"O God, by your Word you marvelously carry out the work of reconciliation: Grant that in our Lenten fast we may be devoted to you with all our hearts, and united with one another in prayer and holy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Psalm 119:1-8, Deuteronomy 26:16-19, and Matthew 5:43-48
As I've already mentioned at least a few times, keeping a fast is difficult. Refraining from temptation or maintaining a discipline can be tough. Sometimes the feelings we're trying to suppress boil over unexpectedly, like when a craving takes over or we lose our temper. Or maybe it's a conscious decision, like when we tell ourselves that we'll get back to our discipline after taking a little break. Either way, though, we might end up feeling a tinge of guilt for the decision we made, wondering if we let ourselves down or if we let someone else down or if we let God down.
The reading from Deuteronomy today is all about God and Israel agreeing to the terms of the covenant that exists between them. The covenant agreement says, "I'll be your God if you'll be my people." If the Israelites follows the agreements, God will place them above all other nations. When the Israelites fail to follow the covenant, prophets come to try to set them straight. The Lord honors them, and the Lord expects honor in return.
This is a good reminder for us, too, especially tied in with the collect for today. We're about ten days into our Lenten journey and roughly a quarter of the way through the season. We ask God to help us stay devoted to Him in our Lenten fast, and this reminds us that even if we fall short during this fast we can and should return to God.
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We have covenants with God. Early on our parents made covenants for us in our baptismal covenant. Later we accepted those covenants for our own in the confirmation ritual. We seek to renew and restore our covenant with every new baptism, with every new confirmation and with every service.
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