Facing Persecution: Week 4 of Ordinary Time
We’re in the season of Ordinary Time - the long stretch of weeks between Pentecost and Advent. If the historic liturgical calendar teaches us to number our days to gain a heart of wisdom, there must be a lot of wisdom to be gained in our regular, working, resting, and worshipping lives. This is the model Christ seemed to have lived, and the church invites us to embrace the same pathway.
Look: Spirit of Elijah, Diane Fairfield - Source
Listen: Even Unto Death, Audrey Assad - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
I made us a new playlist! Ordinary Time, pt. 1: World and Church
Read: Job 38:1-11; Psalm 107:1-3; Psalm 107:23-32; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Mark 4:35-41
Readings for the rest of the week*: Psalm 56; 1 Kings 16:29-17:7, 19:1-18; Luke 4:14-30; Acts 5:12-42; 2 Corinthians 4:5-15
(The weekly readings during Ordinary Time come from Living the Christian Year by Bobby Gross. If you’d prefer to keep tracking with the Daily Office Lectionary from the 1979 BCP, you can find those passages here.)
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Fourth Week After Pentecost
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Do: This week, we’re thinking about the kingdom reality of persecution. In the safety of God’s presence, ask the Spirit to help you prayerfully sit with the following questions:
Where am I facing persecution of any sort?
In the humility of Apostle Paul: When have I stood by while others have been persecuted?
When have I been the persecutor?
Conclude this time by reading 2 Corinthians 4:5-15 out loud as a prayer. Let the examples of the scriptures we’re reading this week strengthen your resolve to speak of Christ even at the risk of ridicule or derision or discrimination.
Also, I warmly (and with much excitement) invite you to use one of the two options below to register for A Sacramental Life’s Retreat Series for Ordinary Time 2021.
*Note: All retreats will be recorded for those unable to attend the live Zoom session.
OPTION 2
Become a member of A Sacramental Life Community and receive the entire retreat series (plus all of those extra goodies) and additional encouragement and connection every month. For $17 a month, A Sacramental Life Community members also receive access to all of our previous retreats plus ongoing personal connection and encouragement from me. If you’re already a member, you can also purchase a gift card at my new online SHOP for a friend you’d like to invite to join us for the retreat series.
*During Ordinary Time this year, I’ll be sharing readings from the excellent devotional guide, Living the Christain Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God by Bobby Gross. While it’s not necessary to purchase the book to follow along with us, it’s an excellent resource we’ve dog-eared so often the pages are falling out of our copy!