Journey to the Cross
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on our world.
The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. The Lord God commanded the human, âEat your fill from all of the gardenâs trees; but donât eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!â
The snake was the most intelligent of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, âDid God really say that you shouldnât eat from any tree in the garden?â
The woman said to the snake, âWe may eat the fruit of the gardenâs trees but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, âDonât eat from it, and donât touch it, or you will die.ââ
The snake said to the woman, âYou wonât die! God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.â
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-5
You may be struggling today, feeling the zero caffeine, and saying, as you wander aimlessly, âWhy did I give up caffeine for Lent?â! But take a deep breath, hold it in, and as you let it out, whisper, âLord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.â You can make it.
Our passage today is familiar: the garden, the tree, naked Adam and Eve, the snake, and temptation. It may be the fruit, a cup of coffee, or a soft drink â just sitting there in the fridgeâŠ
One truth in this story is that there are lots of âsnakesâ in our path. There are things that pull our attention away from God and from following Godâs way. Our job is to notice them, walk around them, and keep our focus on God. You can make it! Deep BreathsâŠ
David Burroughs
God, as I try to settle into this Lenten journey, I am bothered today. Yesterday, I remembered clearly your sacrificial gift to us. Today, Iâm already looking for the Easter release. But I will stay here today â and tomorrow â and each day. I pray for the courage to walk this road with you and to be able to learn what you would teach me in these days. Amen.
May God give you grace never to sell yourself short; grace to risk something big for something good; grace to remember that the world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.
William Sloane Coffin