A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings
Video: FALLING ASLEEP IN CHURCH
This passage begins by raising the question of why we pray and why we participate in worship? The Lord is fully aware that many people pray with their mouths and worship God with their lips but he suggests that their heart is far from him and that their worship is the result of going through the mechanical motions that others had programmed into them. The people were well aware of the amazing and shocking things that God had done for his people, and so they figured it was best to keep saying the same prayers and doing the same rituals that their ancestors had done. While this makes sense, this is not the kind of prayer or worship that the Lord desires. Saying or doing things a particular way just because it was the norm, diminishes the wisdom of worship, the power of prayer, and the discernment of the discerning. Isaiah the prophet urges the people to consider whether or not their thoughts, words and deeds align with their heart, mind and soul. Isaiah warns them not to be fooled into thinking that they can pray and worship God in the light of day but then sin in the dead of night. Such a lifestyle attempts to turn things upside down by referring to evil as good. It would be like regarding the potter as the clay but we know that the clay will always be clay, and that the potter will always be the potter. Likewise, God alone is holy, and we must reflect God through our life - not the other way around. Those who understand this will be restored and rewarded for their faithfulness. The eyes of the blind shall see, the meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and those who are in need shall exult in the Holy One of Israel for the tyrant shall be no more, the scoffer shall cease to be, and those who do evil shall be cut off.
Why do we pray and why do we participate in worship?
Why do Episcopalians use the Book of Common prayer?
What norms have we accepted without genuinely reflecting on the purpose of those norms?
Do our thoughts, words and deeds align with our heart, mind and soul? Explain.
Is our private life different from our public life? Why or why not?
Is there evil that we have labeled as good? What is the danger of this?
Are you shaping your own life or is God shaping it?
This passage gives us a vision of Jesus the Lamb of God in the new city. John sees no temple in the new city because the Lord God was the temple. The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. It is this light which will give light to the world and receive others into its glorious light. The light will be so great that nothing unclean, unholy, or untrue will remain. Only what is written in the Lamb's book of life will exist. The river of the water of life flows from the throne of God because that is where all life originates and the fountain of holiness. Finally, we are taken back to the Garden of Eden where we come face to face with the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24) and the original purity of God’s created order.
Where do you worship and why?
How does the light of God expose that which is unclean, unholy, and untrue? Give a specific example.
Draw a picture of the throne of God, the Lamb’s book of life, the river of the water of life, and the tree of life. How does the picture you draw speak to you?
Within this passage is imbedded ‘The Song of the Magnificat’. While it resembles Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:1-10) to some extent, the Song of Mary is unique to Mary’s experience. The announcement from the angel Gabrile was huge, and Mary longed to share the news with someone. We are told that Mary set off to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child (Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist) leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord." It is then that Mary breaks forth in singing: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." The Bible tells us that Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home. We can only imagine the intense spiritual journey that Mary and Elizabeth went through together during those three months.
What is the ‘Song of the Magnificat’?
What news has someone shared with you that triggered a response similar to Elizabeth’s?
What responsibility has God placed you in where you have been misunderstood and your authority has been questioned? How can you learn from Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel’s announcement?
To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.
Fr. Thomas+
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