Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 28: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 97 and 99; Evening, Psalm 94;
1st Maccabees 3:25 to 41; Revelation 21:1 to 8; Matthew 17:14 to 21:
“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith.” (Matthew 17:19 and 20)
The Gospel accounts, and perhaps the whole of the Bible, require intense study. I noticed that while our readings from Matthew are from chapter 17: verses 14 to verse 21. However, there was no verse 21 in the NRSV that I started with. So I went to other Gospel accounts that covered the same story. Lo and behold, Mark has a different response from Jesus to the disciples, and to us. The notes in the Matthew version acknowledge that “some manuscripts have what is in Mark, that is Jesus saying, “this kind can come out only by prayer.” Mark 9:29.”
While the original, or some version of Matthew might have had the same words before a redaction, the point is, prayer is so important. I am not talking about audible, out loud prayer. I am talking about sitting silently with God and asking for help. God is a Spiritual presence that is always with us, waiting to help us because God loves us. We just need to ask God for the help we need, and then we just let God do what God does.
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 