Lent Week 3 -- Wednesday

Psalm 35:4, 22-24 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. … LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me. Jeremiah 9:3-6 "They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me," declares the LORD. "Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the LORD. Hebrews 2:14-15, 17-18 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. … For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. John 6:60, 66-69 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" … From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."      Prayer Dear Lord, the depths of your incarnation is in some ways offensive, because in becoming one of us to do for us what we could not do for ourselves, you have confronted us with our sin and our inability to save ourselves.  You, the Almighty God stooped down to take on our dingy, fallen flesh.  You bore our sin and you fought our battles because you knew that we were failures—powerless to do it in our own strength.  Through Jesus, you have contended for us and vindicated us.  Through Jesus, you continue to help us in our times of weakness and temptation.  Grant us today the grace to accept our situation and your ever-present care and salvation.