A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings

Isaiah 65:1-12

In Isaiah 63:7-64:12 the prophet Isaiah offers us the ‘prayer of the remnant’. It is a beautiful prayer in which Isaiah acknowledges how the Jewish exiles in Babylon have sunk into idolatry, turned to wickedness, and become incapable of appreciating the promises of God. Isaiah 65:1-12 is God’s response to Isaiah’s supplication. God addresses the Jewish exiles in Babylon and draws a distinction between those who are sincere and those who are not. Some of the Jewish exiles had turned away from God but some remained true to the Lord. Those who were insincere grieved God’s heart. The Lord is letting these unfaithful exiles know that they have sinned and that they will be punished. The good news is that there is a remnant community that has managed to remain faithful even in exile. This faithful remnant will inherit the promises of God.

  1. In what ways have you been unfaithful to God?

  2. What blessing has God promised to you that you have lost because of your bad choices?

  3. How have you managed to remain faithful to God even when those around you were unfaithful?

1 Timothy 4:1-16

The apostle Paul advises Timothy that there will be hypocrites and liars who will renounce the faith and turn to deceitful spirits and evil demons. Such individuals will forbid and destroy what God has created to be received with thanksgiving. Paul drives home the point that everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving, sanctified by God's word, nourished through the words of faith, rooted in sound teaching, and discerned through prayer. Paul suggests that we must have nothing to do with profanity but instead train ourselves in righteousness. To this end we must be ready to toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Therefore, let no one despise your youth, but set the believers as an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Make it your priority to read, study and teach the Holy Scriptures. Be confident in the gift of prophecy and in the ministry of laying on of hands. Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress in the faith. In doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

  1. Who are the hypocrites and liars in your community today?

  2. What has God called you to celebrate but society has forbidden you to accept?

  3. What 5 guidelines can we use to determine if something is good?

  4. In what specific ways are you training yourself in righteousness?

  5. Do you feel ready to toil and struggle for the Lord? Why do you feel this way?

  6. Have you ever felt less than when it came to leading a Bible study, praying in public, or assisting in worship?

  7. How are reading, studying, and teaching the Bible each a distinct experience? How do the three work together?

  8. Define the ‘gift of prophecy’.

  9. Define the ‘laying on of hands’.

  10. Have you personally experienced the ‘gift of prophecy’ or ‘laying on of hands’? Explain. 

Mark 12:13-27

In this passage, some local leaders are sent to Jesus to trap him. Two distinct scenarios were presented to Jesus. The first involved Jesus being questioned about whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes to the Ceasar. Jesus knew the underlying hypocrisy in the question, and made it clear that we have a responsibility to respect both human and divine authority. The second scenario centered around the resurrection. Some Sadducees asked Jesus about a widow who ended up marrying seven brothers, one after the other, but did not have children with any of them. They wondered whose wife she would be in the resurrection. Jesus pointed out that these Sadducees knew neither the scriptures nor the power of God because in the resurrection we are like angels in heaven and neither marry nor are given in marriage. The Sadducees were more focused on the deaths that had occurred than on the life that God had given them. Jesus emphasized this by saying, God is not a god of the dead, but the God of the living.

  1. Have you ever experienced someone trying to trap you? How did you respond?

  2. What can you learn from how Jesus responded to each of the two scenarios?

  3. What are your thoughts about human authority vs divine authority?

  4. Is your focus more on the troubles of this world or on the triumph of the kingdom? Explain?

To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.

Fr. Thomas+



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