A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings

Genesis 24:1-27

Abraham entrusts his servant with the responsibility of finding a wife for Isaac. Abraham assured his servant that the Lord, the God of heaven, would guide him. In faith, the servant sets out on this task of finding Isaac a wife, and the servant prays, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today …”. The Lord led the servant to the daughter of Bethuel. Upon realizing that God had helped him find Isaac’s wife, the servant rejoiced, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way …”. What major life decisions are we faced with making? In what ways is God guiding us by faith to making the right decisions. How deeply do we believe that the Lord will not forsake his steadfast love for us and his faithfulness in our life’s journey?


Hebrews 12:3-11

Some of you might recall Pink Floyd’s song entitled “Another Brick in The Wall”.  A section of the lyrics reads - “We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teacher, leave them kids alone. Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone.” Is education necessary? Do our thoughts need to be controlled? Why does the Bible talk about training or disciplining our children? If we truly support free speech and free choice, then is there really a need for a teacher/student relationship? In this passage, we are reminded that Jesus endured hostility against himself for our sake. What was Jesus trying to teach us by remaining disciplined before God the Father and submitting himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit? When we consider that Jesus modeled such willingness to learn and submit, we naturally gain confidence in our own struggle against sin and suffering. Therefore, let us not grow weary or lose heart. God exhorts us - "My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts." We must look at our trials and tribulations as an opportunity to grow in discipline. You see, God treats us as his own children. What child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If we do not have the discipline to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then how can we say that we are God’s children. Just think about it. We had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the spirit of God and so that we might live life more abundantly? Our parents disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. By all means, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time. Later, however, discipline yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Yes, we need education. Yes, we must bring our thoughts, words and deeds under the control of the Holy Spirit. Yes, God is the ‘Good Teacher’, and we must privileged to be students under his mentorship.


John 7:1-13

We have all had moments where we intentionally avoided certain people or places because we knew nothing good would come out of it. Is this wrong? Does it sound Christlike to avoid certain people or places? In this passage, we are told that there were people and places that Jesus avoided because he clearly knew that people were looking for an opportunity to trap him and bring him down. Jesus openly admitted that there were individuals and groups that hated him because he exposed their evil intentions and deeds. On a number of occasions, Jesus went about his ministry in secret. Yet, those who were bent on evil still found ways to complain about his ministry. Even though many people felt Jesus was a good man, many others felt we was a bad influence and was deceiving the people. Which perception about Jesus was true, which one was false? Unfortunately, those who felt Jesus was good, refused to speak out openly on his behalf because they were afraid of drawing attention to themselves. It is hard for us to know who is with us and who is against us? All we can know for sure is that we are called to be faithful, and that God understands when we intentionally avoid toxic situations.


To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.

Fr. Thomas+

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