Wednesday of Holy Week
(3/23/05)

Readings from the Daily Lectionary

New Testament: John 13:21-32

Epistle: Hebrews 12:1-3

In the thirty-fifth verse of the twenty-sixth chapter of the gospel according to Matthew, we read,

"Peter said to him, 'Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.' And so said all the disciples."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes that,

"It is good that we not boast about faith. Faith is not indicated by boasting. It is precisely because everything depends on our really having faith that every desire for boasting must fade away. Whether we believe or not will become apparent.

"It will become apparent daily, and declarations will be of no help at all. You all know how, in the passion story, Peter says to Jesus, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!" And Jesus' answer: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And the story ends, "Peter went out and wept bitterly." He had denied his Lord.

"Grand declarations, however sincere, however solemn, are closest to denial. May God keep all of us from that."

Let us pray:

Lord, when we are tempted to take pride in our faith, may we learn to bite our tongues and turn to you in silent prayer.

In the seventh verse of the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah, we read,

"The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame...."

Henri Nouwen writes that,

"A man with hope does not get tangled up with concerns for how his wishes will be fulfilled. So, too, his prayer is not directed toward the gift, but toward the one who gives it.

"His is not a question of having a wish come true but of expressing an unlimited faith in the giver of all good things.

"For the prayer of hope, it is essential that there are no guarantees asked, no conditions posed, and no proofs demanded, only that you expect everything from the other without binding him in any way. Hope is based on the premise that the other gives only what is good.

"Hope includes an openness by which you wait for the other to make his loving promise come true, even though you never know when, where or how this might happen."

Let us pray:

Lord, teach us this Holy Week to live in and learn from your attitude of patient suffering. Amen.