Hail to you, our King!
Obedient to the Father, you were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led to the slaughter.
ISAIAH 50:4-9 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
All who come to You, the Eternal Word, and sit faithfully at Your feet every day will be granted the gift of a disciple's tongue. Imbued with Your Word and with the aid of Your Holy Spirit, just as foretold by the prophet they are able, just as You did, to give comfort, hope, and encouragement to those who are weary.
To Isaiah God revealed all that the You, the Suffering Servant would have to endure for our iniquities. Both these words and all that they imply, suffering and servant, are resisted by the
world yet, You have shown us that there is no way except the Way You walked that leads to the Kingdom of God. How hard it is to offer no resistance when we are called to bear humiliation for the sake of the Gospel but there is no other way to win souls for God. Through Your suffering, You redeemed the world.
When we walk on the side of Truth and Love then no amount of scorn, insults, and torment inflicted on us can break us. You will come to our aid and provide all the strength we need to persevere to the end.
We have this assurance, my Lord, that if we are faithful, You are even more faithful and after this long and painful journey on earth comes to an end, You will receive us and give us a share of Your crown of glory. Let us not be cast down when the world hates us, persecutes us, maligns us, for the servant is not greater than the Master.
PSALM 69:8-10,21-22,31,33-34 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
You warn us that anyone who wishes to be Your disciple must be prepared to endure suffering as You did. The world hated You and it hates all who follow You. Christians worthy of the name are an irritant to the world. They prefer not to have their conscience disturbed as they lie with the devil.
You are our beacon from You we receive strength. In You we are triumphant. Your victory is our victory as well. You
defeated and crushed the Enemy and all who walk on the side of Truth will conquer evil as well as we have seen from the moment that You gave Yourself up into the hands of those who plotted to kill You.
Even if all our friends desert us as the disciples deserted You in Your greatest hour of need, we will not be alone for You will walk with us. Thank You, Beloved, for revealing to us that no matter what we are called to endure for the sake of Your Name ultimate victory belongs to the Eternal Word.
MATTHEW 26:14-25 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
We condemn Judas for his betrayal of You and yet all of us at some point in our lives and even more than once, have betrayed You. He betrayed You for a paltry sum of 30 pieces of
silver and we betray for even less. We betray You out of fear, to fall in with the crowd, to be a part of a sinful, worldly culture, in order for some temporary benefit, or because we are ashamed or afraid we will be mocked, scorned, and rejected.
Judas sat with the Twelve and ate the Eucharist but because he ate it with grave sin on his soul it had no positive spiritual effect on his soul. The same goes for us too. If we eat Your Flesh and drink Your Blood with tainted lips and a filthy soul we eat and drink damnation to ourselves.
Even after Judas heard You lament that it would have been better had the man who would betray the Son of Man not been born, his heart that had strayed a little further from You each day was not deterred from committing this grave sin.
While we might wonder how Judas had the gall to ask whether he would be the one to betray You yet let us not forget that we too have done the same. Unlike him, however, may we never forget that a humble contrite heart You will not spurn.
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