Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the 3rd Week of Epiphany: Year 1
Morning, Psalm 55; Evening, Psalms 138 and 139:1 to 17;
Isaiah 51:1 to 8; Galatians 3:23to29; Mark 7:1to23
“Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.” (Isaiah 51:1 and 2)
Perhaps this is what John the Baptist meant when he said God can raise children to Abraham from stones” (Matthew 3:9). In my own pursuit of righteousness I am a continuous work in progress. I am being hewn from a rough cut stone to one that, I pray, will fit well in God’s structure.
Today I am enjoying the Sabbath. Even in writing this blog I contemplate the wonderful mysteries of God. I like thinking about the relationship that Abraham had, or has, with God. I like thinking about the relationship the writers of Isaiah have with God. I ponder my own connection with God in Christ Jesus. I am thankful for how far I have come but also looking forward to where I want to go. How far I want to go probably has no end except to be with God. I ponder what that might be like.
I invite you to join me in the pursuit of righteousness. Join me in seeking the Lord. We do this by our God-given faith. We believe and we behave in accordance with our faith. Let us relax today and read articles and literature that strengthens our faith. Let us listen to hymns and maybe have conversation with like minded believers, not as an act of work, but as a pleasant assurance.
Also, today we remember St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Theologian 1274
“Thomas understood God’s disclosure of his Name, in Exodus 3:14, “I Am Who I Am,” to mean that God is Being, the Ultimate Reality from which everything else derives its being. The difference between God and the world is that God’s essence is to exist, whereas all other beings derive their being from him by the act of creation.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for January 28)
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 