A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis for March 4, 2021

March 4, 2021

A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis

During these difficult days, members of the New England Conference staff are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week.

You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions.

Today’s prayer

… you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol… Exodus 20.3-4a

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19.14

May the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you … Ouch God! This week’s lectionary is hard! O how I wanted a sweet make-me-feel-good passage, something to cheer me up. But it’s Lent. It seems like it’s been Lent for a year. Is this what the exiled ones felt like? taunted by “Sing us one of the songs of Zion?” We’ve hung our harps, unplugged our keyboards, not touched the organ, silenced our choirs, been away from our sanctuaries. Here by the waters of Babylon, we’ve wept. When can we return? Or are we more like the Israelites finally released from captivity but all we can think is we were better off in Egypt at least there we had food and drink and things we were used to and took for granted and worshipped?? What is it you ask of us, God, during Lent? To return to you? not “return to your buildings” not “return to your old ways” not “return to all the clutter” not “return to what was” but to return to you? re-turn to you? With all our hearts? no attachments, no idols? It’s Lent and it seems like it’s been Lent for a year. May the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen

Pastor Evie Doyon, Green Mountain District Administrative Assistant and pastor at Northfield United Methodist Parish, VT.