Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Lent: Year 1
Morning Psalm 72; Evening Psalm 119:73 to 96;
Jeremiah 3:6 to 18; Romans 1:28 to 2:11; John 5:1 to18
“Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)
At one point in my life I was training to be a machine shop operator. After our school training was completed places of employment were found for us. I was hired at a printing machine company. My supervisor’s name was Clyde Hampton, (I don’t know if he is still with us), and he was very patient and kind with me at a time when I had low moral values. I had a poor work ethic even though my dad had raised me to work for what I needed. I was in my late teens, rebellious and thought I could outsmart Mr. Hampton. It was later in life that I realized how patient and kind Mr. Hampton was with me. He never threatened me with firing me even after I had been repeatedly late for work. His kindness and patients I remembered later in life and was truly sorry for not being a better worker for him. Lent is a time of spiritual maturation.
I think if my machine shop supervisor tried to use intimidation on me it would have resulted in an adversarial employee relationship, one which would not have favored me and I would have been fired. As it turned out, albeit much later, I repented of my callous ways and begin to take work responsibilities more seriously. I matured both morally and spiritually.
God brings us in with kindness and patience. Wrath may be in store for some, but we have choices. Let us not behave only to avoid wrath, rather, let us be brought to our knees in tearful sorrow and the need to amend our lives. Sadly, we can learn a lot about ourselves through experiences we can’t go back and change. However, we can learn from them and make a real change in the way we go about our lives moving forward. I have learned this from my dad, from Clyde Hampton and from the stories of our saints in Christ Jesus.
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 