Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the First Sunday of Advent: Year 2
Morning, Psalms 5 and 6; Evening, Psalms 10 and 11;
Amos 3:1 to 11; 2nd Peter 1:12-21; Matthew 21:12-22
“Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation.” (Psalm 5:1)
The words of this Psalm caught my attention because of the word “meditation.” I have often considered meditation to be prayer. And, as I write these words early each morning I ponder even deeper about the Holy Presence of God in our human lives.
Before this Psalm drifts off into correcting bad people, it mentions other thoughts of mine. “Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I make my prayer to you;” (Psalm 5:2). God’s ears hears tears. When we cry to God for help, God hears us. And the Psalmist uses the word prayer this time instead of meditation. This is my life early in the morning. “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you;” (Psalm 5:3). None of us knows what the night will bring, I invite you to start the practice of some kind of morning thankfulness to God.
In Second Peter for today it is written; “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God;” (2nd Peter 1:20 and 21). For me, this means our meditations or prayers are comingled with the Holy Spirit of God. Let us glean from God’s Blessings and pass them on to others.
Finally, we have from the Gospel according to Matthew a word on the power of faith, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive; (Matthew 21:22). So, let our meditation be always faith-based.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 