Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 55; Evening, Psalm 138, 139:1-17(18-23);
Exodus 40:18 to 38; 1st Thessalonians 4:1 to 12; Matthew 5:38 to 48:
Psalm 139 Verses 1 – 3
1. Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 2. You trace my journeys and my resting-places and are acquainted with all my ways. 3. Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
These are only the first three verses of Psalm 139. I look at this Psalm as a meditation. Verses 1 through 17 remind us of how well God knows us. These verses are also the ones most frequently treasured in this Psalm. The remaining verses tend to deal with what the Psalmist wants to happen to the wicked. I try not to go there.
I ponder about how it feels to know that when I have a thought or a feeling, that God knows about it as soon as I do (maybe even before I do). I am truly not alone, not even in my inmost thoughts. I like to think that sometimes God is not so passive in my thinking. That is, God also “prompts” my thinking in one direction or another. It’s like God allows me to see a “burning bush.” I, like Moses, must then decide if I am going to go check it out. The words of scripture are like the burning bush, the pages burn in us, but we are never consumed. And through them, the Holy Spirit speaks to us.
Here’s the thing, God is a participant with all of us. The divine hints are already with us. But it’s up to us to check them out. God discerns your thoughts from afar and is acquainted with all your ways. Indeed, there is not a word on your lips, but God, O Lord, knows it altogether. This does not mean that God approves of all your words or thoughts. Think about this and allow yourself to follow God’s lead in your life, not your own idea about what you should do. Try not to go there.
Let us pray:
Most gracious and loving God, you already know whereof we are made and the path we are likely to take, be present, be present Dear God with all our steps and then lead us in ways pleasing in your sight, this we beg of you most loving God. 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 