Daily Retreat 07/11/09
2009 Jul 11 Sat:Benedict, ab, rf M
Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a/ Ps 104(105):1-2. 3-4. 6-7/ Mt 10:24-33
From today’s readings:“Can I take the place of God?... Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!... Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”
The End of the Beginning
The last few weeks have featured excerpts from the book of Genesis for the daily first reading, and now we come to the end of this book. With fifty chapters, it’s one of the longer books of the Bible, but since it’s the first book, many people have at least a cursory familiarity with the best known parts: Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, the Tower of Babel, Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac, Jacob and his ladder, Joseph and his coat of many colors.
If you can find a few free hours this weekend, consider re-reading the entire book of Genesis from the beginning to the end. In this way, taken as a whole, Genesis offers a much fuller picture of our earliest family history than is possible from a limited reading of the highlights presented in the lectionary.
Not only will a complete re-reading remind you of the book’s central themes of God’s providence, family solidarity, and the inevitability of being tested for one’s faith, but you’ll also come across a number of verses that reflect the messiness of our human nature - while many such verses are omitted from the lectionary in order to focus on the more edifying sections, those verses are nonetheless still part of Sacred Scripture and thus help us remember to look for God even in the messy parts of our own lives!
Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a/ Ps 104(105):1-2. 3-4. 6-7/ Mt 10:24-33
From today’s readings:“Can I take the place of God?... Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!... Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”
The End of the Beginning
The last few weeks have featured excerpts from the book of Genesis for the daily first reading, and now we come to the end of this book. With fifty chapters, it’s one of the longer books of the Bible, but since it’s the first book, many people have at least a cursory familiarity with the best known parts: Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, the Tower of Babel, Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac, Jacob and his ladder, Joseph and his coat of many colors.
If you can find a few free hours this weekend, consider re-reading the entire book of Genesis from the beginning to the end. In this way, taken as a whole, Genesis offers a much fuller picture of our earliest family history than is possible from a limited reading of the highlights presented in the lectionary.
Not only will a complete re-reading remind you of the book’s central themes of God’s providence, family solidarity, and the inevitability of being tested for one’s faith, but you’ll also come across a number of verses that reflect the messiness of our human nature - while many such verses are omitted from the lectionary in order to focus on the more edifying sections, those verses are nonetheless still part of Sacred Scripture and thus help us remember to look for God even in the messy parts of our own lives!
posted by FrPitstick | 7/07/2009
<< Home