March 29 to April 4, 2009
Human Sinfulness

Every time I hear that who I am is wrong,
Every time I feel that I may not belong,
still You call me with Your song.

Grace:

My Lord Jesus, I beg for the grace to understand truly the nature of sin, its woeful effects on me and on others around me. Guide me that I may be able to abhor it. Help me feel sincere contrition. Give me the strength to embrace my sinfulness so I can courageously amend my life.

There are times Lord when I feel like I cannot come to You, when I don't know how to pray, what words to use. There are times when I feel as if there is a great distance between us.

And I know Lord, that it is my doing. I know that it is because of my weaknesses, my choices, my sins. And the more I am confronted by my sin, the more I find it impossible to pray. It is a mystery to me Lord, why I do the things that distance me from You, when I want so much to walk with You, to walk in Your presence.

But even more mysterious is that despite my sinfulness and my brokenness - You love me still.

Scripture: Rom 7: 14-25

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Guide to Reflection:

Go up to heaven with the Father, Son and Spirit and together with the Triune God gaze down upon our sinful world.

Behold people killing people; people stealing, cheating, lying, leading untruthful lives. Behold a world full of violence, destruction, greed, lust, pride, poverty and materialism.

Take time to just feel (and even weep) with the Triune God as they look upon our sinful world which they initially created in love. Feel sincere sorrow and contrition for the sinfulness of the world, for your own sinfulness as well, and boldly beg our Triune God for genuine forgiveness and healing in our world.

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Grace:

It is so easy to choose not to struggle against sin, and remain indifferent, accepting that sin is just part of human nature. It is easier than choosing to change, knowing that eventually, I would stumble and fall again.

I beg Lord for the grace to not only recognize my sin, but to recognize also how You are always waiting to forgive me, to heal me, to gather me into Your love. For in your love, I can find the desire to change my ways, the strength to overcome my weakness, and the hope to always try again.

Grant me the grace, Lord, to see beyond myself and the effects of sin on my personal life. Teach me and remind me that even the small actions I choose have great effects on the lives of other people. Fill me with compassion for those who struggle with their brokenness and who hunger for healing. Help me to choose what is good, instead of always choosing what is easy. And when it seems hopeless, remind me that despite our sinfulness, You wait for us to return to You.

Next week, we go back to the Father and pray on His Healing and Forgiveness.