Christian Reflection and Prayer

Partake of Me

Scripture:

I live by the power of the living Father
who sent me; in the same way, those
who partake of me will live because of me.
John 6:57 NLT

Hymn:

Bread of the world, in mercy broken,
wine of the soul, in mercy shed, by
whom the words of life were spoken,
and in whose death our sins are dead;
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
look on the tears by sinners shed; and
may Thy feast to us be the token that
by Thy grace our souls are fed.
Bread of the World, in Mercy Broken
Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

Reflection:

A Communion hymn

Reginald Heber wrote this hymn
specifically for use in the service
before the Eucharist. Its simple
lines focus first on Christ and then
on the attitude of the singer. Christ
has spoken words of life and has
taken our sins to the cross with Him.
We are sorry for our sins and take
this "feast" of bread and wine as a
"token" of the forgiveness that Christ
offers.

For sixteen years Heber served as a
parish priest in the village of Hodnet
in western England. Three times he
was asked to become the bishop of
Calcutta, India, and twice he turned
it down. Finally at the age of forty,
he accepted the call and sailed for
India with his wife and two daughters.
Three years later, after preaching to
a crowded church near Hindu shrines
to Vishnu and Siva, he suffered a stroke
and died.

While Heber's hymns initially met with
official church resistance, many of them
were eventually published shortly before
his death and have been a blessing to
believers for nearly two centuries.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted
from The One Year® Book of Hymns
by Mark Norton and Robert Brown,
Tyndale House Publishers (1995).
Today's is taken from the entry for April 4.

For more reflection on Holy week, see The
Passion, Tyndale's companion book to Mel
Gibson's powerful movie about the last twelve
hours of Jesus' life.

All Glory, Laud and Honor

Scripture:

He was in the center of the
procession, and the crowds
all around him were shouting,
"Praise God! Bless the one
who comes in the name of
the Lord! Bless the coming
kingdom of our ancestor
David! Praise God in highest
heaven!" Mark 11:9-10 NLT

Hymn:

All glory, laud, and honor
to Thee, Redeemer,
King, to whom the lips of
children made sweet
hosannas ring; Thou art
the King of Israel, Thou
David's royal Son, who
in the Lord's name comest,
the King and blessed One!

To Thee, before Thy passion,
they sang their hymns of
praise; to Thee, now high
exalted, our melody we raise:
Thou didst accept their
praises—accept the praise
we bring, who in all good
delightest, Thou good and
gracious King! All Glory,
Laud and Honor Theodulf of
Orléans (c. 750-821)

Reflection:

Not the revolutionary they expected

When Jesus entered Jerusalem
riding on a donkey, hopeful crowds
filled the streets waving palm
branches and praising God. But
less than a week later, when it
became clear that Jesus was not
the revolutionary they expected,
this same crowd demanded His
crucifixion.

For Theodulf, whom King Charlemagne
had made bishop of Orléans in
the late 700s, praise was born of
painful circumstances. After
Charlemagne's death, Theodulf
was exiled to Angers, France,
on charges of conspiracy. In the
dark prison at Angers, Theodulf
apparently wrote the text of this
hymn, which became the great
Palm Sunday processional of the
Western church—a celebration of
God's grace sung by millions through
the centuries.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted
from The One Year® Book of Hymns
by Mark Norton and Robert Brown,
Tyndale House Publishers (1995).
Today's is taken from the entry for March 27.

Scripture:

Jesus the Lamb of God

29The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 (New International Version)

Reflection:

I got to ask myself. If I saw Jesus coming
towards me would I say, "Look, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world?
The sad thing is, I wonder if I would recognize
Christ.
Wow what a statement "Look, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!
How do you take away the sin of the world.
Well God did! He gave us His son who literally,
actually died on the cross for us. Now that
in itself certainly is an unbelievable sacrifice,
but without the resurrection the act of the cross
would have been lost. Christ died, a painful,
humiliating death, executed on a cross. But it
didn't stop there, three days later He arose, He
came back to life and remains with us as the
Holy Spirit! He did this, so that you and I will
not simply die in sin, but will live forever in glory!
Guess What? You only have to do one thing,
BELIEVE!!!!!!!!

Prayer:

Thank You lord I Believe!!!!!!!