Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 3rd Week of Easter: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 37:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 37:19 to 42;
Exodus 20:1 to 21; Colossians 1:24 to 2:7; Matthew 4:1 to 11:
(Psalm 37: 3 to 7) I really like these verses. Let’s look at them individually.
3 “Put your trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches.” As I have mentioned before, “Trust” is a better word than “believe.” We must trust in God and know that God is Good, all the time. Also, God has given us this good earth with all that we need to sustain ourselves. This is why we should always ask for blessings over anything we are about to eat that it may nourish our bodies and that our bodies my do God’s will.
4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he shall give you your heart’s desire.” What our heart desires often changes as we mature. Fancy cars and clothes no longer interest me. Now I desire truth and love and good friends and a faithful worship community.
5 “Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass.” So, again, the word trust comes into play. But let us not trust human concepts. But rather, let us trust in God in general to make things the way God wants them to be, in God’s own way.
6 “He will make your righteousness as clear as the light and your just dealing as the noonday.” What is good and right will hold up in the light. Our call is to let go and let God.
7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” So we are wanting things done, and done now! We have a hard time “waiting” for the Lord. We need to take a metaphorical knee, and wait for the Lord. Amen.
Today we recall from Lesser Feasts & Fasts 2018
“The Roman Catholic Church commemorates the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on this date: men and women who were executed for treason between 1535 and 1679 for their allegiance to the Catholic Church. In recent years, the Church of England has shared this commemoration, broadening it to all of the English saints and martyrs of the Reformation era. This commemoration remembers not only Anglican martyrs like Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, and Nicholas Ridley, who died for their adherence to the Church of England, but those Catholics who were killed by Anglicans – along with all other Christians who were persecuted by their fellow Christians for their beliefs, most notably the Anabaptists and the Quakers.”
No faith or faith tradition owns God, and certainly no Christian faith should harm of kill in the name of Jesus, except in the defense of the Christian Faith in any of its manifestations, or in the protection of one’s nation.
Today, I also bring to mind the brave saints of Ukraine of whom many have already fought, some dying, to save their homeland, their nation. These brave and faithful souls must also be remembered in our prayers as the faithful brave among us.
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 