“And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.””
Luke 19:41-44 ESV
Let us pray
Lord Jesus, as we journey through this Holy Week, help us to praise and to lament. Too often we struggle to understand how to truly give praise in our world and in our culture. We don’t want to forget or belittle the who You are but at times we struggle to find the words that will be recognized and heard. Help us to share all that we have seen of Your blessings in our world. In our own lives. Help us to speak about Your loving grace and how You call us and help us turn away from sin. Lord, help us communicate the deep relationship that blesses even a sinner like myself with forgiveness and new life.
Lord Jesus, Holy Week is not just about praise, it is also about lamenting. We also struggle with how to lament. Lord, we lament the brokenness in our own lives that we continually seem to encourage. We allow our eyes to drift from sins of lust, to greed, to pride, and over to idolatry. We lament a society that is more apt to do what is comfortable than listening to Your Holy Spirit guiding us in the ways of righteousness. We lament the destruction that is caused by violence and how readily people are to ignore the value in each life.
Lord, Holy Week is a time of great expectation and hope, but it is also a time of disillusionment and reformation. Help us to live in the tension of this week of faith where all is laid bare. Lord we pray this in Your Holy Name, Amen.