Lent, Day Thirty-Seven, Fifth Thursday of Lent
How do I open my closed hands? Certainly not by violence. Not by a compulsive decision. Perhaps you can find a way to prayer in the words of the angel to the frightened shepherds--Don' be afraid of him who wants to enter your space where you live or to let him see what you are clinging to so anxiously. Don't be afraid to show the clammy coin which will buy so little anyway. Don't be afraid to offer your hate, bitterness, disappointment to him who reveals himself as love. Even if you have little to show, don't be afraid to let it be seen. You keep catching yourself wanting to deceive the other by putting on a semblance of beauty, by holding back everything dirty and spoiled, by clearing a little path that looks very proper. But that is compulsive, forced and artificial.
Henri J.M. Nouwen
With Open Hands, pg 74
Scripture:
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[a] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1:12-13, 17-18
PRAYER
God of openness and truth, when I make a clenched hand, let me see it as a symbol of violence and anger. Make my hands open as promises of friendship and love. Open my heart as well so that it is transparent and honest. Let me reveal myself in love and let me no longer rely on the pretense of perfection. Instead, let my sins reveal my humanity. Amen.
LENTEN ACTION
Instead of focusing on the faults of others (which may be mirrors of one's own failings), make a humble assessment of your own acts of greed, selfishness, and unkindness. Make amends to those you have hurt.
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