Daily Office Readings or Saturday of Proper 19: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 75 and 76; Evening, Psalms 23 and 27;
2nd Kings 2:1 to 18; 1st Corinthians 4:1 to 7; Matthew 5:17 to 20:
“Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you:” (2nd Kings 2:1 and 2).
The need for every person to latch on to a good mentor cannot be overstated. We follow people in trades to learn how to earn a living. We follow people in professions to learn how to be doctors and lawyers and such. It is the natural course of the humanity to find and follow someone who has the skills or knowledge that we want, and to stick with them no matter what; at least until we are able to perform the same on our own.
We stick with them until we are self-sufficient in the area of concern wherein we too should welcome the company of an apprentice. Whether its mentor and protégé; or master and apprentice; the point is that we need to work with those who are right-minded and decent in their relations with others. Elisha found in Elijah the power of the Spirit of God and would not leave him.
We too, as followers of our Lord Jesus, must look for the Jesus quality in those we admire. Personally, I am not going to dedicate myself to the service of someone who has the skills that I want if the gifted person is rude, unloving, and self-serving. I don’t want the skills that bad. Trying to work with someone whose antisocial behavior is less than what it should be, with the idea that we will just copy the good parts of the person, doesn’t work. We will begin to copy the undesirable parts as well, also, we mislead the mentor in thinking he or she is ok. No, it would be better to just not get involved in any capacity.
There are plenty of good believing people in every endeavor we want to pursue. Also, today, we can start in one field of study with one good mentor, and also follow another good mentor in a little different field of study or skill. The key, at least for me, is to make sure my leaders, my mentors, my masters, are good, loving and faithful people. This is the kind of person I strive to be every day.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light:” (Matthew 11:28-30). Our Lord Jesus was, and is, the perfect mentor master, leader and teacher. He did, and continues to do, all his teaching through love for us. Let us do the same and for the same reasons.
Today we remember John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia, and his companions, Martyrs (September 20, 1871) and his information may be found at: John Coleridge Patteson.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
Let us pray: (BCP p. 824)
O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities and especially our mentors, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
onewhoponders 