It is the fifth day of Lent, the lengthening of days, and this is a long one. It is literally later than you may think if you did not adjust your clocks.

It is always later than we think if we do not adjust our lives to God.

If we think we are  too bust for a "daily office," then we had better stay away from the office, because we are going to be scattered and bothered all day. This is the "pause that refreshes."

"Daily office" comes from the Latin "officium divinum" meaning "divine service" or "divine duty."

The scriptures for to day can be read here at Bible Gateway. I've prepared a page that has KJV, NIV, and The Message. Take your pick or read them all.

The common thread is God's judgment and mercy. Judgement is what we bring on ourselves. In fact, Jesus removes His volition from the judgment equation and puts it all on our response to His words with out words and choices. He extends mercy.

It is a recurring theme today:

Psalm 98:3:  "He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God."

Psalm 103:5: " Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies."

The harsh reality is, according to Daniel 9:7, "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments."

Nevertheless, verse 9 proclaims, "To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him."

Hebrews 2:17 calls Jesus, "a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."

The Message puts it this way in Hebrews 2:16-18, speaking of the life and death of Jesus on our behalf,  "It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed."

No wonder, Psalm 63:1 exclaims so eloquently in The Message, 

"God—you’re my God!
    I can’t get enough of you!
I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
    traveling across dry and weary deserts."

There is judgment for sin and we have sinned, but neither sin nor God's judgment were ever God's purpose. Neither was it the purpose of Jesus to condemn the world. He said, "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12:47b)

It is going to be a long day. It could be even longer without the gentle reminder of the mercy of God. Your officium divinum stops you for a moment to face the fact that, in your business, stress, and frantic pace of life, you, as I have, may have neglected or rejected the voice of God. It carries its own judgment and condemnation, but we need not carry either.

We need time to soak in the mercy of God. This is that time. It is a time to reflect and bathe in the love of the Father and the Son, in the very presence of the Spirit. It is a daily office and it is one we need to heed.