Devotion for the Ninth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C (Humes)

Above:  Cyrus II

Image in the Public Domain

To Glorify and Enjoy God

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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2 Chronicles 36:11-23 or Joshua 24:1-7, 13-25

Psalm 83:1-5, 13-18

Ephesians 6:11-24

Luke 7:1-17

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One should serve God, of course.  Not trying to do so is mainly unacceptable.  Yet trying to do so does not guarantee succeeding in doing so; one can be sincerely wrong.  The history of religion is replete with those who have committed evils while laboring under the impression they were serving God.  So is the present state of religion.

We are morally responsible for and to each other.  Saying and writing that sentence is easy.  Understanding how it properly translates into attitudes and actions in various contexts can prove very challenging, though.

Praying is a good start, of course.  Yet we must distinguish between a dialogue and an internal monologue if we are to know the difference between God and what we want to hear.

God’s choice of human instruments may surprise us, as may the number of “others” who are among the faithful.  We humans tend to prefer neat, orderly categories, such as “insiders” and “outsiders.”  But what if we, who think ourselves as insiders, are really outsiders?  I tell people sometimes that the lists of people who are in Heaven and who are not there would astound and scandalize us if we could see them.

Grace is astounding, is it not?  It is free yet not cheap.  Likewise, judgment and mercy exist in context of each other; they are in balance God knows what that balance is.  So be it.

May we, by grace, succeed is serving God, in glorifying and enjoying God in the moment and forever.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 22, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT DEOGRATIAS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CARTHAGE

THE FEAST OF EMMANUEL MOURNIER, PERSONALIST PHILOSOPHER

THE FEAST OF JAMES DE KOVEN, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF THOMAS HUGHES, BRITISH SOCIAL REFORMER AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/devotion-for-proper-7-year-c-humes/

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/to-glorify-and-enjoy-god-ii/

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