A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings

Hosea 4:11-19

This passage shines a light on Israel’s idolatry and even goes as far as referring to Israel as a whore. It is the adultery of idolatry as Israel forsakes God for another lover. Stubbornness and ignorance bring about Israel’s ruin. The question is raised: “Can the Lord now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?”

  1. What idols have we become so addicted to that we have sold our soul for?

  2. How has our own stubbornness and ignorance negatively impacted our life?

  3. Can the Lord feed us spiritually even when we have strayed far away from the faith? Explain.

Acts 21:15-26

In this passage Paul arrives in Jerusalem and is welcomed warmly by the elders. When the elders gathered around him, Paul related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. The elders praised God but warned Paul that the Jews were angry with him because they felt he was telling people to forsake Moses, stop circumcision, and abandon other Jewish customs. In order to avoid conflict with the Jews, the elders arranged for Paul to sponsor four men that would go through the Jewish rites of purification and thereby show commitment to Jewish ways. The elders also sent a letter informing the Gentiles that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols and from fornication.

  1. What might it have been like for Paul to be received warmly but with a warning? Has this ever happened to you? Describe.

  2. Do you think Paul was hypocritical for embracing the Jewish customs and instructing the Gentiles to abstain from food sacrificed to idols and from fornication? Should our approach to evangelism stay the same from one context to the next or should it change? Explain.

Luke 5:27-39

The call of Levi the tax collector is a remarkable example of how Christ calls us to leave everything and follow him. We are told that Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. While this banquet may have felt welcoming to the large crowd of tax collectors, it did not sit well with the Pharisees and their scribes who questioned why Jesus would dare to drink with tax collectors and sinners? As an answer to the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus stated: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance." The Pharisees and scribes then pointed out that John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but that Jesus’ disciples are sacrilegious by eating and drinking. To this Jesus responds: "You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." Then Jesus shared with a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, 'The old is good.'"

  1. Do sinners have a right to be part of the church community? Should sinners be permitted to take part in the Holy Eucharist? Explain.

  2. Why did Jesus join in fellowship with the large crowd of tax collectors knowing full well that the Pharisees and their scribes would find this action offensive?

  3. In what ways have we offended others by going against their wishes and not conforming to mainstream societal expectations?

  4. When should we fast and when should we feast? How might the different spiritual exercises impact our spiritual growth?

  5. What old spiritual traditions do you cherish? What new spiritual practices appeal to you? What remains constant among old spiritual traditions and new spiritual practices?

To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.

Fr. Thomas+



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