A (person) has freedom to the degree that the master whom he obeys grants it to him in return for his obedience. He does well to choose a master in terms of how much freedom he gets for how much obedience… The old prayer speaks of God “in whose service is perfect freedom.” The paradox is not as opaque as it sounds. It means that to obey Love himself, who above all wishes us well, leaves us the freedom to be the best and gladdest that we have it in us to become.
~ Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Frederick Buechner
Psalm 32
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity….
and you forgavethe guilt of my sin.”(32:5 NIV)
If then any child of the Father finds that he is afraid before Him, that the thought of God is a discomfort to him, or even a terror, let him make haste – let him not linger to put on any garment, but rush at once in his nakedness, a true child, for shelter from his own evil and God’s terror, into the salvation of the Father’s arms.
~ Unspoken Sermons, George MacDonald
Romans 5:12-19
“…through the obedience of the one man [Jesus Christ] the many will be made righteous.”(5:19 NIV)
Out of this terrible death…came eternal life not just in the sense of resurrection to life after death but in the sense of life so precious even this side of death that to live it is to stand with one foot already in eternity. To participate in the sacrificial life and death of Jesus Christ is to live already in his kingdom. This is the essence of the Christian message...
~ The Faces of Jesus, Frederick Buechner
Mathew 4:1-11
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”(4:1 NIV)
We learn by the bitter experience of temptation that the spiritual life is not a matter of devout feeling or mere desire to do good. It is through temptation that most of us comprehend how serious a matter it is – a very matter of life and death, involving struggles for survival which are fierce and primitive.
~ Reginald Somerset Ward, quoted in God at Every Gate: Prayers and blessings for pilgrims
A prayer for the beginning of a Lenten pilgrimage:
Heavenly Father, protector of all who trust in you, you led your people in safety through the desert and brought them to a land of plenty. Guide me as I begin my journey today. Fill me with your spirit of love. Preserve me from all harm and bring me safely to my destination. I ask this through Christ our Lord.
