Part 1 of 2
Daily Office Readings for Sunday of the Last Week of Epiphany: Year 1
AM Psalms 148, 149 and 150; PM Psalms 114 and 115;
Deuteronomy 6:1to9; Hebrews 12:18to29; John 12:24to32
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:4 to 7)
These words in the Hebrew are called the “Shema,” and are important in Jewish prayer regarding the loyalty we should have to God, the One God. I have these words inscribed on a paper and sealed in a tube that I purchased when I visited Jerusalem, Israel. And they are to be placed on my front door. I have not done this yet. I want it to be placed on the front door of the house that I think is going to be my last house. I’m not sure this house is it at this writing.
These words in a tube are of the utmost importance. We are to love our unseen God and at the same time inform our children about God. This means having “teaching time,” at home. God is real and God loves us. This is also the message of our Lord Jesus.
Part 2 of 2
Eucharistic Readings for the Last Week of Epiphany: Year B
2nd Kings 2:1to12; Psalm 50:1to6; 2nd Corinthians 4:3to6; Mark 9:2to9
“Six days later Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.” (Mark 9: 2 and 3)
Jesus invites Peter, James and John to see his inner light. We, all true believers, have within us this little light. I like singing the hymn, “This little light of mine.” It shares the potential all Christians have to be a beacon to the world. This is important as we approach the Season of Lent. Lent is a dark time of reflection. Epiphany is a season of light that transitions into Lent, a season of darkness. Therefore we must light our internal lamps and keep them lit in order that they will guide us through weeks of reflection in this dark, and pandemic ridden, politically polarized, world.
Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 