Voice: Doreen
Today is Wednesday, 4th of March. We pause to prepare our hearts to hear His voice.
The Opening Sentence:
Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Isaiah 57:15
Psalm 35:10-18
All my bones shall say,
“O Lord, who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.
13 But I, when they were sick—
I wore sackcloth;
I afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
14 I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
I bowed down in mourning.
15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me;
wretches whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
16 like profane mockers at a feast,
they gnash at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destruction,
my precious life from the lions!
18 I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
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.
Hebrews 2:14-18
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Our Bodily Hope
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the writer painstakingly explains why Jesus had to be fully human. To some Jewish believers, this teaching may have seemed to diminish the grandeur of their traditional understanding of the divine God. How could the Holy One truly share in human weakness? Yet this truth was not a concession—it was necessary for our salvation.
As Gregory of Nazianzus in the 4th century famously wrote, “What is not assumed is not redeemed.” In other words, if Christ did not fully assume our humanity, then our humanity would not be saved.
Hebrews 2:17 declares:
“…he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
The phrase “in every respect” is crucial. Jesus did not merely appear human; He truly entered into our embodied existence.
Hebrews 2:18 continues:
“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
We have bodies. They are astonishing in their complexity and beauty. Yet they can also be sources of deep struggle and despair. To feel enslaved to bodily weakness is no small burden. Illnesses, emotional disorders, addictions, and sexual struggles can create painful battles between a person and his or her own body.
Throughout history—and especially in our modern age—we have tried either to master the body or to distance ourselves from it. We exercise rigorously, pursue mindfulness practices, and adopt strategies to manage stress and pain. We rely on medicine to sustain or enhance bodily function. Sometimes, we turn to substances not merely for healing but for escape—seeking relief from the fragility and frustration of our embodied lives.
In tragic cases, some see suicide as the ultimate escape from this bodily captivity.
The apostle Paul gives voice to this cry in Epistle to the Romans 7:24:
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Yet the Christian hope is not deliverance from the body but through it.
Jesus did not despise bodily weakness; He embraced it. He lived within it. He suffered within it. He was “tempted just as we are”—and yet without sin. He endured betrayal, pain, exhaustion, and ultimately crucifixion. His body was broken. But it was not abandoned. It was finally raised and renewed.
This is our resurrection hope.
Because Christ assumed our full humanity, our embodied life is not meaningless or beyond redemption. We need not despise nor surrender to despair because of their frailty. Our present bodily existence, though marked by fallenness, is the very sphere in which God works His saving grace.
And the story does not end here. In Christ, we are promised their transformation. The resurrection affirms that what God created good, He intends to restore. The body that now knows weakness will one day know renewal. The limitations we struggle with now will not have the final word.
Therefore, our hope is neither denial nor escape. It is redemption.
Both now…and forever.
So we pray again the collect for Ash Wednesday. Note especially the second line:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Be blessed by, Forever, sung by Nathan Pacheco
The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Savior of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse upon Him
One final breath He gave
As heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken
The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King
Has rendered you defeated
Forever He is glorified
Forever He is lifted high
Forever He is risen
He is alive, He is alive
We sing Hallelujah, we sing Hallelujah
We sing Hallelujah, the Lamb has overcome
In the album, HIGHER, by NATHAN PACHECO
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 info@mpcc.org.sg
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