Week of 3 Easter, Year Two
[Go to Mission St Clare for an online version of the Daily Office including today’s scripture readings.]
Today’s Readings for the Daily Office:
Psalms 25 (morning) // 9, 15 (evening)
Exodus 18:13-27
1 Peter 5:1-14
Matthew (1:1-17); 3:1-6
I inadvertently terrified my daughter this week with a stuffed lion that she received in her Easter basket. Both of my children love to roar like lions while my husband and I pretend to be scared, so I thought that a gentle roar from a stuffed animal might delight my one-year-old. I was wrong, though. Fortunately, she turned to me for comfort even though I was the one who had scared her.
Because I’ve usually seen lions in zoos (except for that one mountain lion who was actually more scared of me), I guess I’ve lost touch with a visceral fear of beasts. Today’s second reading depends on that fear, though, and my daughter’s reaction has reminded me to fear wild and roaring lions. The Scripture warns us: “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.”
It can be dangerous to lose touch with some kinds of fear. There are many enemies stalking our souls, and we’re better off aware of these dangers than not. Like a prowling lion, these dangers can be hard to see, and often they eat away at us before we realize we’re in their jaws. Where might we see the shadows or feel the teeth that endanger us today?
Lora Walsh blogs about taking risks and seeking grace at A Daily Scandal. She serves as Priest Associate of Grace Episcopal Church in Siloam Springs and assists with adult formation and campus ministry at St. Paul’s in Fayetteville, Arkansas.