Prayer Service Feb. 17

Day 9: Friday,  February 17, 2012

Jericho, Mt. of Temptations, Greek Orthodox Monastery, Qumran, Dead Sea, House of Mary and Martha.

Today we travel out into the Judean desert to the ancient city of Jericho …..Here Joshua led the Israelites out of the forty years in the desert into the promised land…"and the walls came tumbling down"…..

Jericho was the scene of:

• Blind Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46)
• the publican, Zachaeus (Lk 19:1)
• the Parable of the Good Samaritan is set on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (Lk 10:29)

Across the fertile oasis of Jericho the Mountain of the Temptation of Jesus rises. (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12; Lk 4:1). After His Baptism, Jesus went to pray on this desolate, threatening mountain.  Here Jesus is tested by Satan, who questions, is this the Messiah? This passage makes clear the kind of Messiah Jesus is….What kind of Church Jesus builds….

He..It lives by the Word of God…

He..It does not challenge God's promises…

He..It adores and serves God alone….

On this mountain we see Jesus rejecting in anticipation the temptations His Church would have to live through.

• Jesus takes on our temptations
• Jesus is our example of fidelity to God's life within us.
• Jesus is even more than our example. In grace – God's life within us – Jesus empowers us to be faithful to the Divine Life of  Love, Truth, Fidelity, Gratitude, Peace. 

As we travel to Jericho, do you feel today more like

- Bartimaeus…

- Zachaeus…

- the wounded man on the way to Jericho…

-  the Good Samaritan…

-  Jesus on the mountain being tempted…

Recall the story you are attracted to… let it draw out what is in your heart at this moment…In trust speak your heart to Jesus, The Savior who loves you so…..

– Silent Prayer –

Lord Jesus, let anything in my mind, heart, attitude that is different from what is in Your mind, heart, attitude come tumbling down like the Walls of Jericho came down at Joshua's prayer…

SING:

Joshua at the Battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho

Joshua at the Battle of Jericho

And the walls came tumbling down. (3X)

We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:

1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus