Meditations for Holy Week: Monday 26 March
| Mon Mar 26 |
am: 51 pm: 69:1-23 |
Isa 42:1-9 | Heb 9:11-15 | Matt 24:3-35 |
HOLY WEEK: Holy Monday
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: The term “Holy Monday” carries over from the Eastern Orthodox Church for Monday and Tuesday of this Week also known as Great and Holy Monday and Tuesday. And do in the Morning Offices for the Eastern Tradition, Matthew 21:18-43; is considered as the story of the fig tree, is in some measure the symbol of the world created to bear spiritual fruits and failing in its response to God. Later in the day, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts: Matthew 24:3-35; is reflected upon as the great eschatological discourse of Jesus recalls that there will be signs and announcement of the End. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
MEDITATION OF THE DAY: In today’s Gospel, Jesus foretold many signs of God’s action and judgment. To the great consternation of the Jews, Jesus prophesied the destruction of their temple at Jerusalem. The Jewish people took great pride in their temple, a marvel of the ancient world. The foretelling of this destruction was an unspeakable judgment. Jesus is trying to get those gathered to see the big picture and not get caught up in signs and wonders singularly but rather the larger context of God’s kingdom. As we know history is filled with signs that people point to (wars, famines, diseases, tidal waves and earthquakes etc.) It gets our attention but only for a short time. Perhaps in our own day and age Jesus’ warning that we will be confronted with persecution, wickedness, false teaching, and temptation might be more pressing in terms of what captures our imagination when you consider the Christian genocide that happens in many places from India to Sudan. Jesus used the image of a fig tree to teach us an important lesson about reading the “signs of the times”. Can we read them with courage, faith and hope?
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, though in our weakness we fail, we may be revived through the Passion of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
HOLY MONDAY Discipline – Take some time to study about what the church’s experience of persecution and what the Christian response is to be. Ask yourself how significant your life response has been to those faced with such things? Such thoughts will not only help you serve Christ, but you also add into yourself a wider perspective about difficult issues.
ANCIENT WORDS/FUTURE HOPE: “Jesus knew that he was going to put a choice before them: Will you be my disciple, or will you be my executioner? There is no middle ground here. Jesus went to Jerusalem to put people in a situation where they had to say yes or no. That is the great drama of Jesus’ passion: He had to wait upon how people were going to respond. -Henri J. M. Nouwen,
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