Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 29: Year 1
Morning, Psalm 137:1- to 6, and Psalm 144; Evening, Psalm 104:
Micah 7:11 to 20; 1st Peter 4:7 to 19; Matthew 20:29 to 34:
“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1st Peter 4: 8)
Saint Peter makes me very happy with these words. I am a sinner. But, I am also a lover of people. It is good to know that love covers a multitude of sins.
I believe our hearts are what lead us to do most of the things we do in life, whether it’s a passion for one of the art forms, or for particular people we want in our lives. I know that there are people who only act on logic and what makes sense as they see it. Perhaps they are the hardest to defend when sin occurs.
I do also believe that most just laws seek to understand where the lawbreaker’s heart was when a tragic event happens. I know someone who hit a person with her car. The person ran out in front of traffic at night before the driver had time to stop. The hit person died. While it was sad, it was not intentional. The driver had to have therapy before she was able to drive again.
If this event had been intentional, it would be sin, because the heart was not acting out of love. The courts also would hold the perpetrator accountable. Acting outside the realm of love for reason of revenge or whatever caused the crime or sin does not hold with “covers a multitude of sins.” It takes doing everything we do to be from love that will see us through.
Inevitably we will sin. We are not perfect. But when we reflect back over our sinful event, we don’t want to have to look too hard to see where our heart was. Love must be our foundational catalyst. It covers a multitude of sins.
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 