Forward Day By Day

THURSDAY, March 11

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0600

Mark 6:30-46. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

In this chapter of Mark, Jesus learns about John the Baptist's terrible murder, finds a lonely place apart to collect himself, and then tackles the teaching and feeding of five thousand persons. Mark depicts an active, can-do Jesus, but we also see one who prays every chance he gets.

Prayer is unlike vitamins or exercise--it is impossible to overdose! Brother Lawrence prayed joyfully as he washed dishes. A rancher friend of mine prays as he spends hours alone in the saddle. Richard Foster, the Quaker writer and teacher, has joined a covenant of friends who take five minutes at noon to stop every other activity, assess how their morning has gone, and ask God's continual guidance.

Perhaps you can experiment with some new ways of praying. You might try a short prayer of thanksgiving for every person with whom you speak in a given day. Or you might offer a stoplight prayer: "You are patience and joy, O God. Help me be more like you."

Teresa of Avila said: "There is but one road that reaches God, and that is prayer. If anyone shows you another, you are being deceived." (1992)

PRAY for the Diocese of Botswana (Central Africa)

Ps [83] or 42,43 * 85, 86; Genesis 46:1-7, 28-34; 1 Corinthians 9:1-15

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

WEDNESDAY, March 10

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0600

Psalm 119:97-120. Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path.

How we react to guidance reveals much about the state of our souls. There are days when even the gentlest reproof can cause us to be defensive or become angry. At other times we are grateful for guidance and good counsel.

We are told that the people of Israel rejoiced "because they had understood the words that were declared to them" when Ezra the priest read from the book of the law in the square before the Water Gate (Nehemiah 8). They heard the words as life-giving. They understood that the law was not a burden but a light to their lives, a lantern to their feet.

To know what is right is one thing. To know what is right and rejoice in it is another. That makes possible a life of perfect service. When we care and earnestly desire God's will upon earth, we discover the freedom for which Christ has set us free. (1985)

To receive guidance appreciatively requires the humility to acknowledge that we do not have all the answers and need the wisdom of others. Guidance is also more likely to be well-received if it is offered with humility. Humility helps on both sides. –Editor's Note

PRAY for the Diocese of Bor (Sudan)

Ps * 81, 82; Genesis 45:16-28; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 6:13-29

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

TUESDAY, March 9 (Gregory of Nyssa)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0600

Genesis 45:1-15. Come closer to me.

When his brothers draw closer, Joseph tells them, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt." He speaks of his life as Pharaoh's son and how God intended him to be there to preserve life through the years of famine. Having told them the truth, he kisses all his brothers and weeps upon them; and after that his brothers talk with him.

Until this moment the brothers are silent. Then they talk to Joseph. The harsh wrong they have done to Joseph cannot be undone. Nothing Joseph says changes the past. The turning point in the story happens only after the one who has been betrayed speaks and forgives. Only then do they talk.

Reconciliation often waits out the tongue-tied guilty who will not or cannot speak first. Why must words of forgiveness precede confession of guilt and remorse? That seems unfair. But if starting over depends only upon justice, where would we be? If new beginnings require confession before being forgiven, who can be healed?

Who in your life stands in guilty silence waiting for you to speak? What reconciliation depends upon your decision to be the first to draw closer and to weep? (2006)

PRAY for the Diocese of Bondo (Kenya)

Ps 78:1-39 * 78:40-72; 1 Corinthians 7:32-40; Mark 6:1-13

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

MONDAY, March 8

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0600

Mark 5:21-43. But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."

Reporters used to go down to the Bay to interview notable visitors. Often the reporters first asked silly questions because it was hard to start the visitors talking.

Similarly, it would be silly to ask a great Bible scholar, "What is the greatest word in the Bible?"

Yet it is not an altogether idle question, for one great Bible scholar, Bishop B. F. Westcott, records a visit to his old schoolmaster, Bishop Prince Lee, who said: "People quote various words of the Lord as containing the sum of the gospel--the Lord's Prayer, the Sermon on the Mount, and the like. To me the essence of the gospel is in simpler and shorter terms: Be not afraid, only believe. Ah! Westcott, mark that only," and his eyes filled with tears as he said it.

The opposite of belief is not unbelief; it is fear. Mark that only! Fear of loss, fear of death, fear of consequences, fear of unpopularity, of neighbors' opinions. We have our intellectual difficulties, but deeper than that is lack of courage. (1942)

PRAY for the Diocese of Bolivia (Southern Cone)

Ps 80 * 77, [79]; Genesis 44:18-34; 1 Corinthians 7:25-31

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

SUNDAY, March 7 Lent 3

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0600

1 Corinthians 10:1-13. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone...with the testing [God] will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

"I can't stand the pressure. I have to describe our product as the boss says, but I know it's not true," a young salesman told a friend.

Two weeks later they met again. The salesman said, "I thought about Christ in Gethsemane. It looked as though death would end all his work. He must have felt that for the sake of the kingdom of God he had to live on, and he knew he could still escape. It was a decision between right and wrong. He prayed until he knew what was right, then did it in spite of the cross. Peter, in his temptation, didn't pray, so he denied his Master in the pinch.

"Well, I figured I had better try our Lord's way if I were going to call myself a Christian. So I thought through my problems on my knees until I knew what was right; and then I prayed until I wanted to do it. Today I told the boss I was going to tell the truth, and if he didn't like it he could fire me, and I would make my way somehow." (1936)

PRAY for Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and the Diocese of Hong Kong Island

Ps 63:1-8; Exodus 3:1-15; Luke 13:1-9

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.