Week Six – Where are we heading?

They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ Revelation 7. 16-17

Over the coming days we will again experience in our churches and our home devotions the increasing darkness of Jesus’ final journey to the cross. Culminating on Good Friday in the utter bleakness when ‘Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last’. It will be especially poignant this year when we watch the news and see scenes of desolation from the war-torn parts of our world and the bleakness of child poverty in our own local communities.

Can our response over Holy Week, be to ask God to show us what we can do to bring resurrection into the desolate bleak places both local and global?

As we join in the shouts of ‘Hosanna’ on Palm Sunday, ask God to open our ears to hear the pleas of those people desperate for freedom from oppression. When we imagine the sweet seductive smell of the nard, with which Mary anointed Jesus for his burial, may our sense of smell alert us to the stench of poverty in temporary refugee camps. When we share our daily bread this week, may He give us the strength to find a way to forgive all those who have let us down, or betrayed our trust. When we feel the warmth of another person’s embrace, help us to remember all those for whom the gentle caring touch of another human being is an unfulfilled desire. When we gaze at the image of Jesus on cross, may our hearts be filled with compassion for all those like Mary, who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

We are promised that God will wipe away every tear, can we be the ones to offer our metaphorical handkerchiefs in his service.

With all my love and prayers for a blessed and enlightening Holy Week,

Revd. Sandra

Prayer: Saviour God, thank you for all you went through to ensure that, no matter what the world throws at us, there will always be a future with you. May we walk into that future confident of the abilities you have given each of us to help bring about restoration in our fragile world. Amen