The Lord and His Offerings

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.

Each year, as we begin this season of Lent, as we mark the occasion called Ash Wednesday, the Church hears again the words of the prophet Joel, calling the people of God to repentance and faith in the Lord God of Israel.

Such is the portrait of repentance the Holy Scriptures teach you. Return to the Lord with all your heart. Rend your heart, and not your garments. Be broken inside, where the Lord sees and knows what is in your heart.

Let the Bones Which You Have Broken Rejoice

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.” That phrase seems like a hard pill to swallow. How can broken bones rejoice? Why would we rejoice in pain and suffering? Brokenness should induce sorrow and weeping, not praise and rejoicing. But in Psalm 51, David leads us in the pattern of true repentance.

Psalm 51 is set amidst a situation of deep grief for sin. King David had seen Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop, and lusted over her. So he called for her and seduced her, and impregnated her. When David found out she was pregnant, he tried to cover up his sin by bringing Uriah, her husband, home from battle. However, Uriah was a righteous man, and he refused to lie with his wife while his troops were in battle. So, David had Uriah sent to his death on the front line. Then he took Bathsheba as his wife. However, the prophet Nathan was sent by God to call David to account for his sins, and David was stricken with grief and contrition. His contrition pleased the Lord, but because of his sin, the son conceived in David's adultery died soon after birth.