Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the 2nd Week of Epiphany: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 30 and 32; Evening, Psalms 42 and 43:
Isaiah 46:1 to 13; Ephesians 6:10 to 24; Mark 5:1 to 20
“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)
Personally, I have always had a problem believing in evil spirits. They are present in the man living among the tombs in our Gospel reading from Mark today. I fully accept the good Spirit of God but question the possibility of an evil spirit. I don’t know why.
It might be my limited understanding of psychology. I think the way people think about life has a lot to do with how they behave in life. What we believe shapes how we live. I also believe that all of us have some degree of mental illness and thus we need each other. And collectively, we all need our Lord Jesus whom I believe has no mental illness at all.
For me, praying in the Spirit, as Paul suggests, connects me with my Lord Jesus and all the saints, past and present. We all need help. It is a form of arrogance to assume we don’t. Maybe the last hurdle for society to overcome is the loving embrace of ourselves, acknowledging our mental challenges and the availability of God’s help.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine.
As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 