Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 04 April 2018

Happy Wednesday.  I saw some snowflakes falling earlier.  Probably going to be more of that.  High winds last night, and more today.  Power lines down, and trees as well.   Predictions for snow today and tonight as well.  Low tonight predicted for 26°, with lows below the freezing point for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And several of the "highs"  in the 30's, with others in the low 40's.  Yes, I hate winter in this part of the world.  Always have, always will.  Yes, I am aware that we've officially been in "spring" for more than a week now.  That seems inconsistent with snow and these temperatures, but, as we used to say, "it comes with the territory".   Meanwhile, the lowest "low' predicted in our most recent home is 39° today, with other "lows" in the 60's!  Do I miss  that?  Sure do!  And they're expecting 83° there next Friday, with a whole lot of days in the 70's.  Yes, I miss that.

Wife is still having a rough time.  We're now 6 days into the latest round of antibiotics.  She sounds a bit better than that first day, but is still running a fever and having breathing issues. She "took a breathing treatment" about an hour ago, that being a dose of alupent that someone gave us more than a year, using a "nebulizer" that someone else gave us.  It helps. Some.  I believe that at this rate, we'll be back at the doctor next Monday.  Her round of the antibiotics was for 10 days, which will mean taking the last one on Sunday morning.  We'll know more then.  She didn't get much sleep last night: every time I woke enough to roll over, she was awake, until around 05:00, and then she rose around 08:00 to relocate to the recliner where she now is.  Two cats are vying for the honor of being on her lap there.  I avoid the issue.

Now, all of that sounded -- and probably was -- glum and dreary and, frankly boring to most.  I realize that.  Hopelessness is no fun.  Not to experience, not to hear about, not to see.  I've been there, and verge on it too frequently.  Others know the feeling.  And yet ...
Consider the annual remembrance period we are now in.  Some 2000 years ago, all seemed hopeless.  Ever feel that even the Lord had had enough of you, and had turned His back, perhaps with some reason?  I have.  It's a truly awful place to be, and has led to more than a few instance of suicide, alcoholism,  and a spectrum of self-destructive behaviors in that general spectrum.
It's not necessary.  If the period between Maundy Thursday last week and Pentecost (May 20) in several weeks hence teaches us, or at least reminds us, there is nothing, NOTHING that the Lord can't handle.  Death?  He conquered that at the Resurrection.  He is risen!  Are our sorrows hidden from Him?  Hardly, He saw and still sees them with a clarity we can not even imagine.  Does He care?  Most assuredly He does.  The miracle is not that the Lord could come to earth, die, rise, and leave temporarily.  No, the miracle is that the Lord would bother! For such a one as I!  For who am I?  (Great song by that title, by the way).  Our sorrows are known to Him.  Does Jesus care?  I tell  you that He does.

We are surrounded by those who do not know that.  We owe it to them to make it known.


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This day's reading in the Old Testament brings us to the book of Joshua.  Joshua had been pretty much Moses' understudy for a good while.  Now the load falls upon him  By the way, the name "Joshua" is essentially the same name as "Jesus".
Some of us "have been there" when we suddenly had to take over for someone else.  Joshua carried out that responsibility pretty well, far better than some of us have done.  But then, one of those duties of a leader, and one that is very often not well done, is to train up those who will succeed us.  Some notable leaders have failed in that duty.

Joshua 1

1  Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

2  Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4  From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

5  There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

6  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them

7  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success

9  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

10  Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

11  Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

12  And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,

13  Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.

14  Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;

15  Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.

16  And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.

17  According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.

18  Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

Joshua 2

1  And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

2  And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

3  And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

4  And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:

5  And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.

6  But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

7  And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

8  And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

9  And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

10  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

11  And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

12  Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:

13  And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

14  And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

15  Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

16  And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

17  And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

18  Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.

19  And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

20  And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

21  And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

22  And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

23  So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:

24  And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

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Psalm 69

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.

 

1  Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.

2  I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

3  I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

4  They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

5  O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.

6  Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.

7  Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

8  I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

9  F  or the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

10  When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.

11  I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.

12  They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.

13  But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.

14  Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

15  Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

16  Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

17  And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.hear…: Heb. make haste to hear me

18  Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.

19  Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.

20  Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none

21  They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22  Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

23  Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.

24  Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

25  Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.

26  For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.

27  Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.

28  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

29  But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.

30  I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

31  This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

32  The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.

33  For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.

34  Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

35  For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

36  The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

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Our New Testament reading for the day is chapter 24 in the Gospel of Luke, completing it.  But there's quite a lot packed in here.  Yesterday, we saw Jesus on the cross.  Today, "the rest of the story" as radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say.  

This is perhaps the most momentous episode in the world history, at least up to now.  

And has inspired some of our best music.

Hallelujah  is  one of them.

But another has a similar title, and,  having helped sing it, is a personal favorite.   Yes, He Is Risen

Do you believe that?  I do.

This completes the path through this gospel.  Lord willing, tomorrow we shall take up the Gospel of John.

 

Luke 24

1  Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

2  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

3  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

4  And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

5  And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7  Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

8  And they remembered his words,

9  And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

10  It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

11  And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

12  Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

13  And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

14  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15  And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17  And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18  And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20  And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21  But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22  Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23  And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24  And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

26   Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28  And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

29  But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

30  And it came to pass, as he sat at the table with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

32  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

33  And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

34  Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

35  And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

36  And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

38  And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

39   Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

40  And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

41  And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

42  And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43  And he took it, and did eat before them.

44  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

50  And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

51  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

52  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

53  And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.