tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17711806066275996102024-02-07T00:18:19.157-08:00Merrie Melody's PontificationsMelodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01335907113967987846noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1771180606627599610.post-12073013866190339012020-03-13T14:17:00.000-07:002020-03-13T14:32:42.318-07:00Daily Office readings for March 13, 2020<div style="background-color: white;">
Friday in the 2nd Week of Lent.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://satucket.com/lectionary/Psalm95.html">Psalm 95</a>, <a href="http://satucket.com/lectionary/Psalm69.html">69:1-23(24-30)31-38</a>; * <a href="http://satucket.com/lectionary/Psalm73.html">Psalm 73</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Genesis+43:1-15">Gen. 43:1-15</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=1+Corinthians+7:1-9">1 Cor. 7:1-9</a>; <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Mark+4:35-41">Mark 4:35-41</a></span></div>
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I wanted to post a link to the service hymn #35 in <u>The Hymnal 1982</u> from The Episcopal Church being sung/performed, but I couldn't find one. </div>
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The text of the song is the same as the verses 1-7 of Psalm 95, and a portion of the tune of the song can be heard ( <a href="https://www.riteseries.org/song/Hymnal1982ServiceMusic/1387/">here</a> )</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.2px;">S35. The Invitatory: Venite</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Come let us sing to the Lor<span class="highlight">d</span>;<br />let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> raise a lou<span class="highlight">d</span> shout to him with psalms.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. For the Lor<span class="highlight">d</span> is a great Go<span class="highlight">d</span>,<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> a great King above all go<span class="highlight">d</span>s.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. In his han<span class="highlight">d</span> are the caverns of the earth,<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> the heights of the hills are his also.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. The sea is his, for he ma<span class="highlight">d</span>e it,<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> his han<span class="highlight">d</span>s have mol<span class="highlight">d</span>e<span class="highlight">d</span> the <span class="highlight">d</span>ry lan<span class="highlight">d</span>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Come, let us bow <span class="highlight">d</span>own, an<span class="highlight">d</span> ben<span class="highlight">d</span> the knee,<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> kneel before the Lor<span class="highlight">d</span> our Maker.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. For he is our Go<span class="highlight">d</span>,<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> we are the people of his pasture<br />an<span class="highlight">d</span> the sheep of his han<span class="highlight">d</span>.<br />Oh, that to<span class="highlight">d</span>ay you woul<span class="highlight">d</span> hearken to his voice!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Compare those words of praise to the cry of help from Psalm 69 - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong class="xbig">69</strong> <em>Salvum me fac</em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Save me, O God, *<br />for the waters have risen up to my neck.<br /><br />2 I am sinking in deep mire, *<br />and there is no firm ground for my feet.<br /><br />3 I have come into deep waters, *<br />and the torrent washes over me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To read those words all in the same day sounds like a typical day for a human like me. </span><br />
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Melodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01335907113967987846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1771180606627599610.post-17691090766456958582019-02-19T09:09:00.000-08:002019-02-19T09:14:45.847-08:00Mark 10:17-22 The Rich Young Man - Feb. 19, 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQw2FCoynO6VFj3V8RA80z70iLWrJ88kDysJrRRKS6a8azFDqFBy_u418npsFbFP1Ox4qJmKZF_b-MtXopmE7TjZUQKekqQ0-VLmNvXRY79x-nhU5O7kgEuocWkYS-TgLMQMu_ummrbS0/s1600/ChinesedepictionofJesusandtherichyoungmanBeijing1879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQw2FCoynO6VFj3V8RA80z70iLWrJ88kDysJrRRKS6a8azFDqFBy_u418npsFbFP1Ox4qJmKZF_b-MtXopmE7TjZUQKekqQ0-VLmNvXRY79x-nhU5O7kgEuocWkYS-TgLMQMu_ummrbS0/s320/ChinesedepictionofJesusandtherichyoungmanBeijing1879.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chinese depiction of Jesus and the rich young man, Beijing, 1879.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+10%3A17-22&version=NKJV">Mark 10:17-22</a> -<br />
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17 Now as He [Jesus] was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”<br />
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18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”<br />
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20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”<br />
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21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”<br />
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22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.<br />
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I love this story, especially Mark's version. This rich young man has come to Jesus asking what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus tells him to keep the commandments he says he has done all of those things since his youth -<br />
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In the rich young man, we are obviously not dealing with someone who has taken lightly his eternal salvation; he has been choosing to live the commandments since his youth. But Jesus knows what would truly hold this person back was his riches -<br />
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In this passage, Jesus demonstrates what it looks like to perfectly discipline. He "looked at him and loved him and said..."<br />
Jesus wasn't trying to trip him up. Jesus wasn't trying to call him out. Jesus wasn't trying to shame him. Instead, Jesus looked on him, <b><i>loved him</i></b>, and told him the one thing that was going to keep his heart on the things of the world & weigh him down.<br />
He loved him.<br />
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My former priest taught that there is a difference between being kind and being nice. Being nice doesn't really care about the other person. It will stroke the ego whether it is healthy or not. It will give in to things whether it is healthy or not. It never rocks the boat, but goes along and gets along whether it is healthy or not.<br />
Kind, on the other hand, cares about what is healthy/whole/holy. It cares about healthy relationships. It cares about the other person at the same time as caring about self and community.<br />
It is interesting to note that the word "perfect" has the same <a href="https://www.getwellstaywellamerica.com/EnergyEnhancers/etymologyHealth.htm">etymological root word </a>as the words healthy/whole/holy. Let's apply that knowledge to this scripture: "Therefore you shall be healed/whole/holy, just as your Father in heaven is healed/whole/holy." (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A48&version=NKJV">Matthew 5:48</a>) To be perfect is to be healed/whole/holy like our Father in heaven is healed/whole/holy. And we know that Jesus is the great physician to heal us. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+2%3A17&version=NKJV">Mark 2:17</a>).<br />
Being kind is what helps us to love our neighbor <i>as </i>ourselves. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A28-31&version=NIV">Mark 12:28-31</a>) Not love your neighbor <i>more than</i> yourself or <i>less than</i> yourself but <b><i>as</i></b> yourself.<br />
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It was a kindness for Jesus to tell the rich young man the truth when he asked what it was that he needed to do.<br />
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We do not know what happens to this rich young man. Sometimes it feels to me like a "choose your own ending" story. It is easy to see that he will wrestle with the idea of selling his possessions. Jesus realized that too. The next verses say:<br />
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23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”<br />
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Jesus wasn't making an excuse for the young man or judging him for being sad at the thought of not having his riches; he simply makes the disciples aware that he had asked a great deal from this young man.<br />
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On the one hand, I'd like to have Jesus tell me the one thing that will keep me tied too much to things that don't really matter - the things that will rust and decay and not last. Yet what a difficult situation that would be.<br />
With God's help, I hope that we all will be able to let go of those things that don't serve us or make us whole or healed or holy; that don't make us perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Amen.<br />
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♥ Melody<br />
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<br />Melodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01335907113967987846noreply@blogger.com1