Psalm 5, 6
Amos 3:1-11
2 Peter 3: 1-10
Matthew 21: 23-32
The Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord accepts my prayer.
Psalm 6:9
The readings appointed for today remind me of two things. The first is a quote from Jürgen Moltmann. “In hope we count on the possibilities of the future and we do not remain imprisoned in the institutions of the past.” The second is a hymn, “The Holy City” by Frederick E. Weatherly.
This hymn is about a person who has a dream. In this dream the individual is standing in the Old city of Jerusalem by the temple. Children are singing, while angel voices respond from heaven. The mood is tranquil. At second glance, the scene is interrupted. The hosannas the children were singing are hushed and the morning becomes dark as the shadow of a cross appears upon a hill. This scene also is changed as the dreamer looks upon a new old city where the gates are open to everyone and the darkness has given way to an everlasting light.
Both Moltmann’s quote and Weatherly’s lyrics reflect the theme that I see woven within our readings today. The verse from Psalm 6 reflects this nicely. Hope for today is summed up in the fact that our Lord has both heard our prayers and accepted them. In our Lord’s acceptance of our prayers is our Lord’s acceptance of us. It is an acceptance that is all encompassing. It includes us at our best and our worst. It allows for new possibilities, transformations, repentance and absolution. When we place our hope in God we are granted an eternal second chance.
In the days to come may we look to God with hope, acknowledging that God’s love for us revealed in Christ embraces us through the mistakes of the past, the challenges of the present and the hopeful anticipation of that which is still to come! Peace to you and yours!
– Debra Johnston
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