Where we have come from (readings for Sunday 7th July)
Isaiah 66.10-14
Psalm 66.1-9
Galatians 6.1-16
Luke 10.1-11, 16-20
Readings for today
Psalm 119.73-80
Jeremiah 8.14-13
Acts 19.28-41
thought for today
As always Jeremiah's God inspires analysis of human lives and motives is penetrating. Sometimes it is very hard to admit, even to God, even to ourselves, that we are on the wrong track. It is as relevant today as it was for Jerusalem on the edge of disaster. One line in today's reading is especially challenging for those who seek to interpret the scripture for today. “How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?” (Jeremiah 8:8, NIV). That God might see us handling the word falsely is a sobering thought.
In acts Demetrius action leads to a disturbance which comes close to a riot. It would seem that those members of the Jewish community who would rather Paul left, and the tradesmen who rely on worship of the Greek gods, have come to an uneasy alliance. However, there is something of a shambles as the silversmiths are not happy that a Jew named Alexander should speak for them. So the demonstration does not achieve unanimity and only succeeds in the magistrates seeking to disperse it lest the Roman governer come down on all of them. Paul does indeed then leave Ephesus, but in his own time (or God's time) and not under duress. Can we see the hand of God in all this? That somehow, in a perilous situation, Paul moves on safely and the little Christian community in Ephesus is not put under pressure before it is ready. Can we see the hand of God acting likewise today?
In acts Demetrius action leads to a disturbance which comes close to a riot. It would seem that those members of the Jewish community who would rather Paul left, and the tradesmen who rely on worship of the Greek gods, have come to an uneasy alliance. However, there is something of a shambles as the silversmiths are not happy that a Jew named Alexander should speak for them. So the demonstration does not achieve unanimity and only succeeds in the magistrates seeking to disperse it lest the Roman governer come down on all of them. Paul does indeed then leave Ephesus, but in his own time (or God's time) and not under duress. Can we see the hand of God in all this? That somehow, in a perilous situation, Paul moves on safely and the little Christian community in Ephesus is not put under pressure before it is ready. Can we see the hand of God acting likewise today?
Revised Common Lectionary copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission
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