Part 1 of 2
Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 19: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 24 and 29; Evening, Psalms 8 and 84;
1st Kings 19:8 to 21; Acts 5:34 to 42; John 11:45 to 57:
“But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed:” (John 11:49 and 50).
So ironically true. Our Lord Jesus gave himself for us in order to show total love for us. It is in the Gospel of John where we read that Jesus says, “I give you a new Commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (In the synoptic Gospel writings it says, “love you neighbor as you love yourself.”) There is a big difference. Some people don’t love themselves. Jesus loved us to death.
Part 2 of 2
New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 19: Year B
James 3:1 to 12 and Mark 8:27 to 38:
“He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”
Peter answers, “The Messiah.” This means “the Anointed One.” This means “the Christ.” But no matter which title we use, it means that of all creation, and particularly all humanity, this Person that they, and we, perceive to be from the city of Nazareth of Galilee, is the very presence of God on earth. And without consideration for time, this Jesus is the God of all the humanity that came before him and of all of us who came after. God created time along with everything else in creation. In this way we, and all creation, have a beginning and an end. The one exception that God interjected into our timeline is our gift of the Sabbath, or Seventh Day, each week.
Our Lord Jesus asks us the same thing. Who do you say Jesus is? As late followers of Jesus we say who we believe Jesus is by how we live out our lives and how we treat others. Do we make time in our limited amount of time in this existence to remember God and show respect to and for our Creator? We have already been told that loving God and loving others is the godly life.
If we live godly lives, God will bring us away from this entrapment of time and keep us in that heavenly realm, forever! Who is Jesus? Jesus is our Savior. Amen.
As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
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