Wednesday, March 7 ::: Turn Away Your Wrath from Them

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The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds’.”

Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”

Hear me, O Lord,
and listen to the voice of my adversaries.
Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.

Jeremiah 18:1-11, 18-20

audio : St John Passion, Chorale no. 7, “Durch dein Gefängnis”, Johann Sebastian Bach (1724)

image : The Vision After the Sermon Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, Paul Gauguin (1888)

Christ executes the office of a King, in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.

Westminster Shorter Catechism, 17^th century

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The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, and it lasts until the Saturday before Easter Day. The last week of Lent is called Passion Week, which includes both Maundy Thursday (the institution of the Lord’s Supper) and Good Friday (the crucifixion of our Lord). Reminiscent of Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the wilderness, the Lenten season lasts forty days (not counting Sundays). Lent is a time to ask God to confront our own mortality and sinfulness; to ask Him to show us our need for grace; to grow in repentance; and, to reflect on the amazing truth of the Church’s participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For this year, our texts and readings focus on our need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Cross shows us the depth of our sin and the enormity of our Father’s love for sinners. These thoughts are drawn from Christians who have pondered the Cross of Christ throughout the past twenty centuries, and are meant to complement the Scriptural witness of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. This guide also includes the page, “The Meaning of Lent,” which is a great orientation to the purpose of this season. May you be amazed at the grace of God as you see the truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we all be conformed more and more to the likeness of Jesus Christ.