Part 1 of 2
Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 26: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 61 and 62; Evening, ;Psalm 68:
Nehemiah 12:27 to 31a, and 42b to 47; Revelation 11:1 to 19; Matthew 13:44 to 52:
“The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain, at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; you refreshed the land when it was weary:” (These are two verses from Psalm 68)
I just watched a video where people (many women and children of southern Madagascar) are starving due to global climate change. For them climate change is not political, it is life, or should I say, the ending of it. To read these words of a gracious rain in today’s Psalm 68 I thought how wonderful it would be for God to have it rain for these people, even in spite of the ecological negligence the rest of us perpetrate on them and others like them.
That God would have me catch this television article on the day of the words of Psalm 68 is no coincidence. That I am sharing these words with you is also no coincidence. You and I need to advocate for the downtrodden and our planet, this fragile earth our island home.`
Part 2 of 2
All Souls / All Faithful Departed
Psalm 130, Wisdom 3:1 to 9, 1st Thessalonians 4:13 to 18, and John 5:24 to 27:
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)
I like the part where it says, “does not come under judgment.” I have many deceased friends who did not claim a specific denomination nor attend Church regularly. But God knows their faith. We are not to judge them. That will be God’s job. These are the Faithful Departed which we remember today.
I like that our Church has set aside a day of remembrance for people we have lost to death. Some died of natural causes or disease. Some were victims of mass murder such as a school shooting or shootings at a public gathering; some were victims of terrorist attacks such as the attacks of 9/11. We should not let the evil plan of a sinful person or group determine when we mourn our loss. Our Church has a day for this. It is today. We remember them today and again give them to God Almighty where they have “passed from death to life.”
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
onewhoponders 