Monday October 25 Pentecost 22
Click here for simplified daily office prayers
Psalm 44
This is a psalm for times when bad things happen to us when it’s not our fault. The psalm starts off by recounting how God did amazing things for us in the past—God rescued us out of Egypt through the Red Sea. But now God no longer cares for us and terrible things are happening to us, even though we have done nothing wrong. At the end the psalm says there is nothing to do but call on God to put things right.
Zechariah 1: 7-17 What’s Zechariah about?
This is another prophecy that in spite of having allowed terrible things to happen, God promises that the temple will be rebuilt and that Jerusalem will prosper again. The prophet is proclaiming that the rebuilding of Jerusalem is caused by God’s care, and isn’t simply an accident of international politics.
Matthew 12: 43-50 What’s Matthew about?
Jesus challenges those who claim to be converted from abuse to truth but who use their new reputation as upright people to cover their new commitment to evil. This continues Matthew’s theme that naming what is good as if it were evil is profoundly violating to God. He then says that our commitment to truth and justice may require us to make difficult decisions about where our loyalties lie—our loyalty to what is true and just is deeper even than family.
This week’s collect:
Lord God our redeemer,
who heard the cry of your people
and sent your servant Moses
to lead them out of slavery,
free us from the tyranny of sin and death,
and by the leading of your Spirit
bring us to our promised land;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Click here to share a comment on the web site.