Part 1 of 2
Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 5th Week in Lent: Year 1
Morning Psalms 131, and 132; Evening Psalms 140 and 142;
Jeremiah 26:1 to 16; Romans 11:1 to 12; John 10:19 to 42
“Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10: 25 to 30)
There are several profound statements made by our Lord Jesus here. The first is that “I have told you, and your do not believe.” We have it recorded that Jesus said it. We have the evidence of Jesus’ works that testify to who Jesus is. We, you and I, cannot hear his actual voice today. But we can read the actual words that he said, and believe. Moreover, in believing, we follow. We follow so as to have eternal life. If we believe and follow in the way of trusting love, it cannot be taken away from us. It is an eternal existence made by our Lord Jesus who with the Creator is One!
Part 2 of 2
Today is the Annunciation of the pregnancy of Mary with our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1:38)
In the first chapter of Luke we read how the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Christ, and how Mary answered, “Here I am, the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me as you have said.” (James Kiefer at The Annunciation (satucket.com )
Mary was of the lower socio-economic status. Yet, God was concerned with her heart, not her human status. God asks Mary to work with God for the salvation of all human kind. Mary was asked to help God with the salvation of humanity, even for those who didn’t like her. And Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And Mary became with child.
My beloved of the Lord, we are now exactly nine months from Christmas Day, 2021!
Let us live to love, more than we just love to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 