Saturday, April 1, 2023

Today’s Scripture Reading 
Zechariah 9:9–12

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. (NRSV)

Reflection

“Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope.” This phrase goes against what I’ve learned about hope — especially how to hope for things in dark places, that hope is the tiny glimmer of light that shines out upon us, illuminated by faith in things unseen. But to phrase this as though hope is what keeps us imprisoned shifts what I’ve held onto as the stereotype of hope.

Maybe this time, as we await Zion’s king, in this Lenten season the perceived hope — the way we’ve always expected hope, and Jesus, and God, and Love to join us, to reside with us — maybe, just maybe that’s changing this year. Maybe hope will look very different now, especially as God’s promise is to restore twice as much to you. Maybe our expectations are just that: expectations; maybe it’s about fully surrendering any hope to God and allowing what God sees fit to yield unto us during Lent.

Prayer

In this darkened season of Lent, let us hold onto hope — but hope that is transformative. Hope that bestows upon us a new enlightened sense of surrender, of letting go of what we expect hope to be to allow God to surprise us, to restore twice as much to us. Through your grace and forgiveness, we look forward to your Easter promise. Amen.

Written by Jessica Wang, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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