Reflection for the Third Sunday in Lent
By the Rev’d. Allison K. Dean
Listen to this reflection here.
(Find last week’s reflection here)
The collect for the Third Sunday in Lent reads,
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The old gospel song says, “your grace and mercy brought me through; I’m living this moment because of you. I want to thank you and praise you too; your grace and mercy brought me through”.
As I said last week, mercy and grace are two sides of the same coin. God’s mercy is manifested in the compassion he shows by withholding the punishment we deserve for our sin. This is a necessary facet of God’s love for us because without it there would be no hope for any of us, since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The other side of the coin is grace which the catechism tells us is “God’s favour towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God… enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills” (p. 409). Grace, then, is the facet of God’s love which works in and for us to restore us to wholeness and enable us to live lives according to the will and purpose of God.
We begin to understand just how important grace is when we take to heart the first part of this week’s collect: …we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves …
At first, we may resist this devastating truth. What could the author of this collect have been thinking to even suggest that by ourselves, and in our own strength, we are unable to do any better? Well, I imagine that they called to mind St. Paul’s words in Romans 7, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (15, 18b–19). Or maybe they just looked at the history of the world, or even their own life, and realised that humanity is always fighting wars, always oppressing some group or other, forever desiring precisely those things which are worst for us. War between Russia and Ukraine, war between Israel and Hamas, gangs overrunning Haiti. In our own backyard, an alarming rise in the number of suicide attempts, significantly higher numbers of chlamydia cases, a cost-of-living crisis, not to mention the abuse, drug use and violent crime that are tearing apart the fabric of our society.
If we are to ever break from of the burden of sin God must break the chain for us, because if he doesn’t do it, it will not be done, because …we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves …
Once we acknowledge and accept this reality, we can pray with greater clarity and urgency. Hebrews 4 tells us that because of Jesus Christ we can find grace to help in time of need (v. 16). So, in the face of great trial we call to our aid the most powerful defence possible: God himself, as we pray …keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul. In this petition we are asking the One who knows all, sees all, and who has all power and authority, to keep us. Commenting on this collect, Frederick Barbee and Paul Zahl say, “We petition God to keep us safe externally (Psalm 91) and also safe within ourselves (Psalm 32). Hold us, grasp us, claim us, do not let us slip through your fingers… like grains of sand.”1
To be saved is a work of grace.
To be preserved from falling into temptation is a work of grace.
To be recipients of God’s love while we are yet sinners is a work of grace, just as the prodigal son was not only forgiven, but was restored to his place as a son, even after all he had done (see Luke 15:11-32).
Nothing takes away our personal responsibility; we will certainly have to give an account to God for the life we’ve lived here on earth. But we can never say too much about, nor thank God enough for, his marvellous, infinite, matchless grace.
I leave you with a hymn by Annie Johnson Flint I came across while writing this reflection. The style of writing is older, but it remains a strong statement about grace:
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labours increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
1 C. Frederick Barbee & Paul F. M. Zahl The Collects of Thomas Cranmer. 1999. p. 37