Friday May 21 Easter 7
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Psalm 102
A lament at the destruction of Jerusalem 600 years before Jesus. It ends with hope of God’s faithfulness. The imagery of desolation is appropriate for Fridays, the mini-anniversary of Jesus being betrayed, abandoned, and in hours will be dead. Yet God will remain faithful.
Ezekiel 34: 17-31 What’s Ezekiel about?
God intends to stop the exploitation going on between rich and poor Israelites—the strong sheep who push the weak sheep away—and will remove the fear of wild animals and slavery by foreign nations. God will make sure that everyone lives in peace and safety and that there will be sufficient food for everyone. This is the peace and security that God intended for everyone at the beginning of creation. Ezekiel is saying that God will begin the beautiful creation again—wonderful good news for a people enslaved in exile!
Ezekiel’s book continues with promises of fulfillment—God gaining victory over the the Babylonians, then the famous image of a valley of dry bones (the dispirited Israelites) being filled with life by the spirit, and then the final eight chapters describing the new temple in enormous detail.
This concludes our readings from Ezekiel in which God promises a fulfilled future for the people. Tomorrow we begin readings of how that new future comes in the form of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Luke 10: 38-42 What’s Luke about?
Jesus stays with two women and enables each to be fulfilled—Mary claims equality with Jesus by sitting next to him and learning, and Jesus affirms Martha’s role as the senior hostess. The kingdom arrives differently for each of us and heals our jealousies and deeply fulfills us.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven.
Mercifully give us faith to know
that, as he promised,
he abides with us on earth to the end of time;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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