The Revised Common Lectionary passages for the Lord’s Day are:

First Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9
Second Reading: James 1:17-27
Gospel Reading: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The liturgical color for the day is: Green

It is easy for us to get so caught up in the minutia of life that we miss listening for the meaning of life.  It is so easy for us to only attend to what’s on the surface of how things are that we never attain any depth.  Whenever something happens if we draw a quick conclusion and are then convinced that this is how it is without looking (or listening) deeper—we risk the reality of not listening for what is really there for us.

To do so is to face the challenge of the Pharisee in Jesus’ day who wanted to make it about what he and his disciples had or had not done and in so doing missed the larger reality of who Jesus was with and why he was with them. 

Had they looked at that they would have seen his compassion and his passion for the poor and the downtrodden.  They were so busy only seeing the surface that they could not see the place where God was breaking into humanity.  They missed it because they did not see, and they surely did not listen for God.  It could have been heard in the action and compassion Jesus demonstrated, but they were not listening for that.

Are we listening for the voice of God?

—

Rev. Dr. Daris Bultena
General Presbyter and Stated Clerk