Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the 5th Week of Easter: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 61 and 62; Evening, Psalm 68;
Wisdom 10:1 to 21; Romans 12:1 to 21; Luke 8:1 to 15
“Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,” (Luke 8: 1 and 2)
This is a very important writing from the Gospel according to Luke as it tells us something about how Mary Magdalene was liberated from seven demons. This casting out of demons explains her sorrow at the death of our Lord Jesus and why she was crying at his tomb in the Gospel of John, chapter 20.
The life of Jesus goes from Herod to Herod; from Joseph his earthly father to Joseph of Arimathaea; from John the Baptist to John the apostle; and from Mary his mother to Mary Magdalene. Our Lord Jesus connects us around him and we come out better after him; our Lord Jesus is God’s plan for us and for our salvation.
While I have named the, various to-and-from, people of Jesus’ life, our Wisdom of Solomon reading for today from the Apocrypha of the Bible will cause us to ponder even more deeply about who the writher is talking about. Some hints would be Adam, Cain, Noah Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. Most of these people followed where God led them. Cain of course, ignored the caution to watch his behavior and what he was thinking. As a result of his lack of heeding God’s counsel, he killed his brother.
The bottom line is this. God is still connecting with us on all sides. All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to see what God is doing in our very presence. God in Christ Jesus is still casting out demons and helping us to get rid of bad thoughts. Our Lord Jesus will give us back to our true selves as he did for Mary Magdalene. Thank You Lord Jesus.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan 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 