Thursday April 28 Easter 2
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Psalm 18 Part 2
The first half of this long psalm used images from the escape through the Red Sea to celebrate God’s rescue of us. This second half speaks of our faithfulness (understood to be a way of doing justice) which has been made possible because of our being rescued. The psalm goes on to use the imagery of total military victory as a symbol of the victory that God’s justice will have and how deeply we rejoice in that victory.
Exodus 16.10-21 What’s Exodus about?
God provides miraculous food, which they called “manna”, everyone had the right amount, a form of social justice instituted by God—hoarding extra only produces rot. The provision of food in the wilderness became a central theme of the psalms and of Jesus’ ministry and is the origin in Jesus’ prayer of the petition “Give us today our daily bread”—i.e. enough bread for today, but “don’t let us become greedy and hoard it,” so it’s also the bread of justice.
John 15.12-27 What’s John about?
Jesus calls the disciples equals as “friends” which is consistent with the image of their being branches of a vine. They become equals by loving—by being governed by generous self-offering. But as equals to Jesus, the world, which is governed by greed, will oppose them just as it opposed him.
If he hadn’t shown God’s self-offering love, there might be an excuse for the world’s greed, but since God’s self-offering love has been shown in Jesus as the foundation of the world, the world is enraged to have its priorities of selfish greed made so clear.
At the conclusion of this passage Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit who will affirm that Jesus embodies God, and who will do the same for the disciples. John the writer, is aware that early Christians were under severe pressure and understands that God will act for them after Jesus’ earthly life is over.
This week’s collect:
Eternal Giver of life and light,
the strength of those who believe
and the hope of those who doubt,
may we, who have not seen, have faith
and receive the fullness of Christ’s blessing,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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