1. God the Word in our Collect:

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: bring us with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son ~ your Word, Jesus Christ

2. and the Word speaks in Genesis, “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision” - then again “the word of the Lord came to him,”

This is so powerful, yet so easy to miss as we hurry along through the readings, anxious to get to the Gospel to see what Jesus says and does and teaches for Lent - - today Jesus conversing with Pharisees, who seem concerned about his safety for once, and come to warn him about Herod.

In this little story, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, a journey he begins in Luke at the end of chapter 9, not arriving until ten chapters later, Luke 19, his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the crowd shouts the same acclamation Jesus voices in today’s Gospel, “Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord”.

You will hear it again in the Eucharistic Prayer, and some Episcopalians make the Sign + of the Cross at that point, as theologically Jesus comes present in the Bread and Wine.

Anyway, these thirty days of Lent the church invites us to share thirty days in the wilderness with Jesus the Word. We are invited to “fast” in some way, a deliberate sacrifice that helps us draw nearer to Jesus the Word.

It may be giving up something, as in his sermon last week, Father Steve described his own Lenten disciplines last year and the year before, permanently freeing his life of habits that are Time-consuming and can become obsessions, even addictions.

Or instead of giving up something, we may take on something, beginning "just for Lent” but then we discover the value of it, and so continue lifelong as a more worthy use of Life’s Time, which is short. Time, so easy to waste - - a sin if we are serious about being “temples of the Holy Spirit”.

The church has suggestions for Lenten wilderness time, inviting us “to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word”.

For a Christian, reading the Bible can be part of a worthy journey toward holiness, and in the Prayer Book’s Daily Lectionary the church offers godly help for doing that.

Again, mindful that the Word of God is Jesus: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God, the Word was in the beginning with God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth - - versus lies and deceit that are the ungodly standard of HUMAN behavior.

Some Christians are seriously into a holy Lent. But most folks go on about life as usual, oblivious to Lent’s opportunity to pause every day and contemplate “how can I do better with life’s Time, which is so short? The Bible says I’m created in God’s image: how might I better honor that blessing and that trust?”

You may find God’s help in the “WILL YOU?” promises of the Baptismal Covenant. You know what they are, we renew them here at every opportunity. The promises are worth rehearsing first thing every morning, as a Lenten way to take shelter under the Lord for the day ahead.

Or, again, every morning, sanctify yourself for another day of Lent with that Gospel and liturgical verse that actually comes from Psalm 118, + “blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord”

For myself, I have a quirky practice that some of you know. Some clergy begin their day, as taught in seminary, reading a “Daily Office,” (one of the non-sacramental prayer services of the Book of Common Prayer). I never had the self-discipline to do that. But years ago I read about Jewish “laws of the right hand” under which one honors God by getting dressed right side first: Put on your right sock first. Put on your right shoe first. Put on your pants, right leg first; put on your shirt right sleeve first.

It sounds fetishistic if one is too obtuse to discern spiritual devotion, but I do it as precisely devotion: getting dressed every morning, mindfully put on my right shoe first and say prayerfully, “right shoe first and praise the Lord” - - my daily devotional that puts me under the Lord all day long.

Why do I preach my personal eccentricities? Well, Paul does it. Including today in Philippians: “join in imitating me”he says, “do what I do!” Paul is not bragging or setting himself up as an example of perfection, he’s suggesting what he finds helpful. And, who knows, if I tell you what I do, even if it seems weird, it may give you an idea, may in some way help you find that Lenten observance is not a burden, but can be easy and even fun as a way to draw nearer to the Word in daily life.

So, I’m back to the Word, who is Jesus.

The Collect: bring us with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ.

Genesis: the Word of the Lord speaking God’s covenant with Abram, Abraham.

And, again, my unacceptable choice of sequence hymn to announce the Gospel,

Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous!

Bright with thine own holiness,

glorious now we PRESS toward glory,

as our lives our hopes confess:

Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!

Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end.

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Lent 2 sermon/homily in Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Panama City, Florida on Sunday, March 13, 2022. The Rev Tom Weller (Retired) Priest Associate of the Parish.

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Second Sunday in Lent
Year C RCL

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Then he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess." But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."

Psalm 27 Page 617, BCP

Dominus illuminatio

The LORD is my light and my salvation;

whom then shall I fear? *

the LORD is the strength of my life;

of whom then shall I be afraid?

When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh, *

it was they, my foes and my adversaries, who

stumbled and fell.

Though an army should encamp against me, *

yet my heart shall not be afraid;

And though war should rise up against me, *

yet will I put my trust in him.

One thing have I asked of the LORD;

one thing I seek; *

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days

of my life;

To behold the fair beauty of the LORD *

and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe

in his shelter; *

he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling

and set me high upon a rock.

Even now he lifts up my head *

above my enemies round about me.

Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an oblation

with sounds of great gladness; *

I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Hearken to my voice, O LORD, when I call; *

have mercy on me and answer me.

You speak in my heart and say, "Seek my face." *

Your face, LORD, will I seek.

Hide not your face from me, *

nor turn away your servant in displeasure.

You have been my helper;

cast me not away; *

do not forsake me, O God of my salvation.

Though my father and my mother forsake me, *

the LORD will sustain me.

Show me your way, O LORD; *

lead me on a level path, because of my enemies.

Deliver me not into the hand of my adversaries, *

for false witnesses have risen up against me,

and also those who speak malice.

What if I had not believed

that I should see the goodness of the LORD *

in the land of the living!

O tarry and await the LORD'S pleasure;

be strong, and he shall comfort your heart; *

wait patiently for the LORD.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

Luke 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

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Art: Maha Rukab, UAE, "The Incarnation of the Word of God"