Daily Office Readngs for Saturday of the 6th Week of Easter: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 87 and 90; Evening, Psalm 136;
Numbers 11:16 to 17 and 24 to 29; Ephesians 2:11 to 22; Matthew 7:28 to 8:4
“For through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18)
For through our Lord Jesus, superficial race groupings like, blacks and whites, along with groups like gays and straights, rich and poor, nationals and foreigners, have access in one Spirit to the Creator of all life, and through the Creator, one another.
This access does not mean giving up “who” we are ( although it very well may mean giving up “what” we think we are). We have a uniting Spirit through our Lord Jesus. “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (Ephesians 2:14). So we are one Spirit group. We look different, we sound different, and we enjoy different foods and music and so on. None of what we enjoy should be based on our skin color or hair texture, or even if we have no hair. We are free to seek our own joy. We are all pulled together for living and loving each other, and enjoying our various cultures and lifestyles, through God. For God is the One in whom we all live, love, move and have our being.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone, In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.” (Ephesians 2: 19 – 22)
We are meant to approach one another knowing that we are already united by means of God’s Spirit. It makes no difference about our language, skin color, religion, or place of origin. We are all God’s people, we are all spiritual cousins. We should be behaving that way.
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
Let us pray:
Dear living and loving Holy Jesus, you modeled for us how we should live, love and appreciate our differences as we approach life. We pray that you enable each of us to have access in one Spirit to the Creator, making our spiritual connections with each other more and more clear every day. Amen.
onewhoponders 