Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 7th Week of Easter: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1-32;
Jeremiah 31:27 to 34; Ephesians 5:1 to 20; Matthew 9:9 to 17:
“No longer shall they 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, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31: 34)
At St. Paul’s in the Pines Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, I used to keep our chapel Bible open to Jeremiah 31: 31 to 34, open for all who come into the chapel to see this important reading. I believe it is one of many prophesies foretelling the coming of our Lord Jesus found in the Hebrew Testament.
In this passage Jeremiah speaks for God and says, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 34:33). I interpret this to mean that with the coming of Jesus all of us will realize our connection with God. The love-law of God is written on our hearts and minds. We may not use it, but it is in us.
I tell my listeners that I am not their connection to God. My job has always been to let them know that they have a “First-hand” connection to God themselves. My job is, and has always been, to let them know about this Jeremiah revealed connection. Also, I inform them that God desires an audience with them. As a result of this preaching, one of my beloved parishioners brought a plaque to church that reads, “We need to talk, God.” I immediately posted it where it could be seen by all.
This Jeremiah reading, and my time in Spiritual Guidance, has taught me that every human being has the capacity to connect with God. We only have to access it. In one of her writings the great mystic Evelyn Underhill said “mysticism is not only reserved for a saintly few, but is available to all who seek to explore it.” As Jeremiah says, “for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord.” So now I tell you who read this, God wishes to talk with you.
“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
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel, 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
Today we remember Thurgood Marshal, Lawyer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and devoted Episcopalian (1993). His information can be found at: Thurgood Marshall (satucket.com).
Let us pray:
Most holy Lord God, as you have planted in each of us our loving connection to you, draw us to use this holy connection always in order that we might be more loving in our daily lives, and in our response to your call on our lives each day. In your holy Name we pray, Amen.
onewhoponders 