Tuesday April 5 Lent 5
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Psalm 120
God saved me from those who lie and rely on deceit. Even though I am committed to peace, those around me still seek war.
Psalm 121
Confidence that God will watch over us to protect us from natural calamities and everyday situations.
Psalm 122
Joy at entering Jerusalem to worship in the temple. Prayers for Jerusalem.
Psalm 127
It is useless to trust your own hard work—it is God who makes your household succeed.
Exodus 5.1—6.1 What’s Exodus about?
Pharaoh refuses to allow the people to leave, and the people blame Moses for the impossible increase in their required production imposed by the Egyptians. They do not yet trust God to keep the covenant. But regardless of whether the people trust God, God will nevertheless act on their behalf with unparalleled power.
“Let my people go!” became a rallying cry for justice for black people in the USA—they realised that scripture is not only about events long ago, but is also about events in our time. Who are the Pharaohs of our day, and how might we understand God to be acting with power to bring justice and freedom to those exploited and enslaved in our world?
Mark 9.42-50 What’s Mark about?
Jesus has insisted that the disciples make care for each other their priority and that they accept non-disciples as equal to themselves. To emphasize this, Jesus uses deliberately exaggerated images of commitment to justice in order to illustrate the absolute importance of putting the kingdom of justice into practice. Because without being that kind of salt, giving leadership in justice, we are useless to anyone.
This week’s collect:
Most merciful God,
by the death and resurrection
of your Son Jesus Christ,
you created humanity anew.
May the power of his victorious cross
transform those who turn in faith
to him who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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One way of thinking about this is the following. First, we should ask whether our country and our allies have done the same thing in past wars, such as in WWII and WWI when our religious leaders declared that our side was fighting for God? Perhaps we were, or perhaps each country believes that it is fighting for God. Could we have been, or could we ever be, mistaken? If so, what would be a better prayer? If the Patriarch’s only news comes from official Russian sources he may well believe that their forces are fighting for God and Christ.
re: Exodus 5
If Putin be considered the Pharaoh of our day, then how to reconcile that the newly-elected Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is, in the name of Christ, wholly supportive of Putin and Putin’s responsibility for the horrific, immoral, inhumane atrocities that are happening daily in Ukraine?