Daily office Readings for Wednesday, of the First Week of Advent: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 16 and 17; Evening, Psalm 22;
Isaiah 3:8 to 15; 1st Thessalonians 4:1 to 12; Luke 20:41 to 21:4
“Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1st Thessalonians 4: 9 to 12)
Finally, after Paul is done with ranting about what he (not God) perceives as sexual misconduct, he gets to what I believe God really wants us to understand; and that is, that we should contribute to the community in which we live with the work of our hands.
Not all of our vocations permit us to work from home. There is always the need for people who must leave home and perform duties that can’t be done at home. Builders, drivers, store clerks and so forth, must go out into the community and work with their hands in order to hold our community together. Paul was a tent maker. He is recorded as plying his trade with a fellow tent maker in order to not be a burden to his host. (Acts 18: 1 to 3)
Church is the living example of the benefit of our working with our hands. The church needs people who are both able and willing, to setup the Altar, play music, cut the grass, fix the broken furniture, or structural repairs to the building, prepare food and by all means, make coffee. Yes, we need workers who perform the ministries of working with their hands.
Many of us consider ourselves fortunate to be able to work from home. This type of work normally consists of computer skills that primarily get business done around informational types of work. Computer work cannot get the ditch dug, or drive supplies to the needed area, or build a house. No, we must go out and work with our hands as God has directed us through the words of Paul.
Today we remember Nicholas of Myra, Bishop of Myra, Friend of children, and giver of gifts; and his information may be found at: St. Nicholas of Myra.
“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 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, giver of all good gifts and graces who has blessed us with memory reason and skill, and walked among us as a carpenter craftsman and leader of fishermen, be with us still, and aid us in remembering to work with our hands when we can, as a way of bringing us closer together for your love’s sake, Amen.
onewhoponders 