5th Week of Lent : Tuesday 23rd March 2021

It is more than a year now, of living life through Covid-19.  It has been a life filled with uncertainty; a life filled with spiritual, emotional, psychological, physical, relational and financial stress. No one has been spared of the different and multi-dimensional effects of this pandemic. There’s a lot of loss and grief in terms of health, life, relationships, job, security, finance, etc.  Sometimes it seems surreal — unreal. Many times, we wish it will just go away. Since our daily life has become more complicated and unpredictable, what can we do to live with hope?

Psalm 102 is the prayer of a person in distress. The person is agonising about his life situation. The person is not afraid to moan before God and express to God his sorrow and disappointment. He courageously says to God, “listen to my prayer… let my cry for help reach You” (v 1). He honestly tells God, “do not hide Your face from me in the day of distress … turn Your ear towards me and answer me quickly when I call” (v 2).

As he continues to pray, his spirit comes to the truth that God “will turn to the prayers of the helpless”; and that God “will not despise their prayers”(v 17). He understands that even though God’s sanctuary is on high, yet, God will lean down and look down from heaven to the earth (v 19) so that God “might hear” our “groans” and “free” us (v 20) for life and living.

Today, let us pray Ps 102 and draw strength to continue to live with hope.

Lord, You are the light of the world. Help us to follow You the light of life.