Fifth Day of Lent

Fifth Day of Lent

Monday, March 6, 2017

And he will be a sanctuary . . . a stone that causes men to stumble . . . a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.  Isaiah 8:14

I like words. I like the connotations they convey just by their sound and the way they feel in my mouth. And when I add to the sound and feel the meaning of the word, it’s even more pleasing to my ear and senses.

Like sanctuary. Great word! It sounds so safe. On an island just off our coast, pelicans – white ones on one island – quietly rest. Even they seem to know that sanctuary is a safe word.

But though the verse above begins by sounding safe, it surely does not continue in that vein. A sanctuary that causes men to stumble -- that is a trap and a snare? Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Not in the least. Jesus, our cornerstone, is our sanctuary, and for those of us who have taken our place in him, that sanctuary is a secure place indeed.

Isaiah knew, however, that all would not accept that sanctuary. Some would say it was impossible for any man to live, die, atone for sin, and return to life. For them Jesus would become a rock too big to get over, a trap because they refused to believe. They’d make it through life on their own and sense no need for the security of Jesus.

The choice appears to be ours. Do we want to know the Lord as sanctuary and trust him to be and do all that the word implies? Or for us will his death and resurrection be so difficult to accept that he becomes a rock that makes [us] fall?

Prayer: Father, we need a sanctuary. Help us to accept your being for us a safe place. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator