Daily Office Readings for Monday of Easter Week: Year 1
Morning Psalms 93 and 98; Evening Psalm, 66;
Jonah 2:1 to 9; Acts 2:14 and 22 to 32; or 1st Corinthians 15:1 to 11; John 14:1 to 14
“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh experience corruption.” This Jesus, God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.” (Acts 2: 29 to 32)
This Acts passage is assigned for both our Daily Office reading and is a part of our Eucharistic devotion for this Monday in Easter Week. It must be important. Cephas, or Simon Peter, has come a long way since his days as a fisherman. He is now instructing Israelites on matters of theology and Hebrew history.
According to Peter, God kept the promise made to David concerning a human born in the house of David that would be our Messiah, the Christ. Peter quotes from one of David’s Psalms concerning the future descendent in saying, “For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit,” (Psalm 16:10), attributed to David.
We know from scripture that David was a shepherd, a musician, a writer of Psalms, a warrior- giant slayer, a king, and now, a prophet, according to Peter. David, like Peter, is a part of our Christian history. Maybe this is why this passage is in both our Daily Office Reading as well as our Monday Eucharistic Reading. Perhaps the Church, if not God also, wants us to remember that the house and line of David is important in our Christian heritage.
As we listen to Saint Peter, we must remember that we are all “Fellow Israelites.” We may not have David’s tomb among us but we do have an empty tomb from which a descendent of David was raised, Jesus, our Messiah, our Christ.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia and our schools.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God 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 