06/03/07 week of 2nd Sunday in Lent
[Please remember this is a sort of "menu" from which to select. No one has to pray it all]
If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/
Collect
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
++++++++++
Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/
Psalm 61, 62; Psalm 68:1-20(21-23)24-36; Jer. 2:1-13; Rom. 1:16-25; John 4:43-54
++++++++++
From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm
Romans 1:16-25. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things that he has made.
Every weekday morning, I walk the quiet streets of our neighborhood while my husband prepares breakfast. Most of the school year I walk in darkness; in early March I still trudge through snow.
A colleague tries to help me see March as the "unlocking season," when ice lets go its stranglehold on lakes and rivers here in northern New England, and sap begins to flow in maple trees. How often in this Lenten, leaden month I long for more dramatic manifestation of God's "divine nature...seen through the things that he has made." I long for daffodils and apple blossoms, hummingbirds and goldfinches. Instead I get lowering clouds and crusty snow.
Underneath, however, invisible but real, the ground softens, roots stretch into the earth, ice melts. God's invisible power is at work in this late winter world--and whether we can see it or not, God is at work in us as well: working the earth of our hearts, melting our lethargy, softening our judgments, stretching us in new directions, deepening our rootedness in Christ.
++++++++++
Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm
Today is another Lenten Feria, a free day.
++++++++++
Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Mombasa (Kenya)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
++++++++++
40 Ideas for Lent: A Lenten calendar http://ship-of-fools.com/lent/index.html
12. PHONE A FRIEND
TUES 6 MAR
Phone someone you haven't seen in a while, and/or take them out for coffee. I'm thinking particularly of people who don't get out much because of young children, caring for relatives, lack of money, or because they're in an isolated situation. Often you find that the call came through just when they most needed to know someone cared.
Idea by: Gill H
Lent quote: "He who knows himself is greater than he who raises the dead." – St Isaac of Syria
++++++++++
A Celtic lenten Calendar
http://www.oursanctuary.net/celticlent.html
O God, hearken to my prayer,
Let my earnest petition come to Thee,
For I know that Thou art hearing me
As surely as though I saw Thee with mine eyes.
Let no fancy come to my mind,
Let no ruffle come to my spirit,
That is hurtful to my poor body this night,
Nor ill for my soul at the hour of my death;
But mayest Thou Thyself, O God of life,
Be at my breast, be at my back,
Thou to me as a star, Thou to me as a guide,
From my life's beginning to my life's closing.
++++++++++
Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php
Let us remember our holy Fathers of past days, the hermits whose lives we attempt to imitate. What sufferings they bore, what solitude, cold and hunger, what burning sun and heat! … Do you suppose they were made of iron? No, they were as frail as we are.
St Teresa of Jesus
Way, 11.4
++++++++++
Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html
It was said concerning Abba Agathon that some monks came to find him having heard tell of his great discernment. Wanting to see if he would lose his temper they said to him 'Aren't you that Agathon who is said to be a fornicator and a proud man?' 'Yes, it is very true,' he answered. They resumed, 'Aren't you that Agathon who is always talking nonsense?' 'I am." Again they said 'Aren't you Agathon the heretic?' But at that he replied 'I am not a heretic.' So they asked him, 'Tell us why you accepted everything we cast you, but repudiated this last insult.' He replied 'The first accusations I take to myself for is it not said, ' The Egyptians hide the virtues they possess and ceaselessly accuse themselves of faults they do not have, while the Syrians and Greeks pretend to have virtues they do not have, and hide the faults of which they are guilty.'
++++++++++
Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
Their server is down.
++++++++++
From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:
Day Six - the First Aim (Cont.)
The primary aim for us as Tertiaries is therefore to make Christ known. This
shapes our lives and attitudes to reflect the obedience of those whom our
Lord chose to be with him and sent out as his witnesses. Like them, by word
and example, we bear witness to Christ in our own immediate environment and
pray and work for the fulfillment of his command to make disciples of all
nations.
God, you resist the proud and give grace to the humble: help us not to think
proudly, but to serve you with the humility that pleases you, so we may walk
in the steps of your servant Francis and receive the gift of your grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
++++++++++
Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/
WHEN DEVELOPING a disciplined practice, one of the most valuable gifts we can give ourselves is gentleness. In everyday life, we tend to associate discipline with rigidity, rules, and consequences for misbehavior. Sometimes this kind of discipline is indeed necessary. However, we tend to downplay the equally important role of gentleness in making changes. Change requires a great deal of effort from anyone engaged in it, even if the change is positive. Change plunges a previously ordered system into temporary chaos, and chaos is stressful. Gentleness takes into account our effort and stress; treating ourselves gently is a way of offering encouragement and appreciation for the work being done.
- Sarah Parsons
A Clearing Season
From page 52 of A Clearing Season by Sarah Parsons. Copyright © 2005 by Sarah Parsons.
+++++++++++
Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
Back to Basics"
It may be the last thing to occur to you, but even the desire to be a saint, to be the holiest or most generous person in your parish, the most observant priest - whatever - all of that is ego. It's not the love of God, it's the love of self. Ego takes endless disguises, but basically it is the need to control reality and think well of oneself. Ego is dominating so many of the situations of the Church (which should know better!). Ego has remained largely unquestioned and uncountered because we put all our emphasis on controlling the shadow or dark side of the personality. Jesus is clearly saying the shadow is not the problem, but power and pride are. The ego, therefore, remains largely out of control. (If we do question ego, it is usually the rebellious egos of those at the bottom. And we at the top go on controlling.)
from St. Anthony Messenger, "African Journal"
++++++++++
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/tradition/sources.htm
The fragrance of the Son
Every Christian is aware that this passage is usually understood of Christ our head. As evening drew near, the Lord yielded up his soul upon the cross in the certainty of receiving it back again; it was not wrested from him against his will. But we too were represented there. Christ had nothing to hang upon the cross except the body he had received from us. And it was surely not possible for God the Father to abandon his only Son, who shared with him the one Godhead. Nevertheless, when Christ nailed our human weakness to the cross—that cross to which, as the apostle says, our unregenerate nature has been fastened along with him—it was with the voice of our humanity that he exclaimed: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
That, then, is the evening sacrifice: the Lord's own passion, his cross, the offering on it of the saving victim, of that holocaust which is acceptable to God. And by his rising, Christ turned that evening sacrifice into a morning oblation.
Similarly, the pure prayer which ascends from a faithful heart will be like incense rising from a hallowed altar. No fragrance can be more pleasing to God than that of his own Son. May all the faithful breathe out the same perfume.
Augustine of Hippo, (354 - 430), bishop of Hippo, became the most influential person of the Western Church and left many writings to posterity.
++++++++++
Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/
AMID A CROWD OF PALTRY THINGS
". . . in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." 2 Corinthians 6:4
It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is no vision and no spectator - the next step in devotion, the next step in your study, in your reading, in your kitchen; the next step in your duty, when there is no vision from God, no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that step, than it does to preach the Gospel.
Every Christian has to partake of what was the essence of the Incarnation, he must bring the thing down into flesh and blood actualities and work it out through the finger tips. We flag when there is no vision, no uplift, but just the common round, the trivial task. The thing that tells in the long run for God and for men is the steady persevering work in the unseen, and the only way to keep the life uncrushed is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the Risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to damp you. Continually get away from pettiness and paltriness of mind and thought out into the thirteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel.
++++++++++
Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/
Chapter 29: Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should Be Received Again
If a brother
who through his own fault leaves the monastery
should wish to return,
let him first promise full reparation for his having gone away;
and then let him be received in the lowest place,
as a test of his humility.
And if he should leave again,
let him be taken back again,
and so a third time;
but he should understand that after this
all way of return is denied him.
Commentary: http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html
Life is often a series of false starts while we find out who we are and determine where we really want to go. Benedict understands the struggle of uncertainty and indecision and makes room for it. After all, the giving of oneself to anything is no small thing and should be done with reflection and with peace of mind. So, Benedict allows candidates to the life to try again and again. What he does not permit them to do, however, is to ignore the fact that behavior has consequences or that sometime, somehow they must finally commit to something if they are going to get on with the process of both psychological and spiritual growth. With those two concepts in mind, Benedict allows candidates to enter and leave the monastery no more than three times and then only provided that they realize that every new beginning begins at the beginning again.
There are in this chapter good insights for all of us: eventually we must all settle down and do something serious with our lives and everyday we must make a fresh beginning of it.
++++++++++
Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan
Read Excerpts from the Church Fathers during Lent
http://www.churchyear.net/lentfathers.html
St. Justin Martyr: First Apology: 1-11
++++++++++
From our Greek Orthodox brethren:
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Great Fast The Forty-Two Martyrs of Amoria in Phrygia
6th Hour: Isaiah 9:9-10:4 1st Vespers: Genesis 7:1-5
2nd Vespers: Proverbs 8:32-9:11
Repentance or Judgment: Isaiah 9:9-10:4 LXX, especially vss. 12, 17, 21,
and 4: “For all this His anger is not turned away, but still His hand is
yet exalted.” The Holy Fathers declare that we are to repent and accept
God’s rule over life and death, a truth plainly to be manifest when we
“stand before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ.” A prophetic reminder
of this destiny, like an oft-repeating refrain, appears four times in
the present passage from Isaiah, each time concluding a description of
sin among the People of God: 1) arrogance of heart, 2) godless evil
doing, 3) cruelty, and 4) exploitation. St. Nikolai of Zica bluntly
adds, “If men, unto seventy times seven, refuse the salvation of God,
then He will not save them.” St. Nikolai’s point in this assertion is
that God does not desire the death of sinners, but seeks our repentance
that He may save us.
Recall the thrust of the Lord Jesus’ teaching found in the Beatitudes:
God shall bestow blessing upon those who forswear their sins in favor of
poverty of spirit, mourning for their sins, and seeking righteousness in
all their living. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
Kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3). Make no mistake: God will not turn His
anger away until we follow the path of the Beatitudes: first, pleading
for mercy from Him and then immediately pleading, “Remember us, O Lord,
when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom.”
However, when any of the People of God speak “in their pride and lofty
heart ” (Is. 9:9), and presume to “build” for themselves (vs. 10) – even
successfully – but do not say, “I know, O Lord, that I justly deserve
any punishment Thou mayest inflict upon me for I have so often offended
Thee and sinned against Thee in thought, word, and deed,” let us be
certain that God’s “hand is exalted” (vs.12) against them. Modest
prayer, offered honestly, reflects at least, a modicum of poverty of
spirit and mourning for sin. Such, the Lord says, will lead to the
Kingdom of Heaven and to comfort from Him. The world around us
encourages godless self-reliance rather than meek dependence on God. How
much better to say: “The bricks are fallen down” (vs. 10), admit our
complicity, and commit ourselves - with God’s grace - to rebuild as the
Lord guides.
The spirit of contemporary culture, which so many foolishly adopt, is
not to turn to God “until they [are] smitten” and only then to seek the
Lord (vs.13). What an accurate definition of godlessness! And the nicest
people are guilty of this, elders and honored men as well as “the
prophet teaching unlawful things” (vs.15), but they “mislead” God’s
people (vs.16) even the “orphans [and] widows: for they are all
transgressors for every one is godless and an evildoer” (vs.17).
Remember that our Savior “teaches us by a parable to run away from the
haughtiness of the Pharisees,” promising instead that “the pure in
heart...shall see God” (Mt. 5:8).
Godless failure to seek the Lord of hosts unfailingly manifests itself
in iniquity that burns “as fire...in the thickets of the wood, and
[devours] all that is round about the hills....because of the fierce
anger of the Lord” leaving a man hungry and unsatisfied “eating the
flesh of his own arm” (vss. 18,19,20). It is not God’s way! The
Beatitudes teach us: “Blessed are the merciful” (Mt. 5:7) and “Blessed
are the peace makers” (Mt. 5:9).
Those who suffer most when godless wickedness is the norm in society are
the needy, the poor of My people, the widows and the fatherless who are
turned into the prey by society’s predators. “For this His wrath is not
turned away” (Is. 10:4). How much better it is, Beloved of the Lord,
that we “hunger and thirst for righteousness sake” (Mt. 5:6) now in all
our ways than find the Lord’s hand “exalted” against us for all eternity
when we shall appear before Him.
O Christ our God, Who didst compassionately ordain for us forgiveness
with kingly authority; forsake us not in our danger of estrangement from
Thee, but arise and save us!
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If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/
Collect
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
++++++++++
Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/
Psalm 61, 62; Psalm 68:1-20(21-23)24-36; Jer. 2:1-13; Rom. 1:16-25; John 4:43-54
++++++++++
From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm
Romans 1:16-25. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things that he has made.
Every weekday morning, I walk the quiet streets of our neighborhood while my husband prepares breakfast. Most of the school year I walk in darkness; in early March I still trudge through snow.
A colleague tries to help me see March as the "unlocking season," when ice lets go its stranglehold on lakes and rivers here in northern New England, and sap begins to flow in maple trees. How often in this Lenten, leaden month I long for more dramatic manifestation of God's "divine nature...seen through the things that he has made." I long for daffodils and apple blossoms, hummingbirds and goldfinches. Instead I get lowering clouds and crusty snow.
Underneath, however, invisible but real, the ground softens, roots stretch into the earth, ice melts. God's invisible power is at work in this late winter world--and whether we can see it or not, God is at work in us as well: working the earth of our hearts, melting our lethargy, softening our judgments, stretching us in new directions, deepening our rootedness in Christ.
++++++++++
Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm
Today is another Lenten Feria, a free day.
++++++++++
Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Mombasa (Kenya)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
++++++++++
40 Ideas for Lent: A Lenten calendar http://ship-of-fools.com/lent/index.html
12. PHONE A FRIEND
TUES 6 MAR
Phone someone you haven't seen in a while, and/or take them out for coffee. I'm thinking particularly of people who don't get out much because of young children, caring for relatives, lack of money, or because they're in an isolated situation. Often you find that the call came through just when they most needed to know someone cared.
Idea by: Gill H
Lent quote: "He who knows himself is greater than he who raises the dead." – St Isaac of Syria
++++++++++
A Celtic lenten Calendar
http://www.oursanctuary.net/celticlent.html
O God, hearken to my prayer,
Let my earnest petition come to Thee,
For I know that Thou art hearing me
As surely as though I saw Thee with mine eyes.
Let no fancy come to my mind,
Let no ruffle come to my spirit,
That is hurtful to my poor body this night,
Nor ill for my soul at the hour of my death;
But mayest Thou Thyself, O God of life,
Be at my breast, be at my back,
Thou to me as a star, Thou to me as a guide,
From my life's beginning to my life's closing.
++++++++++
Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php
Let us remember our holy Fathers of past days, the hermits whose lives we attempt to imitate. What sufferings they bore, what solitude, cold and hunger, what burning sun and heat! … Do you suppose they were made of iron? No, they were as frail as we are.
St Teresa of Jesus
Way, 11.4
++++++++++
Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html
It was said concerning Abba Agathon that some monks came to find him having heard tell of his great discernment. Wanting to see if he would lose his temper they said to him 'Aren't you that Agathon who is said to be a fornicator and a proud man?' 'Yes, it is very true,' he answered. They resumed, 'Aren't you that Agathon who is always talking nonsense?' 'I am." Again they said 'Aren't you Agathon the heretic?' But at that he replied 'I am not a heretic.' So they asked him, 'Tell us why you accepted everything we cast you, but repudiated this last insult.' He replied 'The first accusations I take to myself for is it not said, ' The Egyptians hide the virtues they possess and ceaselessly accuse themselves of faults they do not have, while the Syrians and Greeks pretend to have virtues they do not have, and hide the faults of which they are guilty.'
++++++++++
Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
Their server is down.
++++++++++
From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:
Day Six - the First Aim (Cont.)
The primary aim for us as Tertiaries is therefore to make Christ known. This
shapes our lives and attitudes to reflect the obedience of those whom our
Lord chose to be with him and sent out as his witnesses. Like them, by word
and example, we bear witness to Christ in our own immediate environment and
pray and work for the fulfillment of his command to make disciples of all
nations.
God, you resist the proud and give grace to the humble: help us not to think
proudly, but to serve you with the humility that pleases you, so we may walk
in the steps of your servant Francis and receive the gift of your grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
++++++++++
Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/
WHEN DEVELOPING a disciplined practice, one of the most valuable gifts we can give ourselves is gentleness. In everyday life, we tend to associate discipline with rigidity, rules, and consequences for misbehavior. Sometimes this kind of discipline is indeed necessary. However, we tend to downplay the equally important role of gentleness in making changes. Change requires a great deal of effort from anyone engaged in it, even if the change is positive. Change plunges a previously ordered system into temporary chaos, and chaos is stressful. Gentleness takes into account our effort and stress; treating ourselves gently is a way of offering encouragement and appreciation for the work being done.
- Sarah Parsons
A Clearing Season
From page 52 of A Clearing Season by Sarah Parsons. Copyright © 2005 by Sarah Parsons.
+++++++++++
Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
Back to Basics"
It may be the last thing to occur to you, but even the desire to be a saint, to be the holiest or most generous person in your parish, the most observant priest - whatever - all of that is ego. It's not the love of God, it's the love of self. Ego takes endless disguises, but basically it is the need to control reality and think well of oneself. Ego is dominating so many of the situations of the Church (which should know better!). Ego has remained largely unquestioned and uncountered because we put all our emphasis on controlling the shadow or dark side of the personality. Jesus is clearly saying the shadow is not the problem, but power and pride are. The ego, therefore, remains largely out of control. (If we do question ego, it is usually the rebellious egos of those at the bottom. And we at the top go on controlling.)
from St. Anthony Messenger, "African Journal"
++++++++++
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/tradition/sources.htm
The fragrance of the Son
Every Christian is aware that this passage is usually understood of Christ our head. As evening drew near, the Lord yielded up his soul upon the cross in the certainty of receiving it back again; it was not wrested from him against his will. But we too were represented there. Christ had nothing to hang upon the cross except the body he had received from us. And it was surely not possible for God the Father to abandon his only Son, who shared with him the one Godhead. Nevertheless, when Christ nailed our human weakness to the cross—that cross to which, as the apostle says, our unregenerate nature has been fastened along with him—it was with the voice of our humanity that he exclaimed: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
That, then, is the evening sacrifice: the Lord's own passion, his cross, the offering on it of the saving victim, of that holocaust which is acceptable to God. And by his rising, Christ turned that evening sacrifice into a morning oblation.
Similarly, the pure prayer which ascends from a faithful heart will be like incense rising from a hallowed altar. No fragrance can be more pleasing to God than that of his own Son. May all the faithful breathe out the same perfume.
Augustine of Hippo, (354 - 430), bishop of Hippo, became the most influential person of the Western Church and left many writings to posterity.
++++++++++
Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/
AMID A CROWD OF PALTRY THINGS
". . . in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." 2 Corinthians 6:4
It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is no vision and no spectator - the next step in devotion, the next step in your study, in your reading, in your kitchen; the next step in your duty, when there is no vision from God, no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that step, than it does to preach the Gospel.
Every Christian has to partake of what was the essence of the Incarnation, he must bring the thing down into flesh and blood actualities and work it out through the finger tips. We flag when there is no vision, no uplift, but just the common round, the trivial task. The thing that tells in the long run for God and for men is the steady persevering work in the unseen, and the only way to keep the life uncrushed is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the Risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to damp you. Continually get away from pettiness and paltriness of mind and thought out into the thirteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel.
++++++++++
Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/
Chapter 29: Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should Be Received Again
If a brother
who through his own fault leaves the monastery
should wish to return,
let him first promise full reparation for his having gone away;
and then let him be received in the lowest place,
as a test of his humility.
And if he should leave again,
let him be taken back again,
and so a third time;
but he should understand that after this
all way of return is denied him.
Commentary: http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html
Life is often a series of false starts while we find out who we are and determine where we really want to go. Benedict understands the struggle of uncertainty and indecision and makes room for it. After all, the giving of oneself to anything is no small thing and should be done with reflection and with peace of mind. So, Benedict allows candidates to the life to try again and again. What he does not permit them to do, however, is to ignore the fact that behavior has consequences or that sometime, somehow they must finally commit to something if they are going to get on with the process of both psychological and spiritual growth. With those two concepts in mind, Benedict allows candidates to enter and leave the monastery no more than three times and then only provided that they realize that every new beginning begins at the beginning again.
There are in this chapter good insights for all of us: eventually we must all settle down and do something serious with our lives and everyday we must make a fresh beginning of it.
++++++++++
Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan
Read Excerpts from the Church Fathers during Lent
http://www.churchyear.net/lentfathers.html
St. Justin Martyr: First Apology: 1-11
++++++++++
From our Greek Orthodox brethren:
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Great Fast The Forty-Two Martyrs of Amoria in Phrygia
6th Hour: Isaiah 9:9-10:4 1st Vespers: Genesis 7:1-5
2nd Vespers: Proverbs 8:32-9:11
Repentance or Judgment: Isaiah 9:9-10:4 LXX, especially vss. 12, 17, 21,
and 4: “For all this His anger is not turned away, but still His hand is
yet exalted.” The Holy Fathers declare that we are to repent and accept
God’s rule over life and death, a truth plainly to be manifest when we
“stand before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ.” A prophetic reminder
of this destiny, like an oft-repeating refrain, appears four times in
the present passage from Isaiah, each time concluding a description of
sin among the People of God: 1) arrogance of heart, 2) godless evil
doing, 3) cruelty, and 4) exploitation. St. Nikolai of Zica bluntly
adds, “If men, unto seventy times seven, refuse the salvation of God,
then He will not save them.” St. Nikolai’s point in this assertion is
that God does not desire the death of sinners, but seeks our repentance
that He may save us.
Recall the thrust of the Lord Jesus’ teaching found in the Beatitudes:
God shall bestow blessing upon those who forswear their sins in favor of
poverty of spirit, mourning for their sins, and seeking righteousness in
all their living. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
Kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3). Make no mistake: God will not turn His
anger away until we follow the path of the Beatitudes: first, pleading
for mercy from Him and then immediately pleading, “Remember us, O Lord,
when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom.”
However, when any of the People of God speak “in their pride and lofty
heart ” (Is. 9:9), and presume to “build” for themselves (vs. 10) – even
successfully – but do not say, “I know, O Lord, that I justly deserve
any punishment Thou mayest inflict upon me for I have so often offended
Thee and sinned against Thee in thought, word, and deed,” let us be
certain that God’s “hand is exalted” (vs.12) against them. Modest
prayer, offered honestly, reflects at least, a modicum of poverty of
spirit and mourning for sin. Such, the Lord says, will lead to the
Kingdom of Heaven and to comfort from Him. The world around us
encourages godless self-reliance rather than meek dependence on God. How
much better to say: “The bricks are fallen down” (vs. 10), admit our
complicity, and commit ourselves - with God’s grace - to rebuild as the
Lord guides.
The spirit of contemporary culture, which so many foolishly adopt, is
not to turn to God “until they [are] smitten” and only then to seek the
Lord (vs.13). What an accurate definition of godlessness! And the nicest
people are guilty of this, elders and honored men as well as “the
prophet teaching unlawful things” (vs.15), but they “mislead” God’s
people (vs.16) even the “orphans [and] widows: for they are all
transgressors for every one is godless and an evildoer” (vs.17).
Remember that our Savior “teaches us by a parable to run away from the
haughtiness of the Pharisees,” promising instead that “the pure in
heart...shall see God” (Mt. 5:8).
Godless failure to seek the Lord of hosts unfailingly manifests itself
in iniquity that burns “as fire...in the thickets of the wood, and
[devours] all that is round about the hills....because of the fierce
anger of the Lord” leaving a man hungry and unsatisfied “eating the
flesh of his own arm” (vss. 18,19,20). It is not God’s way! The
Beatitudes teach us: “Blessed are the merciful” (Mt. 5:7) and “Blessed
are the peace makers” (Mt. 5:9).
Those who suffer most when godless wickedness is the norm in society are
the needy, the poor of My people, the widows and the fatherless who are
turned into the prey by society’s predators. “For this His wrath is not
turned away” (Is. 10:4). How much better it is, Beloved of the Lord,
that we “hunger and thirst for righteousness sake” (Mt. 5:6) now in all
our ways than find the Lord’s hand “exalted” against us for all eternity
when we shall appear before Him.
O Christ our God, Who didst compassionately ordain for us forgiveness
with kingly authority; forsake us not in our danger of estrangement from
Thee, but arise and save us!
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posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 8:10 AM
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