Deliverance
Deliver us from evil.
Reading (Mark 15: 22-37)
They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of the Skull. There they nailed him to a cross. It was morning. The crowd standing around reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "So you will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! Save yourself by coming down from the cross."
The chief priests and the scribes also mocked him and said, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If you are the Messiah, come down from that cross , that we may see it and believe in you."
At noon darkness came over the earth. Later in the afternoon he cried out in a loud voice from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
A little later Jesus cried out again; then he gave up his life.
Song (Psalm 22)
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from my call for help,
From my cries of anguish?All who see me mock me;
They curl their lips and jeer.
They shake their heads at me,
"You relied on the Lord; let him deliver you.
If he loves you, let him rescue you."Many dogs surround me;
A pack of evildoers closes in on me.
So wasted are my hands and feet,
That I can count all my bones.
They stare at me and gloat.
They divide my garments among them;
For my clothing they cast lots.
Reflection
We will never fully understand why evil is present in the world. We find it everywhere, sometimes in horrific forms. It even finds its way into our own hearts, leading us into evil though we do not desire it.At times evil seems to dominate the world, but it is not so. Evil entered its final conflict with the good when it crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, but it did not prevail. Evil tried to destroy the Holy One of God, but it could not overcome his spirit. By submitting to death on the cross, the Lord Jesus has once and for all delivered the world from the forces of evil and sin.
And so we need not fear the evil in the world around us. We have an advocate and protector who takes up our cause against evil. We have learned from Jesus that the body can be destroyed, but not the spirit. When we become his followers, we no longer live for this life and for the comforts of the body. We live for the Lord and for the comfort of the Spirit.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are our protector in the struggle against all that would separate us from the love of God. We place ourselves under your loving care. May we remain faithful to your way of truth, that we may be worthy of the victory you have won for us.