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The intent of Pilgrim Processing is to provide commentary on the Daily Lectionary from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. The format for the comment is Old Testament Lesson first, Gospel, and Epistle with a portion of one of the Psalms for the day as a prayer at the end.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

16 September 2012




The Lord is giving Job a lesson in grandeur.  Have you ever thought about all that God holds in His hand?  The majesty and infinite variety of God's creation and the upholding of it all is beyond our ability to comprehend.  When we consider the vastness of creation and the things that are unseen by us it is nearly amazing that we can even pray.  That the God of all this could hear us and care about our concerns and our lives is almost unimaginable.  That we would then  put Him in the dock and attempt to question Him as a man is mind-boggling but I will say it likely won't be long before I do that very thing in my own life.  Our arrogance knows no bounds.

The incarnation tells us how important we are to Him.  Jesus' teaching tells us how important righteousness is and how everything, even our thoughts are to Him.  Why did He allow Cain's anger to become murder?  He could have stopped that from happening but didn't.  We are treated with great dignity and rather than forcing His will on us He allows us to make mistakes and to do terrible things.  This world is a result of sin.  We need to see that for what it is and change our focus to eternity.  We cannot allow ourselves to be seduced by the things of earth and be conformed to its image and likeness, we have to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and have our minds renewed if we are to seek God's kingdom.

Babylon falls and the world mourns.  A world addicted to pleasure mourns the loss of the city of earthly delights (hat tip to Hieronymous Bosch).  The Lord calls to His people to come out of the city.  There is a Sodom-like appeal here similar to the one made to Lot and his family in Genesis.  We are easily taken in by the pleasures of the eye and the pleasures of the flesh and the Lord must call us away lest we be tempted beyond our ability to withstand.  It is the call of His voice that reminds us who we are and awakens us from our earthly reveries.  He is calling the church and Christians from worldliness to fix our eyes on His kingdom so that we might become salt and light again.

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