MEANS: look at or observe
attentively, typically over a period of time; keep under careful, protective,
or secret observation; observe and guard in a protective way; follow closely or
maintain an interest in; exercise care, caution, or restraint about; look out
or be on the alert for; be careful.
FROM: Old English wæcce
watchfulness;’wæccende ‘remaining
awake’
BIBLE VERSE: Then he returned to his disciples and found them
sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn't you keep watch for one hour?” (Mark 14:37)
THOUGHTS: This
verse is familiar from the Passion narrative of Jesus in the garden before his
arrest. He asks Peter, James, and John to watch and pray with him, but they
fall asleep. Some churches hold an all-night vigil sometime during Holy Week
(usually from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday) to commemorate this scene and
allow us to sit and pray for an hour, or more. It is a moving time. Sitting in
the silence of the church or chapel, you do find it hard to remain focused and
prayerful. How much more would the disciples have found it hard to stay awake
after the Passover meal and Jesus’ unusual words. “This is my Body…this is my
Blood.” Weighed down by emotion and food, they slept, only to be roused by the
Master’s sorrowful words, ‘could you not keep watch for one hour?’
If you have the opportunity to keep vigil with Jesus this
Holy Week, I encourage you to do so. You might take the time to sit with the
words we’ve looked at since January; and ponder what they mean in light of your
life this Holy Week.
PRAYER: Blessed Jesus, help me to watch with you and
walk with you this Holy Week along the path to the cross. Let me not fear my
own cross, but to gladly follow you to victory.
o
MEANS: produce or provide (a natural,
agricultural, or industrial product); produce or deliver (a result or gain); generate
(a specified financial return); give way to arguments, demands, or pressure; relinquish
possession of (something); give (something) up; cease to argue about; give way
under force or pressure
FROM: Old English g(i)eldan ‘pay, repay,’ of Germanic origin.
BIBLE VERSE: Be patient, then, brothers and sisters,
until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently
waiting for the autumn and spring rains. (James 5:7)
THOUGHTS: As we
come to the end of the alphabet and this series of meditations (there being no
‘x’ or ‘z’ words), I invite you to consider whether the discipline of looking
at a few Bible words and citations has yielded any results in your heart. Is
there any ‘payment’ of a new insight or two? Is there a new ‘crop’ of ideas to
ponder going forward?
The citation says that the farmer waits for the land to yield
its valuable crop. In the same way, our Lord patiently waits for our faith to
produce something, and that requires yielding ourselves to God's leading.
There is a story called the "
Daffodil Principle" that encapsulates how small, daily efforts can result in great beauty. This is the story of one woman's quest to beautify a hillside, one daffodil at a time. It concludes by saying "
It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of
yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause
for regret is to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?' "
PRAYER: May my
heart be planted with your word to yield new life each day.
SCRAPBOOK PROMPTS:
You might jot down thoughts that come as you keep vigil with
God.
Draw a field or garden of flowers, and label some of them
with the fruits you bear.
Consider how these words and others in this series have
given you insight into yourself or God.
In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul specifies that God
‘gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’. What is this a victory
from or over? In the verses before, Paul talks about our ultimate resurrection
when “the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised…” (Echoes of the
trumpets in this passage from Handel’s Messiah
in my head!) He says that “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Verse 57 affirms
that we have victory over sin and death in Christ. Christ’s Resurrection has
‘won for us the victory’. There are in fact at least 34 verses in the Bible
telling of God’s work in bringing a victory for God’s people. As we enter the last couple of weeks before Easter, it is a reminder of the
price paid so that the Love of God could win such a victory.
