Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 5: Year 2
Morning, Psalms 75 and 76; Evening, Psalms 23 and 27;
Numbers 3:1 to 13; Galatians 6:11 to 18; Matthew 17:1 to13:
“While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved;with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’” (Matthew 17:5)
This is the second time we hear this proclamation from heaven. In chapter three of Matthew after Jesus was baptized a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,with whom I am well pleased;” (Matthew 3:17). We also read these words in 2nd Peter, chapter 1, verse 17 about the mountain top experience. The big difference here is the addition of the words, “listen to him,” in this Matthew account. I am currently putting together a book wherein listening is the first of five “L’s” that leads to life enhancement and leadership. More on that at another time.
Inherent in listening is learning and the expectation of amendment of life. Our duty here on earth, in this lifetime, is to prepare ourselves for our eternal time with God. As much as the Book of Ecclesiastes talks about “all is vanity under the sun,” the writer sums the whole thing up in the last words from the Book of Ecclesiastes; “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Peter, James and John, on the Mountain, listened to God say who Jesus is. Their listening led them to learning, and loving. They then lived out their new Truth and became leaders in the Jesus movement.
As a spiritual person, I love exploring the spiritual realm. Today we remember Evelyn Underhill.
“Evelyn Underhill’s most valuable contribution to spiritual literature must surely be her conviction that the mystical life is not only open to a saintly few, but to anyone who cares to nurture it and weave it into everyday experience, and also (at the time, a startling idea) that modern psychological theories and discoveries, far from hindering or negating spirituality, can actually enhance and transform it.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for June 15)
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:
Most holy Lord Jesus, teach us daily to humble ourselves in order that God the Creator and Sustainer of all life may dwell within each of us in order that we all might listen to your instruction that comes to our hearts and minds, as well as through the words of your gifted mystics like Evelyn Underhill and others, from whom we learn about your divine plan for our salvation. Amen.
onewhoponders 