Friday May 3 Easter 5
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Psalm 73
I almost joined the proud and evil people, who get away with anything. But I continue to suffer in spite of being faithful to God. I could not understand this, until in your temple I realised that you are in charge in the end.
Leviticus 23.1-22 What’s Leviticus about?
Festivals are proscribed in detail, with the recurring reference to seventh days—which are the days on which we are to put the world back into the joyful fulfilment it had on the seventh day of creation—when nobody is enslaved and all are fulfilled. The Christian Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Day originated in the Passover festival described here. The following seven weeks of seven days (signifying the fulfilment of the original joy of completed creation) ends fifty days later. Luke in his gospel associated that feast with Pentecost, which is why Pentecost is fifty days after Easter. This passage concludes with the command to always leave some of the crop for the poor and for foreigners to have for free—owners are never to take 100% of their profits. This prohibition against powerful owners caring only about themselves, formed the basis of Israelite society in which all were of value, including those who were not successful and those who don’t belong. Our society today has the opportunity to become healthy by enacting the same expectation.
Matthew 7.1-12 What’s Matthew about?
In Matthew, Jesus is often concerned that Christians treat each other with respect and love, otherwise we are of no use to the world. What makes this possible is our trust in God’s underlying goodness—if that’s the way things really are fundamentally, then it is natural that we should treat each other in the Christian community with deep respect and care.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
Give us grace to love one another
and walk in the way of his commandments,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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