Pentecost Sunday - The Descent of the Holy Spirit - Roman Catholic

Today's Readings:

First Reading:      Acts 2:1-11

Psalm:                Ps 104: 1ab, 24ac, 29bc-30, 31, 34

Second Reading: 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Gal 5:16-25

Gospel Reading:  Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15

May 27 - Pentecost Sunday

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer Psalm 118, 145 Deuteronomy 16:9-12 Acts 4:18-33 John 4:19-26

Today’s Question: How can we worship and serve with the zeal of the early apostles?

Today’s Reflection: Pentecost Sunday gives us the opportunity to break a bit out of the normal, stoic worship experience and worship with zeal. We cannot talk about Pentecost without excitement – and that makes me wonder why we do not still worship and live with the forceful exuberance of the early apostles. If they can do it, why can’t I? Like many of our Holy Days, Christian Pentecost coincides with the Jewish Pentecost or Festival of Weeks that occurred fifty days after Passover (hence the name derived from the word meaning fifty). For the Hebrews, it was a harvest festival celebrating the bringing in of the harvest. While the harvest for the Christian faith does not come in heads of grain, Pentecost does represent a harvest of souls through the opening of the Church to all people. The Deuteronomy passage describes the festival of weeks as a time for everyone to celebrate – family, slaves, Levites, strangers, orphans, widows. The community presented the grain tithes from the harvest as well as free will offerings above and beyond the required tithe. The festival served as an opportunity to celebrate the harvest and to remember the days enslaved in Egypt despite now being safely in the land the Lord provided. Acts describes an event much like the one Jesus described in last Sunday’s passage from Matthew 10. The apostles had been threatened by leaders, yet they continued to speak boldly with the power given to them by the Holy Spirit. They came out of the experience and continued to tell the works of Jesus with such fervor that the Holy Spirit shook the building where they worshipped. They experienced all these things first hand and courageously followed Christ’s commission to them We have their first-hand accounts. We have the Holy Spirit with us even today. How often do we act with this much boldness even with the same tools? The apostles preached boldly when their lives were on the line for every statement they made. Very few of us today live in a place where our lives are jeopardized for belief in Christ or the proclamation of that belief. Certainly we sometimes face mockery and disdain from people who do not believe, but rarely is life or livelihood put at risk. Following the examples of the apostles, we learn that absolute reliance on God, and God’s presence with us in the Holy Spirit, allow us to do everything he desires. In the John passage, Jesus tells the woman at the well to worship God in spirit and in truth. Psalm 145 promises all who call on God in truth will be heard. The same promises continue for us today – and we will see the same results when we take courage and fully believe in the assurances from God and listen to the message of the Holy Spirit.

Today’s Prayer: Let us be as emboldened by the Holy Spirit as the early church to worship with zeal, preach with confidence, and believe completely.

 

May 20 - Seventh Sunday of Easter - Protestant

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer Psalm 66, 67, 19, 46 Exodus 3:1-12 Hebrews 12:18-29 Matthew 10:17-24

Today’s Question: How do we know the voice of God?

Today’s Reflection: A few years ago one of my coworkers’ voices was so distinctive it could be picked out across a noisy room. It was not odd. It was not loud. It was essentially distinctive. There was no other way to describe it. Everyone who knew her knew she was present simply by hearing her speak. In the passages today, we hear God’s voice. The Exodus passage present’s Moses’s encounter with the burning bush through which God presents his mission. These passages in which God directly encounters a person are some of my favorite in the Bible because they show the humanity of the people in the story. Moses has the typical response as others when God tells them what they are going to do: “You want me to do what?” And God comes back with the typical Godly response: “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.” Similar exchanges take place throughout the Bible when God calls prophets and when Jesus talks to people. We in our humanity cannot grasp the magnitude of the situation and have no idea what to do to see it through. The Hebrews passage remembers the encounter of the Israelites at the mountain when they heard the thundering voice of God and feared they would die of it. As I read the passage, I can also read it as all peoples standing before God in the coming judgment. Both readings provide an opportunity for the people of God to embrace the encounter with great joy and celebration. Instead, the encounter is both frightening and eye-opening. We see that most of the people cower from the experience. The passage reminds us to listen to the voice of God for it is our guide – no matter how overwhelming it seems in the moment. Despite the people’s fear, the scripture offers reassurances: “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.” In Matthew, Jesus is giving directions and encouragement to his followers as he prepares them for challenges to come. He tells of the Holy Spirit which will be the voice of God with the people when he leaves. The Holy Spirit will bring the answers we humanly cannot know. God never abandons his people in a time of need. By providing the Holy Spirit, Jesus reminds us: “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.” One of the keys to survival for young in the wild is that they recognize their parent’s call – and that the parent recognized the call of their young. As Christians, we are given the Holy Spirit, God’s voice, to know God’s voice. He still speaks to us. Maybe not in thundering tones from the top of a mountain. And maybe not in the still small voice. He speaks to us in his voice. In order for us to grow and thrive as Christians, we must know God’s voice.

Today’s Prayer: Let us open ourselves to the power of God’s voice – in whatever form it takes – that we may grow and do as he commands us to. And let us remember his assurance,  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.”

 

May 13 - Sixth Sunday in Easter Protestant

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer Psalm 93, 96, 34 Leviticus 25:1-17 James 1:1-11 Luke 12:13-21

Today’s Question: How do Old Testament laws guide our New Covenant Faith?

Today’s Reflection: Challenging rules has been part of human nature since God created us with free will. If a rule does not make obvious sense, we challenge it immediately: perhaps it was poorly worded. As a Christian, not bound by the law, I instantly challenge much of the Levitical law. Why would anyone make such trivial laws? The idea of sabbath and jubilee years presented in Leviticus 25 is so foreign to us today that it is hard to imagine a culture that did such things in the name of religion. In a time when many of the people were agrarian, the idea of not being a steward of the land for an entire year seems anathema to the basic purpose of being a farmer. In a time when famine and death were one dry season away, failing to plant crops for a year seems a sure death sentence. Why would a loving god command such a thing of his people? Nevertheless, God did just that – and that it happen on a regular basis. I think we can find the answers to such questions in the epistle and Gospel passages. The author of James demands absolute faith in a God who will provide everything we NEED to do his works. The passage is so often misinterpreted by people who take the admonition against “doubt” to apply to every part of our spiritual walk. Without doubt, we would never reach the point of accepting salvation through Christ. Without doubt, we would never grow to the point that we function as mature Christians, doing God’s will. Without doubt, faith becomes an empty expression of blind belief. The author remains adamant. God will provide IF we believe without questioning. In the Gospel, a bystander asks Jesus to direct his brother to share the inheritance. Jesus responded by doing what Jesus did: he told a story. The story actually gives us several layers to consider, but in it, one thing Jesus does is provide a distinction between wealth and greed that I find enlightening. I had not considered the difference between wealth and greed as being having abundance versus having abundance, wanting more, and keeping it to oneself. Jesus does not condemn the wealthy. He condemns the greedy. This is the point at which the Old Testament and New Testament passages converge. God provides what we need and when we become too self-reliant, we move away from God. Having a Sabbath Year. Asking without doubt. Accepting sufficiency. All are steps of faith we make in trusting our God. By demanding the Sabbath year, God showed, through the natural productivity of the land, that he continued to provide for his people. In the jubilee year, when all property reverted to the owners by tribe, God showed that all things come from him and no sale (or as we would call it now, a lease) would change that. The commands also helped preserve a social order – the wealthy only controlled for a time and the poor were only slaves for a time. And at the appointed time, everything reverted to its appointed order: the land to its owners and people to their families (tribes). The Old Testament law provided for economic and social equity. The New Testament faith leads to the same thing.

Today’s Prayer: Let us complete our faith by completely trusting that everything we need for our faith will be provided.

 

May 6 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer Psalm 24, 29, 8, 84 Leviticus 8:1-13, 30-36 Hebrews 12:1-14 Luke 4:16-30

Today’s Question: Who do others see when they see you?

Today’s Reflection: As a person who works with teenagers, I have the opportunity to observe the development of persons. During these formative years, they try various identities and peer groups in the process of becoming the person and personality that fits them. The passages today contemplate the identity – and identity crisis - of God’s followers. The passages help us consider who we are and how we become the person we are in relationship to God. In the Psalms, the author(s) relate to the status in rank of humanity.  The Psalms 24 and 29 establish God as the highest power and authority over all creation with the ability to make all do his will despite otherwise seeming to be inanimate creation. Psalms 8 and 84 describe humankind’s position in creation using some of the verses I find most comforting in the Bible. Psalm 8:4 asks in wonder, “who are we that you even acknowledge us?” You, God, are so great and we are so minute. Nevertheless, you have allowed us a position of rank over the rest of your creation. The Leviticus passage describes the ordination of the priestly order in Hebrew history.  The elaborate process with specific steps demonstrated the dedication of the priests to the lifestyle demanded of the religious leaders of God’s people. Following the process showed that they could keep up with the law and be faithful leaders for the people. In the time of the law, fidelity to the law provided stability and order in the society and a faithful connection to God. The Hebrew’s passage reminds us of the change from the law to the New Covenant through Christ as it refers to him as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith,” indicating a change in the way we come in relationship with God. The passage continues with a description of discipline and the purpose behind it. Discipline on the people individually is a part of that new relationship and new identity. God deals with us individually as his children rather than through a priest, for God’s love falls directly on each of us. Being called a child of God gives us a particular identity that matters in the world with a set of expectations motivating our behavior. In Luke, Jesus’s own identity gets questioned by the residents of his home town. The people of Nazareth cannot see beyond the familiar. They have known this man from childhood and have watched him grow up in his father’s carpentry shop. Despite the wise teaching and the news of his remarkable actions, the local people cannot how this humble man could be anything but a carpenter. If even Jesus could have such an identity crisis, what kind of identity do we have? When people see me, do they see a person who embodies the love of Christ and lives a life that models his teachings? Our witness to the people we see on a regular basis requires us to be a prophet in our home. Being identified as a child of God demands that we follow the Father’s rules and become the people he calls us to be.

Today’s Prayer: Let us find the identity as children of God and give us the strength to live up to those expectations.

 

April 29 - Fourth Sunday in Easter (Protestant)

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer Psalm 63, 98, 103 Exodus 28:1-4, 30-38 1 John 2:18-29 Mark 6:30-44

Today’s Question: How can we identify and take comfort in the eternal nature of God?

Today’s Reflection: Lately, many of the weekly passages have struck me with the conflict between our temporal view of events and God’s eternal view of the same events. Today’s passages are no different as the Eternal comes in direct contact with humanity. From the Psalms to the Gospel, God’s nature versus human nature contrast time-bound and eternal ideas. The Psalms provide us a Hebrew understanding of God’s eternity with phrases like “as long as I live,” and “from everlasting to everlasting.” Eternity was bounded by time (a LONG period of time, but time nonetheless) as Jewish history was connected to God’s direct involvement and memory of those events served as the timekeeper. Many Hebrew traditions serve to preserve the memory of events, keeping them eternal. In Exodus, elaborate directions describe the priestly vestments for Aaron and his sons. Each part of the garment and adornment on it held symbolism for the Israelites and their history with God. When the people saw it, it reminded them of different aspects of their special relationship. Every detail had purpose in preserving the eternity of God’s interaction with his people. The writer of 1 John warns about antichrists working in the early church. These false teachers strayed from the teaching of Christ. For whatever reason they had, they did not promote the truth of Christ, but changed the message. The author reminds us in verse 24, “let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” He is telling us to stick to the teachings of Christ and that if we stray from those lessons, then we risk losing our relationship with God. The same works for us today: stick with scripture as guided by the Holy Spirit and we are ok, stray from that guidance and we enter dangerous theological territory. The Gospel story in Mark tells one of Christ’s miracles witnessed by thousands of people. It too gives us a lesson on eternal versus temporal thinking. Christ provides for the immediate needs of the crowds who had gathered at the location of what was intended as a retreat for Christ and his apostles. Despite the “invasion,” Christ took the opportunity to teach and further the ministry. Even after the disciples suggested calling it off so the people could get to nearby towns and find food, Jesus suggested they feed the people instead. The disciples had just returned from their first mission on which they had taught and performed acts from the authority given to them, yet they could not imagine feeding such a large crowd. The meal from such meager stores provided a practical demonstration of the difference between eternal and temporal thinking. Examples from each of the passages today give us insight in to shifting our thinking from the natural temporal thinking toward eternal kingdom thinking. Events in the Psalms, understanding the symbolism of the priestly vestments, discerning true teaching, and acting on faith provide guidelines we may continue to use today to determine the eternal nature of God and live within those perimeters. We can take comfort in the assurance of our right relationship with God.

Today’s Prayer: Let us open our eyes to the larger picture of your kingdom.

 

April 29 - Fourth Sunday in Easter (Roman Catholic)

Until I can get his information connected to the blog, I wish to give credit to my friend Jason Lewis who is partnering with me in this spiritual journey and is presenting a perspective from the Roman Catholics while my perspective is shaped by the protestant branch of Christianity.

Today’s Scriptures: From the Roman Catholic Lectionary First Reading: Acts 4:8-12 Responsorial Psalm: The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.  (Psalm 118: 1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 29) Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-2  Gospel Reading:  John 10:11-18

Today’s Question: How do you relate to the Risen Jesus as the Good Shepherd?

Today’s Reflection: Today is known as GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY because, in each year of the liturgical cycle on this 4th Sunday of Easter, the Gospel is always taken from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of himself as the "good shepherd". In today’s passage Jesus emphasizes the self-sacrificing element in his own life: "The good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep." He contrasts the good shepherd who owns the sheep to someone who is simply hired to look after them. The hired man thinks primarily of his own welfare and, if he sees a wolf coming, he takes off, leaving the sheep to be attacked and scattered in fear and terror. Jesus, on the other hand, will not be like a hired person: "I lay down my life for my sheep." Perhaps he contrasts himself with those mercenary religious leaders among his own people – and to be found in every religious grouping – who do just what is expected of them but have no real commitment or sense of responsibility to those in their charge. He knows his sheep. Secondly, the good shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. There is a mutual bond of love and intimacy. That love is compared to the deep mutual relationship that exists between Jesus and his Father. "My own know me just as the Father knows me." Again the hired man or the self-interested leader will not have such a relationship with his charges. The Second Reading speaks in similar terms when the author says, "Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children, and that is what we are." One shepherd and one flock. Thirdly, the good shepherd deeply desires that many other sheep should come to identify themselves with him. "There are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well." The ultimate goal is that "there will be only one flock and one shepherd", that the whole world will be united together with its God and Lord. This is the meaning of the Kingdom which is at the heart of the Gospel message. This is a goal which preoccupies us still today. There are still so many millions of people who have not yet heard the message of a loving God, a God who sent his only Son to die for them. They seek meaning and happiness in their lives by pursuing all kinds of other goals which inevitably turn to ashes: material abundance, status in the eyes of others, power over others, mistaking pleasure and hedonism for happiness… In so doing, they reject Jesus the Good Shepherd. "Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us." This is something we must learn to accept as a fact, even if it is hard to understand and even harder to take. No matter how closely we follow in the footsteps of our Shepherd, in fact, the more closely we follow him, the more likely it is that we will be rejected and even attacked. More tragic still, however, there are so many people who claim Christ as Lord, many of them very good and sincere people, who are often divided, even bitterly divided among themselves. Here, more than anywhere is there a need for all to follow one Shepherd and form one flock. Otherwise how can we give witness to the love of Christ if that love is lacking among the servants of Jesus? Lastly, there are those who, though incorporated through baptism into the Body of Christ, consistently behave in a way which totally distorts people’s understanding of Christ and his call to discipleship, fulfillment and happiness. Probably, most of us have at one time or another failed in our call to give witness to the truth and love that is to be found in Christ.  We need to give life willingly. Jesus emphasizes that, in giving his life for his sheep, he is doing so of his own will. It is not just by force of circumstances. His death is to be the living proof that "the greatest love a person can show is to give one’s life for one’s friends". This is the proof that Jesus truly is a Good Shepherd.   On the face of it and looked at with purely secular eyes, the life and mission of Jesus seemed an utter failure. Even Jesus’ friends and admirers must have shaken their heads in sorrow as they saw him die on the cross. Jesus himself said "It is finished." But, for him, the words had a completely different meaning. As Peter tells the assembled Jews in the Temple in today’s First Reading, "This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For of all the names in the world given to humanity, this is the only one by which we can be saved." As Jesus himself says in the Gospel today, "I lay down my life of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it up again." And so it was. The Second Reading contains part of an address Peter gave in the Temple after he and John had cured a crippled beggar at the Temple’s Beautiful Gate. The healing of the man in the name of the crucified Jesus through the agency of Peter and John is the proof that Jesus is risen and working among us.

Today’s Prayer: Look upon your flock, kind Shepherd,  and be pleased to settle in eternal pastures the sheep you have redeemed

 

 

 

April 22 - Third Sunday of Easter - Roman Catholic Lectionary

Until I can get his information connected to the blog, I wish to give credit to my friend Jason Lewis who is partnering with me in this spiritual journey and is presenting a perspective from the Roman Catholics while my perspective is shaped by the protestant branch of Christianity.

Today’s Scriptures: Roman Catholic Lectionary First Reading:             Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Responsorial Psalm:     Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9 Second Reading:         1 Jn 2:1-5a Gospel:                      Lk 24:35-48

Today’s Question: Where does God fit in our times of change – our grieving process?

Today’s Reflection: The context of today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles is Peter and John’s miraculous cure of the crippled man when they went up to the temple for prayer and the crowd is attracted.  These are the people to whom he speaks.  Note how he appeals to their Jewish heritage, proclaiming Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises.  Note, too, the names given to Jesus:  “servant,” “Holy and Righteous One,” “author of life,” the Christ (Messiah).  The second reading from the First Letter of John gives us more names for Jesus.  Jesus is referred to as “God’s advocate.”  The text in the second reading also stresses the importance of keeping God’s commandments as the way not only to knowledge of Him, but to love. Today’s Psalm (4) is a confident prayer that asks for God’s blessing, one that could easily have been prayed by the crippled man, one that no doubt was prayed by the apostles as well, knowing that it is through the same Jesus, through the power of Jesus, that healing is accomplished – not through their own.  The psalmist declares that we all need to be healed through the saving power of God.  As the psalm says, “Lord, let your face shine on us” we too, need to let the face of the Lord shine on our daily lives. The Gospel story of the Emmaus journey is one of significant importance to us during the Easter season.  The two disciples referred to in the first line of today’s Gospel reading are the two who met the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.  In today’s text, they have returned to Jerusalem and are with the other disciples, when the risen Christ is suddenly in their midst.  What a contrast to his peace is their fear and doubt, which soon gave way to joy.  As on the way to Emmaus, the Lord interprets the scriptures (the law of Moses, the prophets and Psalms in particular) as pertaining to him and fulfilled by him.  They are now witnesses.  Beginning in Jerusalem, they must proclaim his Good News to all the nations.  Luke picks up this story in his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. The Emmaus story is one of grief turned to joy.  Joy is the overriding theme in the scriptures today, but the two disciples had to go through the pain in order to get to the joy.  This is a clear example of the Paschal Mystery that we celebrate every time the People of God gather to celebrate God’s Word and the Eucharist at every Sunday Mass.  The Paschal Mystery is the life, death and glorious resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  The Paschal Mystery is related to us in our everyday lives.  As the disciples are on the road to Emmaus (before they even see the Risen Christ) they pondering, “all that they have seen and heard in the last several days” regarding the event that had taken place with Jesus.  It isn’t until he breaks bread with them that they recognize him, for “they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.” For those of you who are in any sort of grieving process right now – whether it be the death of a loved one, friend, the loss of finances or your job, or even a relationship – find someone close to you and break bread with them.  Allow the healing presence of Jesus into your lives and recognize Christ “in the breaking of the bread.”

Today’s Prayer: Let us remember your presence and comfort, even in times of great distress.

April 22 - Third Sunday of Easter

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer Psalm 148, 149, 150, 114, 115 Exodus 18:1-12 1 John 2:7-17 Mark 16:9-20

Today’s Question: How does God work in the salvation of humankind?

Today’s Reflection: Today’s Psalms are among the ones repeated several times during this season, but they offer insight into the theme of the week each time and this week they provide an insight beyond that connected to the them as many people celebrate today as Earth Day, drawing attention to the natural resources and humanity’s stewardship of them. We sometimes forget that while God created the earth as our home, he also charged us with being wise stewards, caretakers, of his creation. Our stewardship extends beyond the church doors into all the earthly creation. The Psalms also work in God’s direct involvement in his creation, our world and the ways he influences events in the world around us. God’s working with humankind on behalf of his people, and then his directions on how we should do the same provide a central theme for today’s scriptures in the Old and New Testaments. The passage from Exodus has Moses, talking to his father-in-law, relating just how God’s works have affected the Israelites in their last days in Egypt and adventures since leaving Egypt. He recounts the plagues against the Egyptian and miracles saving the Israelites. God worked both for and against peoples – for the Israelites and against the Egyptians – to bring about good for his chosen people. The 1 John passage continues the juxtaposition of ideas related to who we are. The initial verses describe “no new” commandment, but indeed a “new commandment.” To understand he passage, one must understand the “new commandment” to which the author is referring. The commandment is not new in the Christian church as it has been around since Christ spoke it (John 13:34), but it is new compared to the commandments given in the books of law. “Love one another.” Not new. Nevertheless, something is clearly happening in the church to which John is writing as he discusses the challenges of love and hate as they relate to a person truly living the way Christ taught and being separated from it. The passage illustrates that love and hate are more than emotions, they are actions. As emotions they are too powerful to remain something internalized, but they burst forth, guiding our behavior. While we may seek to conceal them, they are revealed as the darkness within us. The gospel passage in Mark continues the idea of an imperfect us. There is no doubting Thomas in today’s passage – there are the doubting eleven. Jesus’s response to them provides guidance for us today. Though they doubted and were unfaithful and were imperfect, Jesus gave them both the power and authority to continue his ministry on earth. We continue to control love and hate as we battle faith and doubt. We are imperfect people who can, with God’s blessing, continue his ministry on the earth as he commands us to. God works on our salvation through our imperfection relying on his perfection. He worked with/through Moses to save his people from the Egyptians as he continues to work through others and us for the salvation of people in this day. His actions are both for and against some, but ultimately for the growth of his kingdom.

Today’s Prayer: Let us accept our own imperfection, but not be comfortable with it. Help us to know that we must rely on you, and your perfection, to see good things through to the end.

April 18 - Second Sunday of Easter

Today’s Scriptures: From the Book of Common Prayer, Year 2 Psalm 146, 147, 111, 112, 113 Exodus 14:5-22 1 John 1:1-7 John 14:1-7

Today’s Question: How do we learn to focus on the eternal instead of the temporal?

Today’s Reflection: Other than an occasional fanatic labeling the Statue of Liberty an idol, we do not spend much time thinking about idols in today’s world. Very few people stop and bow down to anything they refer to as a manifestation of their god. In the time of the Psalms, however, idols representing various gods existed in homes and community squares all around the Israelites. For the people of the time, and through today’s scriptures, we see a common theme of distinguishing between the temporal and the eternal. Each of today’s Psalms describes God’s involvement in creation. Everything from the order of nature to the behavior of humankind is explained in the passages of the day with an emphasis on God’s forever presence in contrast to the here-and-now presence of idols. Those idols, made of clay, metal, wood, and cloth, come and go as time and elements wear them away. The seasons and common events in them are described and attributed to God. They happen every year, giving them an eternal quality as they happened in generations past and continue into the future. They are before and after memory because God has declared them so. Just as God controls the natural world, God also guides human behavior. Psalm 147 closes with the statement that God deals differently with Israel than the rest of the world because they know his laws. The laws of God dictate how we are to interact with one another and especially treat those who are poor and weak and extend from generation to generation. Meanwhile the laws of man exist only in the lifetime of that prince or king. As soon as he dies, the new king issues his own decrees: they are only for his time, the here-and-now presence of kings. God’s laws are universal and unchanging from generation to generation. The epistle 1 John begins with a declaration of “what was from the beginning” begin present in the here-and-now world of the apostles. They saw and heard Jesus. His presence transcended time from the creation to the present and the Gospel of John passage continues that idea with as Jesus describes going to Heaven to prepare the place for his followers. Together the scriptures create a picture from the beginning, to the present (time of the Apostles), to the future day in which rests our hope. The busyness of everyday so pervades my life and the lives of everyone I know, that thinking in eternal time proves challenging. My mind focuses on what must be done in the next thirty minutes. Sometimes my calendar becomes my idol, the clock, my god. The unfortunate fact of life is that I live in time, but my actions do not have to be governed by time. By following God’s laws and God’s will for my life, I am affecting the eternal in the temporal world. When I do right by God, I do right. God’s laws are universal and unchanging from generation to generation.

Today’s Prayer: Let us, even in our hectic, busy lives, seek God’s eternal picture in the actions we take and decisions we make. Keeping eternity in mind, we solve the challenges of today.