Lectionary Scriptures and Comments

Archive for May 23, 2012

Aside

So That Your Joy May Be Complete 052312

 

The happy children of The Little Field Home

The happy children of The Little Field Home (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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So That Your Joy May Be Complete 052312

The final words of today’s selection provide the title. Jesus tells us that before then, no one prayed ‘in Jesus’ name we pray’.

In saying this, we might hear the voice of Jesus telling us what will happen next: Jesus will resume the part of him that is God, leaving the human person behind. For us, Jesus says that now we can ‘Ask and you will receive’  when we ask it of God in Jesus’ name.

When we pray, pray for peace

brother Bill

Peace Mennonite Church keeps a prayer list for those in need. If you need prayer, or want to e-mail our pastor, e-mail billd @ peacemennonitechurch.net (Take out the extra spaces to use this e-mail—the spaces confuse spam generators).

Pray with us!

We are praying as a church, and attempting to follow the centuries’ old tradition of praying with other Christians three times a day. We are following the prayer liturgy at www.commonprayer.net

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Scriptures follow the meditation and thoughts. Scriptures for the day selected by http://www.commontexts.org/

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Psalm 115

1Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

2Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

3Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.

4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

5They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

6They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

7They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats.

8Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them.

9O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

12The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;

13he will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.

14May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children.

15May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

16The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings.

17The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence.

18But we will bless the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Praise the Lord!

Ezra 9:5-15

5At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6and said, “O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case. 8But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery. 9For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem. 10“And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor? 15O Lord, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this.”

John 16:16-24

16”A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. 22So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

23On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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on May 23, 2012