Today's Reading: Introit for Oculi(Psalm 25)
Daily Lectionary: Genesis 27:1-24; Mark 8:22-38
“My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted.” (Psalm 25:15-16)
Happy Lent! In the name of Jesus. Amen. Where do you look for certainty in this world? We like to look everywhere and anywhere, but to the Lord. We look to ourselves for certainty—how long it was since we did this sin or that. We don’t look too bad—at least not as bad as those people anyway. You know the ones. You know what they do.
Given the time and opportunity, we’ll do the very same things that they do. Terrible sins—sins that the unbelievers wouldn’t even do. Or we join them in the unbelieving things they do. Can others even tell the difference between what they do and what we do? We seem to look pretty much the same.
So where are you going to look for comfort? You can’t look at yourself. You can’t look at others. Where will you look to find peace?
Your Oculiare your eyes. The third week of Lent directs our eyes to the Lord. Eyes on the Lord Jesus. He alone saves us
You can’t save yourself—not even by your looking to God. He looks at you, He has mercy on you, He forgives you. He sends His Son into your flesh. He even has eyes like you—but His are always on the Father.
The Cross—that’s what God sees when He looks at you. He sees the suffering and death of His Son. The Cross is where your forgiveness was won. The Cross is where your salvation was achieved. So, how do you put your eyes on Jesus’ Cross?
Look to where Jesus makes His Cross yours! Eyes on the Word, where He delivers all that Jesus did for you. Eyes on the water, where your sins were washed away. Eyes on His Supper, where Jesus gives you His body to eat and His blood to drink for the forgiveness of all your sins.
As you enter the week of Oculi, repent of where your eyes have been. Don’t look at yourself anymore. Fix your eyes on Jesus and where He delivers to you His forgiveness. There you will see God’s forgiveness and His happy Lent. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; the troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.” (Psalm 25:1-2, 17-18, 20)