Thursday, March 28, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“Beneath the Cross of Jesus”

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty rock
within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat,
and the burden of the day.

Upon the cross of Jesus
mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One
who suffered there for me;
and from my stricken heart with tears
two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love
and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain or loss,
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.

by Elizabeth Cecilia Douglas Clephane
Hymn 216, Glory to God
verse 1–3

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Reflection

Today is Maundy Thursday, the day we Christians remember the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest.

We call it “Maundy” because of the mandatum, the commandment, that Jesus gave his disciples that night — that we should love one another as he has loved us.

Today’s hymn for reflection speaks of resting in the shadow of Jesus’ cross. The fact that Jesus was killed by the Roman Empire, along with others resisting their domination, is a shadow in our world. His death was an injustice and a grief to those who loved him. And that grief reverberates to us today. Today and tomorrow, we grieve.

We contemplate how forces of evil could take a good man’s life. Jesus did not run away, and he did not fight. He stood his ground. He was who he was.

The hymnist reflects on Jesus’ love and also the writer’s sense of unworthiness. Sometimes we can get stuck in that sense of unworthiness. But Jesus clearly thought that we are worthy of his great love.

If we obey Jesus’ commandment that we love as he loved, we would first love and respect ourselves and then love and respect all those whom we encounter. We would see worthiness in all people.

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Prayer
God of redeeming love, help me to feel my own worthiness, and help me to love in a way that affirms the inherent value of all others. Amen.

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Written by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Small Group Ministry

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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