Voice: Emily
Today is Tuesday, 17th of February. We are now just a day from the start of the Season of Lent. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.
Today is the first day of Chinese New Year. So, we wish you a blessed Chinese New Year as you spend many meaningful moments with your family, relatives and friends.
There are a some ways to engaged with the Season of Lent meaningfully and these weekday devotions can slowly guide us to observe that.
Let us take a moment to be still in His presence. May you hear the Lord and encounter Him anew in this new day that the Lord has made.
Psalm 52
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
2 Your tongue plots destruction,
like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5 But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous shall see and fear,
and shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “See the man who would not make
God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
and sought refuge in his own destruction!”[b]
8 But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
9 I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Genesis 31:18-28
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
From Pit to Profit
If not for Reuben’s intervention, Joseph’s life might have ended in the pit. That would have been the second recorded fratricide in Genesis—after Cain killed Abel.
The depravity of the human heart is already evident in the early chapters of Scripture.
Reuben urges his brothers not to shed Joseph’s blood, intending secretly to rescue him later. But events move beyond his control. Instead of murder, the brothers conspire to sell Joseph into slavery.
Judah says:
“What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?”
This is not compassion—it is cold calculation.
Notice the chilling detail in verse 25:
“Then they sat down to eat.”
Joseph is in the pit, pleading.
The brothers are eating.
This is not merely cruelty; it is indifference. Sin has dulled their hearts so deeply that they can satisfy their hunger while their brother suffers below them.
This story exposes how warped human nature can become.
We may not throw someone into a literal pit. But jealousy, rivalry, resentment, and cold pragmatism still operate in subtler ways.
We see it:
- In homes fractured by comparison and favouritism.
- In offices shaped by ambition and competition.
- In classrooms where bullying isolates and humiliates.
- Even, tragically, in our parish communities.
Among our young people, bullying has become a serious concern in recent years. Its consequences can be devastating. Many youths, like Joseph, are thrown into pits of rejection and shame at a very early stage of life.
The pit is not always made of stone.
Sometimes it is made of words.
Sometimes silence.
Sometimes exclusion.
As we approach the Season of Lent, this passage invites sober reflection.
There is evil not only “out there” but also within us. Jeremiah reminds us that the heart is deceitful. The brothers’ story shows us how quickly envy can escalate.
Lent calls us to:
- Confession where there is hardness in our own hearts.
- Intercession where others are suffering injustice.
We need grace.
We need mercy.
The world still needs the Gospel—perhaps more than ever.
Take a moment to pray:
- For victims of injustice.
- For young people who feel trapped in pits of rejection.
- For those who carry wounds inflicted by others.
- For your own heart—that it may grow in compassion and love.
Ask the Lord to search you.
To soften what has become hard.
To awaken what has grown numb.
May we not be those who sit down to eat while others suffer.
We end with a Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan, 339-397
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore thee, a heart to delight in thee,
to follow and to enjoy thee, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Be blessed by this hymn, Abide with Me, which was inspired by the Journey to Emmaus.
1 Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
2 Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see.
O thou who changest not, abide with me.
3 I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and strength can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
4 I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless,
ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
5 Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
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Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at terrywong@anglican.org.sg
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