Daily Office Readings for Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalm 9 and 15;
Exodus 18:13-27; 1st Peter 5:1 to 14; Matthew 3:1-6:
“Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.” (Psalm 25: 6)
This is an interesting suggestion. The Psalmist is asking God to not see the sins of the Psalmist but rather to be judged by the love of God and the goodness of God.
I share this sentiment with the Psalmist. I am a sinner. I have erred and strayed from God’s ways on occasions. I am in real need of a loving and merciful God. I need a God whose mercy outweighs my wrongs. I need a God whose love makes me a better person, in spite of myself.
And then, living into God’s love, I will do my best to be a new and much better person. Like many, I am a work in progress. But also like many, I depend on God’s help and love to work in me, making me who God wants me to be understanding that God will gift me with what my community needs. And in the end, how do we want to be remembered? We want to be remembered according to God’s love and for the sake of God’s goodness.
I love these mornings when I come to this laptop and ponder the spiritual presence of God first thing in the morning. I know that each day brings a challenge and some enlightenment. I just pray that I let God do the work in me and that I just settle down and watch what happens, yes, even if for a moment it’s unpleasant. “Remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”
Let us pray:
Dear Lord God, You gifted us with free will and we often use it in ways that go against your plan for us. Forgive us Dear Lord through your loving-kindness and renew a right spirit within us so that we will think, say, do and act in accordance with Your plan for all humanity. In Your most Holy Name, Amen.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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 