Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 14: Year 2
Morning, Psalms 101, and 109: Evening, Psalm 119:121 to 144;
Judges 13:15 to 24; Acts 6:1 to 15; John 4:1 to 26:
I chose two readings for today to ponder about:
“And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. (Acts 6:2)
And also, John: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4: 24)
Today’s readings presented me with hard choices. On the one hand I am disappointed about the self-righteous attitude of the apostles; on the other hand, I love the words of our Lord Jesus about who God is, the nature of God.
I think the apostles wrongly decided that, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.” I beg to differ. Servitude IS the Word of God. After John and James were caught trying to get good positions in heaven, and the rest of the apostles became angry, Jesus explains the importance of servitude. He told them, “It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26 – 28) Therefore, in my humble opinion, the apostles were wrong. Serving tables IS following Christ, it IS carrying out the word of God.
From the Gospel of John, Jesus explains to the woman at the well that God is not some old human looking man on a throne far away. God is Spirit! God is Truth! We must get rid of any notion that God is humanlike, save God Incarnate, Jesus himself. God can, and should, be worshiped everywhere, and always. But my beloved of the Lord, don’t forget that, “God is spirit, and those who worship [God] must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4: 24)
Today we remember Jonathan Myrick Daniels (August 14, 1965): Seminarian, civil rights advocate and martyr: Jonathan Daniels (satucket.com)
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools. And, 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:
Almighty God, who created us to be with, and to love and serve one another, you covered our spiritual selves with flesh, blood and bones, whereas you remained only Spirit, Holy Spirit. Constantly remind us that we are spiritual beings learning to be human, not humans learning to be spiritual. You who live and love forever and ever, Amen.
onewhoponders 