Daily Office Readings for Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalm 9 and 15;
Exodus 18:13-27; 1st Peter 5:1 to 14; Matthew (1:1-17),3:1-6:
“Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.” (Psalm 25: 6)
This is an interesting proposition. The Psalmist is asking God to not see the sins of the Psalmist but rather to be judged by the love of God and the goodness of God.
I share this sentiment with the Psalmist. I am a sinner. I have erred and strayed from God’s ways on occasions. I am in real need of a loving and merciful God. I need a God whose mercy outweighs my wrongs. I need a God whose love makes me a better person, in spite of myself.
And then, living into God’s love, I will do my best to be a new and much better person. Like many, I am a work in progress. But also like many, I depend on God’s help and love to work in me, making me who God wants me to be understanding that God will gift me with what my community needs. And in the end, how do we want to be remembered? We want to be remembered according to God’s love and for the sake of God’s goodness.
I love these mornings when I come to this laptop and ponder the spiritual presence of God first thing in the morning. I know that each day brings a challenge and some enlightenment. I just pray that I let God do the work in me and that I just settle down and watch what happens, yes, even if for a moment it’s unpleasant. “Remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”
I pray that God also remembers and intervenes in Ukraine. They are in a desperate situation. Ukraine also prays, “Remember not the sins of our youth and our transgressions; remember us according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”
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 