Saturday August 3 Pentecost 10
Click here for simplified daily office prayers
Psalm 75
God assures us that justice will prevail.
Psalm 76
Praise to God who stands with overwhelming power for the poor and for the oppressed.
Judges 5.19-31 What’s Judges about?
This is the second half of the ancient song celebrating Deborah’s triumph. While some of the details are gruesome to us, this decisive triumph by a woman showed the ancient Israelites God’s ability to use even the weakest to accomplish God’s promise to be faithful to them and always rescue them. Deborah’s courage and determination to resist the oppression results in a long time (the traditional “forty years”) of peace.
Matthew 28.11-20 What’s Matthew about?
The religious leaders sow false rumours that there never was a resurrection, but Matthew takes pains to refute these. We are overhearing the early Christians arguing for the reality of the resurrection against the early opposition to the faith. Jesus meets his disciples in Galilee, thus refuting the false rumours although some continue to doubt—the early opposition is continuing. Jesus gives final instructions to his disciples that they are to share the hope of being part of God’s renewed kingdom by baptizing people into the kingdom, and he promises to be with them always. Notice that Matthew does not include a description, or even a suggestion, of how Jesus departed in an ascension—that event appears only in Luke and Acts.
This week’s collect:
O God,
the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy,
increase and multiply upon us your mercy,
that with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal,
that we lose not the things eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.