As we close this third week of Lent, we are given a masterclass in prayer and posture. We look at three final words: Healing , Holocausts , ...
As we close this third week of Lent, we are given a masterclass in prayer and posture. We look at three final words: Healing, Holocausts, and Humility.
We begin with the promise of Healing. Hosea writes, "He has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds." Sometimes, the disciplines of Lent feel like a "tearing" or a "striking." We have to give up things we like; we have to face truths we’ve avoided. But God only "tears" so that He can heal us more deeply. Like a surgeon, He cuts away the cancer of sin to save the patient. If you feel "rent" or "struck" today, trust that the Divine Physician is at work. The healing is coming with the dawn.
However, we must check our hearts regarding our Holocausts. In the Old Testament, a holocaust was a sacrifice entirely consumed by fire. But God tells Hosea, "It is love that I desire, not sacrifice; knowledge of God rather than holocausts." In the Gospel, the Pharisee offered "holocausts"—he fasted twice a week and paid tithes on everything. But his sacrifice was for himself, not for God. He used his religious practices as a pedestal to look down on others. God is not looking for how much we "burn" for Him on the outside; He is looking for how much we "love" Him on the inside.
This brings us to the key of the entire week: Humility. The tax collector stood at a distance. He didn't even dare to raise his eyes. He beat his breast and said, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." He didn't bring a list of achievements; he brought a void for God to fill. This is the humility that justifies. The Pharisee was full of himself, so there was no room for God. The tax collector was empty of himself, so God could pour in His grace. As we prepare for the Fourth Week of Lent, let us ask for the grace to be "empty" enough for God to fill us. Only the humble heart goes home justified.
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