Our epistle lesson speaks of Jesus’ “reverent submission” to God in the circumstances of his life. That is what our call to follow Jesus requires, what it takes to walk the way of the cross, to accept that Everything Belongs as Richard Rohr puts it in his book of that title. That is the lesson of the grain of wheat in our gospel lesson. Before we can be fruitful in God’s realm, we have to allow ourselves to be planted in the Ground of our being, the soil of God’s love, where we can undergo whatever it takes to crack open the hard shell of our hearts so that new life can burst forth. Our “reverent submission” to and trust in the process assures our unfolding in a holy and life-giving way to the glory of God.

As we walk, or dance, or stumble through this last week of preparation for Holy Week, we are blessed to read the psalm appointed for today. Tradition says Psalm 51 was written by King David in response to his being confronted by the prophet Nathan’s “parable of the ewe lamb” and the announcement, “You are the man!” (II Sam.12:1-7) The psalm is an example of “reverent submission” to God’s holy ways.

Take time to read it now. Hear the Holy One say, “You are the one!” and respond with your whole heart. As a special discipline, you might choose to read it aloud slowly every day this week, rejoicing that God told Jeremiah, “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sins no more.”