Book Three - Internal Consolation

     The Fifty-Third Chapter
/ God’s Grace Is Not Given To The Eaarthly Minded

     THE VOICE OF CHRIST

     MY CHILD, my grace is precious. It does not allow itself to be mixed with external things or with earthly consolations. Cast away all obstacles to grace, therefore, if you wish to receive its infusion.

     Seek to retire within yourself. Love to dwell alone with yourself. Seek no man’s conversation, but rather pour forth devout prayer to God that you may keep your mind contrite and your heart pure.

     Consider the whole world as nothing. Prefer attendance upon God to all outward occupation, for you cannot attend upon Me and at the same time take delight in external things. You must remove yourself from acquaintances and from dear friends, and keep your mind free of all temporal consolation. Thus the blessed Apostle St. Peter begs the faithful of Christ to keep themselves as strangers and pilgrims in the world. (Peter 2:11)

     What great confidence at the hour of death shall be his who is not attached to this world by any affection. But the sickly soul does not know what it is to have a heart thus separated from all things, nor does the natural man know the liberty of the spiritual man. Yet, if he truly wishes to be spiritual, he must renounce both strangers and friends, and must beware of no one more than himself.

     If you completely conquer yourself, you will more easily subdue all other things. The perfect victory is to triumph over self. For he who holds himself in such subjection that sensuality obeys reason and reason obeys Me in all matters, is truly his own conqueror and master of the world.

     Now, if you wish to climb to this high position you must begin like a man, and lay the ax to the root, in order to tear out and destroy any hidden unruly love of self or of earthly goods. From this vice of too much self-love comes almost every other vice that must be uprooted. And when this evil is vanquished, and brought under control, great peace and quiet will follow at once.

     But because few labor to die entirely to self, or tend completely away from self, therefore they remain entangled in self, and cannot be lifted in spirit above themselves. But he who desires to walk freely with Me must mortify all his low and inordinate affections, and must not cling with selfish love or desire to any creature.

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

     The director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, died this day, May 2, 1972. For forty-eight years, under eight U.S. Presidents, he oversaw the Federal Bureau of Investigation, becoming famous for his dramatic campaigns to stop gangsters and organized crime. He established the use of the fingerprint in law enforcement, and successfully tracked down well-known criminals. FDR gave him the task of investigating foreign espionage and left-wing activist groups. J. Edgar Hoover stated: "The criminal is the product of spiritual starvation. Someone failed miserably to bring him to know God, love Him and serve Him."

William J. Federer. American Minute

Once one has seen God,
what is the remedy?
--- Sylvia Plath, Mystic


Being a Christian is less about
cautiously avoiding sin
than about courageously
and actively doing God's will.
--- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

... from here, there and everywhere

3     If you entrust all you do to ADONAI,
your plans will achieve success.

4     ADONAI made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of disaster.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

                The passion of patience

     Though it tarry, wait for it. --- Hab. 2:3.

     Patience is not indifference; patience conveys the idea of an immensely strong rock withstanding all onslaughts. The vision of God is the source of patience, because it imparts a moral inspiration. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of right and duty, but because he had a vision of God. He “endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.” A man with the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it; things come with largeness and tonic to the life because everything is energized by God. If God gives you a time spiritually, as He gave His Son actually, of temptation in the wilderness, with no word from Himself at all, endure; and the power to endure is there because you see God.

     “Though it tarry, wait for it.” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. “What shall I render unto the Lord?” said the Psalmist, “I will take the cup of salvation.” We are apt to look for satisfaction in ourselves—‘Now I have got the thing; now I am entirely sanctified; now I can endure.’ Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing; if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of relaxation spiritually.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

Farm Wife

Hers is the clean apron, good for fire
Or lamp to embroider, as we talk slowly
In the long kitchen, while the white dough
Turns to pastry in the great oven,
Sweetly and surely as hay making
In a June meadow; hers are the hands,
Humble with milking, but still now
In her wide lap as though they heard
A quiet music, hers is the voice
That coaxes time back to the shadows
In the rooms corners. O, hers is all
This strong body, the safe island
Where men may come, sons and lovers,
Daring the cold seas of her eyes.


R.S. Thomas Selected poems, 1946-1968

Memoir

It began and ended
in a garden. Small wonder

I sought my nourishment
in waste places, drinking

at the adder's oblique
eye and breakfasting

on dry lichen. The far
side of the wall it

was cold, but weeds rioted
there unchallenged; boughs

were too green to be crossed.
The tree he was hung

up on had been there
from the brginning

and was rusty as old
iron. I hibernated

through the dark of the three
hours, and emerged into

the spring of his rising
looking back with him

into the failed garden
poisoned with an excess

Of self-will, watching
the dove fly from his hand

with its organic leaf, knowing
it would never arrive in time.


R.S. Thomas Residues

     D’RASH

     The biblical ordeal, as described in the Torah and explained in the Mishnah and Gemara, sounds to the modern ear harsh and biased. We believe in the rights of the accused. We hold that a person is innocent until proven guilty, while the woman in Numbers 5 and our Mishnah is exposed to public humiliation based solely on her husband's accusation. And what if the jealous husband's accusation is unfounded? "But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able to retain seed" (Numbers 5:28). The end of the test may yet prove her innocence, but only after undergoing this entire public ordeal!

     While few of us would ask that guilty people be publicly disgraced for what they did wrong, we would ask that people be punished for their crimes. We feel satisfaction when there is "measure for measure": A tax cheat falls victim to bankruptcy. The man who derides others is insulted himself. The woman who never had time to help out others is at wit's end when she needs someone to lean on in an emergency—and there is no one to help her.

     Yet, we also know that the world is not always so symmetrical and fair. People get away with murder, literally and figuratively. As Rabbi Yannai teaches in Pirkei Avot (4:19): "We cannot explain the tranquility of the wicked or the suffering of the righteous." The problem of good and evil has plagued humankind since people began to think.

     Thus, we may not be able to see "measure for measure" on a cosmic level. Nonetheless, we usually can have it function on the interpersonal level. People respond "measure for measure" to the way they are treated. As we notice people dealing kindly with us, we usually respond to them with kindness. A congenial saleswoman smiles at you as you pay her for a purchase; you, in turn smile back, and you smile at the next few people you encounter.

     Similarly, if we give off hostility, we are likely to face a hostile, angry reaction. What we may call "getting out of the bed on the wrong side" is often simply a chain reaction of scowls. You're not feeling too well, and you bark out an order to the first person you meet. He, in turn, responds by thundering back at you. Soon, you notice that everyone around you is speaking in loud, angry tones. "What's going on today?" you think. "Why are people yelling at me?"

     On the universal level, "measure for measure" is beyond our control, but on the interpersonal measure, in people we see, day in and day out, the Golden Rule of giving and receiving usually applies. Every day, people await the tone that we will set before they respond to us. If we measure the world positively, if we greet everyone cheerfully, if we act honestly towards others, we can be reasonably sure that most others will respond in kind.

     A man would not have casual sex.

     Text / Mishnah (8:9): He who divorced his wife and spent the night with her at an inn—Bet Shammai says she does not need a second get from him, but Bet Hillel says she needs a second get from him. Under what circumstances? If she was divorced from marriage, but everyone agrees that if she was divorced from betrothal, she does not need a second get, because he is not yet intimate with her.

     Gemara: Rabbah bar bar Ḥana said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: "The disagreement is only if she was seen having sex. Bet Shammai thinks that a man would have casual sex, while Bet Hillel thinks that a man would not have casual sex. But where she was not seen having sex, everyone agrees that she does not need a second get."

     Context / Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai are two talmudic schools following the teaching of the great sages Hillel and Shammai who lived at the end of the first century B.C.E. and the beginning of the first century C.E. Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai each have characteristic ways of thinking and deciding Jewish law, often disagreeing with the other. The Talmud records many of their disagreements. Some scholars used to explain the differences between Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai in light of the characteristics of their founders: Hillel was known as a gentle, kindly, and open teacher, while Shammai was apparently very stern and strict. Other scholars used to trace the two schools to economic and social differences, Bet Shammai representing the rich upper class and Bet Hillel representing the need of the common folk. Thus, Bet Shammai required a cup of wine in each house for havdalah (the ceremony that ends Shabbat), which was not a particular problem for the rich, while Bet Hillel ruled that havdalah in the synagogue exempted the individuals in the house, where an additional cup of wine might be a real hardship. Modern scholarship is not sure of the original or exact nature of the differences between the two schools. Rabbinic sources, however, traced the development of normative law to Bet Hillel and its earthy kindness, generosity, and concern for human welfare.

     A get is a Jewish divorce document, given by the husband to the wife to end their marriage. In talmudic times, a get was also used to end a formal engagement or betrothal. In this Mishnah, both Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai (the "everyone" in this argument) agree that a man would not have sex with his former fiancée, and we may therefore assume that there were no sexual relations between them, even if they spent a night together at an inn. Thus, a second get would be unnecessary. Were we to assume that the couple did have sexual relations, then a second get would be necessary, since the Rabbis of the Mishnah teach that intercourse is one way of formalizing the relationship between a man and a woman. This is taught in the first Mishnah of Kiddushin: A woman is married in one of three ways—money (the husband gives her a gift), a contract, or sexual intercourse. In our case in the Mishnah above, the couple's intercourse would reestablish their marriage bonds to each other.

     We should note that our Mishnah assumes that a couple would not engage in pre-marital sex but might engage in post-marital sex, as exemplified by the case of a formerly married couple. If, after their divorce, a couple spent the night together at an inn, what should we assume about their behavior and actions? Does their act of cohabitation constitute a reaffirmation of the original marriage bond to each other? If so, "she needs a second get from him." This is the view of Bet Hillel. As is common, the Gemara not only explains the Mishnah but also limits the applicability of the law: It refers only to a case where someone actually saw them having sexual relations, that is, they were not simply sharing a room and we assume that they had intercourse.

     The Rabbis of Bet Hillel presume that men would not have casual sex. Thus, the intercourse between the man (the former husband) and the woman (his former wife) cannot be a random affair but must be seen as an act of recommittal, even without the couple's saying so, for no man would have casual sex.

     The Rabbis of Bet Shammai take the other view. A man can have sex for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, he wants to establish a relationship, but at other times, there is no intention other than physical gratification. Bet Shammai assumes that the latter is what happened at the inn. The husband and wife, already familiar with each other, had sex with no commitment. Following Bet Shammai's view, we cannot assume any more than what we see. Without the husband's explicit declaration ("I am marrying this woman through this act of sexual intercourse"), there is no reaffirmation of their original marriage, and no get is required.

     The difference between Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai, as often happens between these two schools of thought, goes beyond the specific issue to encompass assumptions about people and world views. Bet Shammai seems to be saying that people do things for the reasons they articulate. Lacking proof, we cannot assume any positive motivation for actions. Bet Hillel, however, takes a different view of human nature, assuming that people act for the most positive, healthy, and religiously sound reasons possible, even if reality seems to conflict with this assumption. This is not based on the naiveté of Bet Hillel but on a rather sophisticated reworking of reality. Bet Hillel appears to be constructing a world view based on its own idealized perspective on human behavior. Thus, Bet Hillel cannot view a couple's sex as purely casual, promiscuous, or recreational.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving . Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     Apostasy. The wisdom of God in demanding that the Canaanites be driven out was demonstrated in what happened then. Influenced by the nature and fertility gods of the surrounding peoples, which appealed to the materialistic and sensual in their nature, the Israelites "followed … various gods … and bowed themselves unto them … they forsook [the Lord], and served Baal and the Ashtareths" (Judges 2:12–13).

     Intermarriage. A third aspect of Israel's departure from God is seen in intermarriage (Judges 3:5–6). In this they not only denied their identity as a distinct and peculiar people of God, but also were further motivated to serve pagan gods. The distinctive lifestyle defined in the Law, which was intended to reveal the moral character of God and to set Israel apart from all other peoples, was abandoned in favor of the immoral lifestyle of the peoples of the land.

     Israel denied her heritage, her identity, and her God.

     In these chapters the Book of Judges gives a chronological survey of events during the centuries of darkness which followed for Israel. God's Word had been abandoned and He Himself forsaken. The lesson that earlier generations had learned at Jericho and Ai forgotten, the people of Israel now had to be taught again and again and again. This time, instead of involving a single family (Achan's), the pattern of sin and subsequent judgment swept over the nation as a whole.

     And there was a pattern. Seven repeated cycles of events are reported. The first scriptural account reports that Israel fell into sin. As a result of sin, God brought judgment through the nearby nations, and God's people were forced into servitude. When the pressure became unbearable, Israel turned from her sin and cried out to God for deliverance. God heard Israel's prayers and a charismatic leader emerged to lead Israel—first to victory over the enemy, and then morally and spiritually as a judge. During this leader's life the people typically knew quiet and freedom from oppression. But all too soon, they slipped back into the sinful ways of the pagans around them. With that fall into sin, the cycle began all over again.

     To understand this Bible book it is important to see that with each cycle, Israel appears to have become worse. And each subsequent judge had less spiritual impact, until Samson found himself unable to bring rest to the people, even though he was the most powerful of them all!

     The chronology. The length of time the Judges are said to have ruled adds up to 410 years. The actual period was probably about 335 years, since the time from Joshua's generation to the fourth year of Solomon (1 Kings 6:1) is itself about 410 years. The reason for the discrepancy between the actual and the apparent time span is that the ministry of the Judges overlapped to some extent (see Judges 3:30–4:1 and 10:7–9). The various oppressors were not the world powers of the day, but the neighbors Israel had failed to drive out. One judge might have been occupied with a people to the east, while another was occupied with the peoples to the west. Thus we can't tell from internal chronology alone just how long the Judges served.

     The judges. Twelve names are generally associated with the ministry of the Judges. For most of them the calling was both military and civil. A judge emerged (was "raised up" by God, Judges 3:9, 15, etc.) in time of need, led Israel in throwing off an enemy yoke, and then usually continued as a supervisor of God's people. The judges, in most cases, were apparently successful in keeping their people from idolatry.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The Teacher's Commentary (323). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

     The tragic outcome of the Great Revolt substantially changed life in Judea, but it also had a strong ripple effect on the Diaspora as well. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and the priesthood disbanded. The Sanhedrin ceased to function, and the old ruling class vanished. Although Herod Agrippa II was rewarded for his loyalty in 75 C.E. with additional territory in Lebanon and the ornamenta praetoria, he received no new territory in Judea. And yet, Jewish life managed to continue. The prestige of the priesthood persisted, and individual priests were still receiving tithes, but as their religious utility declined, so too did their influence and power. It is highly likely that the Jews of this period continued to hope for a restoration of the Temple. Both Josephus and the author of 1 Clement write under the assumption that the Temple would be rebuilt and the priesthood restored. In practice, however, Judaism became localized and centered on the village synagogue. The local scribes, whose skill at interpreting Torah had made them influential, filled the power vacuum, and some of these scribes ultimately became the rabbis.

     Rabbinic tradition tells of the fortuitous escape and surrender of Yoḥanan ben Zakkai during the siege of Jerusalem. According to the story, while other rabbis such as Simon ben Gamaliel participated fully in the revolt and defense of Jerusalem, ben Zakkai decided that resistance was futile. He therefore smuggled himself out of the city as a corpse and then surrendered to the Romans. He impressed Vespasian by predicting his accession as emperor. Vespasian therefore granted ben Zakkai’s request to found a new center of Jewish law at Yavneh (Jamnia). In the generations following ben Zakkai, the rabbis continued to study Torah and attempt to rebuild Jewish religious and cultural life. It is not entirely clear how much political or religious power the rabbis actually possessed during this early period, and it is likely that acceptance of their leadership by Jews was gradual and perhaps only in its infancy when rebellion again broke out in Judea in 132 C.E.

Adam Kolman Marshak (2010). From Pompey to Hadrian.The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism

     There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. --- Luke 15:10.

     Never was husband nearer to his wife and never soul nearer to the body than Christ is to you. (Classic Sermons on Angels (Kregel Classic Sermons Series) ) Do not think that heaven and earth are divided. They are but two ships moored close to one another, and one short plank of death will enable you to step from one to the other. This ship, having done the coasting trade, the business of today, and full of the blackness of sorrow. That ship, all golden, with its ensign flying and its sails all spread, fair as the angel’s wing. The ship of heaven is moored side by side with the ship of earth. Though this ship may rock and career, yet the golden ship of heaven sails by her side, never separated, always ready, so that when the hour comes, you may leap from the dark ship and step on the golden deck of that happy one on which you will sail forever.

     There are other golden links besides this that bind the present to the future and time to eternity. This earth is heaven below, the next world is only heaven above. The spirits of the just made perfect are never far from you and me if we are lovers of Jesus. All those who have passed the flood still have communion with us.

     Aren’t the saints above us a cloud of witnesses? We are running in the plains and the glorified ones are looking down on us.

     Our text assures us that the angels have communion with us. Bright spirits, firstborn children of God, oh, cherubim, seraphim, do you think of us?

     Those angels of God are creatures mighty and strong, doing his commandments, heeding his Word. And do they take notice of us? Let the Scripture answer: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14). Yes, the brightest angels are but the servants of the saints.

     There is a greater connection between earth and heaven than any of us dreamed. Let none of us think, when we look upward to the sky, that we are far from heaven.

     Hail, bright spirits! Hail, angels! Hail, you who are redeemed! A few more hours or days or months, and we will join your happy throng. Until then, your fellowship, your compassion will ever be our comfort and consolation. And having weathered all storms of life, we will at last anchor with you within the port of everlasting peace.
--- C. H. Spurgeon

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

     Giffordgate, Scotland, outside Haddington, was an ardently Catholic village containing several churches, two monasteries, an abbey—and a farming couple named Knox who reared a child named John. The lad excelled at Haddington Grammar School where his teacher proclaimed him the most brilliant pupil he had ever had. John entered the University of Glasgow, then St. Andrews University, where the gusts of the Reformation tugged at his Catholic heart.

     Knox spent the next 20 years as a village priest and college lecturer. Then one day, listening to a Mr. Williams preach Reformation truth, he was struck as with an arrow. Soon thereafter he “cast anchor” by faith in Christ alone. His Reformation ideas put him at risk, and for years he alternated between flight and imprisonment (once chained to the oars of a galley ship). He finally settled down in relative safety on the Continent where he studied, wrote, discussed, and kept an eye on his native land.

     In 1559 he sensed it was time to return. England’s Queen Mary had been replaced by the more Protestant Elizabeth, and the groups of Protestant refugees in Europe were abuzz with excitement. Protestants began streaming back into England, and in late April Knox himself set sail for Scotland, determined to “blow the Lord’s trumpet” gallantly.

     He landed on May 2, 1559 to find a nation on the knife edge of chaos. Mary of Guise, queen regent and mother of young Mary, Queen of Scots, was railing against Protestants. Civil war was threatening. Knox’s presence and preachments so inspired the people that the English ambassador reported, “The voice of one man is able in one hour to put more life in us than five hundred trumpets continually blustering in our ears.”

     The government fought Protestants tooth and nail until June 10, 1560, when the queen regent died. The Treaty of Edinburgh temporarily ended the conflict, and the Reformation took hold. More storms lay ahead, and the aging Knox grew surly. But he managed to lead a bloodless revolution in Scotland and establish the faith of a nation.

     Sound the trumpet on Zion! Call the people together. Show your sorrow by going without food. Make sure that everyone is fit to worship me.
--- Joel 2:15.

     Morgan, R. J. On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER
YEAR 2

Psalms (Morning) Psalm 119:49–72
Psalms (Evening) Psalm 49 (53)
Old Testament Exodus 33:1–23
New Testament 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12
Gospel Matthew 5:17–20

Index of Readings

PSALMS (MORNING)
Psalm 119:49–72

49 Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.
51 The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
52 When I think of your ordinances from of old,
I take comfort, O LORD.
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
those who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name in the night, O LORD,
and keep your law.
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
for I have kept your precepts.

57 The LORD is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
58 I implore your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;
60 I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.
63 I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
64 The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes.

65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O LORD, according to your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
70 Their hearts are fat and gross,
but I delight in your law.
71 It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

PSALMS (EVENING)
Psalm 49 (53)

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

1 Hear this, all you peoples;
give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
there is no price one can give to God for it.
8 For the ransom of life is costly,
and can never suffice,
9 that one should live on forever
and never see the grave.

10 When we look at the wise, they die;
fool and dolt perish together
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they named lands their own.
12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.

13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
the end of those who are pleased with their lot. Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah

16 Do not be afraid when some become rich,
when the wealth of their houses increases.
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.
18 Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
19 they will go to the company of their ancestors,
who will never again see the light.
20 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.

[ To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.

3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?

5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;
they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. ]

OLD TESTAMENT
Exodus 33:1–23

33 The LORD said to Moses, “Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

4 When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’ ” 6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tent. 11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent.

12 Moses said to the LORD, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.”

17 The LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The LORD’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” 21 And the LORD continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

NEW TESTAMENT
1 Thessalonians 2:1–12

2 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2 but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. 3 For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; 6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, 7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. 8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

9 You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. 11 As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, 12 urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

GOSPEL
Matthew 5:17–20

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary