Friday, April 2, 2021

In the Pursuit of Holiness

 Today is Good Friday.  As with each Friday (and Wednesday), it is a day when, in addition to the Daily Office, I pray The Litany from the Book of Common Prayer.  During this prayer time, there was a line in the prayer, just prior to the concluding prayer, that stood out to me.  Actually, it often stands out to me, but today it stood out in a particular way.

The prayer asks that the Father would grant that we may ". . . evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living . . ."  (I am using Wesley's version, thus the "thee.")  This brought to my mind Hebrews 12:14, which says (in the NRSV) "Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."  The words that stood out in the verse for me, as I prayed were pursue and holiness.  

This, too, reminded me of Philippians 3:12-14:

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

What stood out for me in this verse was the idea of straining forward and press[ing] on toward the goal.

All of this reminded me of something that a friend and colleague, Rev'd. Jared Henry, once said.  (Paraphrasing) he said that there is a world of difference between the person who tries to avoid sin and the person who is pursuing holiness.

I want to be one who pursues holiness and evermore serves the Lord in holiness and pureness of living, to the honor and glory of our God!  -  Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

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