Psalm 51:1-9
Have you ever been jinxed? Growing up, this would be when you and someone else would say a word at the same time. The first one to say, “jinx” would have power over the other person. For that person could not speak until the one with the power said their name three times, and released them from the “prison” that is mandatory silence.
God does not jinx us. God gives us a choice. These forty days of Lent are not mandatory, but are our choice to participate in or not. On Ash Wednesday we find ourselves knowing the ending, but also knowing that before the end is a cross. The invitation to “Come to the Cross” is not the same as “Come to the Manger” or “Come to the Empty Tomb”. There is a far more somber tone to it. Yet this penitence is made possible through the affirmation—Christ is Lord. What terrifyingly wonderful news! Christ is alive, yet he calls us to journey with him to the cross.
May these forty days be a time and source of reflection, both now and evermore. And as you find yourself in the tension between Golgotha and Empty Tomb, may you take the time each day to pray, make room for the silence, and come to the cross where Jesus waits.
Prayer: Lord, who throughout these forty days for us didst fast and pray, teach us with Thee to mourn our sins and close by Thee to stay. Amen
