Every once in a while the prayer “save us from the time of trial” must become “not my will, but your will must be done.”
In the face of such a trial, we have Jesus as our forerunner and companion. He knows this territory.
Psalm 31 is like talk therapy with God. The psalmist lets every thought and emotion spill into God’s presence.
“Pray continually” (CEB) or “Pray without ceasing” (NRSV). At first blush it sounds like an impossible command. Our consciousness must be busy with many things. We have to work, think, even sleep. How can we pray continually, without ceasing?
When old ideas lose energy, when relationships wane, when institutions crumble, when things unravel, when we feel decay, when understanding fails — “stand up and raise your heads.”
Jesus and Isaiah speak to our contemporary political and economic scene. Right now we are in a debate. How will we act to restore prosperity to a nation with high unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, increased poverty, struggling schools and a large public debt?
For those of us who read the Daily Office, Wednesday often means that one of our Psalms will be a portion of Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Psalter. For a long time I dreaded these verses. They seemed to praise something I was trying to escape from…
One of the central themes of the prophetic literature is that God will not spare us from our foolish and selfish choices. Of particular concern to the prophets is the injustice of greed, empty false worship, love of luxury, and indifference to the plight of the poor…
Today in our gospel we have a confrontation between Jesus and the authorities. Jesus makes them see their hypocrisy. But the authorities were not moved. They did not change their ways. Instead, they sought to have Jesus eliminated. I can’t say I’m more encouraged by the authorities in our own day.
The writer insists that the now-revealed mystery of the hidden design of God is “to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth.” (1:10b) Everything belongs. All is one and all will be one.
The prophets raise up God’s values, which are always to protect and care for the poor and vulnerable. The prophets declare God’s judgment on those who use their power to expand their wealth rather than their generosity.