Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 7th Week of Easter: Year 1
Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1 to 32;
Ezekiel 34:17 to 31; Hebrews 8:1 to 13; Luke 10:38 to 42:
“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord”, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Hebrews 8:10 and 11)
This quoting of Jeremiah 31: 31 to 34, and repeated by the writer to the Hebrews, is affirmation for me as it has been one of my favorite quotes of the Bible. It basically says that after the presence of our Lord Jesus in the midst of humanity, we all “know the Lord.” We may pretend like we don’t, but Jesus has made an indelible mark on our eternal souls, and, it’s there forever. We just need to listen to our souls.
I am having a hard time with the writer to the Hebrews where he says, “In speaking of ‘a new covenant’, he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear:” (Hebrews 8:13). What does the writer mean by “disappear”? I like, and hold on to, these ancient words of the Hebrew, (Old), Testament. There are very valuable lessons within these precious writings. I think even the writer using the Jeremiah text indicates that he does too.
The main point to ponder here is that God has planted in EVERY human heart and mind an awareness of God. We don’t, (and can’t), figure God out. The awareness of the presence of God is God’s free gift of grace to human kind. Personally, I don’t think human beings are the only creatures in God’s creation that has an awareness of God. Some creatures are among the “infants” within creation and are very aware of God’s presence.
We humans however, must try to prove everything so that we will believe. According to Anselm, (Archbishop of Canterbury, 1109); that’s not the way to live into our faith. Anselm says about his own belief, He writes, “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that unless I first believe, I shall not understand.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 21) We truly do have to “Let go and let God.”
Let us take some time this Sabbath time and ponder the presence of God in our lives. All of us have God in our lives. We just have to quiet ourselves and listen. Thank You Lord Jesus.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, and our schools.
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom.
What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube
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
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