Our Souls: Week 17 of Ordinary Time
Look: A deer wanders through heavy smoke in front of a row of burned cars during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California on Aug. 6. The enormous wildfire has been burning since mid-July and is the largest in the state's history, Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images - Source
Listen: Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42), Matt Boswell and Matt Papa - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read: (Sunday) Wisdom 1:16-2:1; Wisdom 2:12-22; Psalm 54; James 3:16-4:6; Mark 9:30-37
Readings for the rest of the week*: Psalm 42-43; Psalm 131; Matthew 11:28-30; 2 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Seventeenth Week After Pentecost
O Lord, you have taught us that without love, all our deeds are worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you; grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Do: For this middle seven weeks of Ordinary Time, we’ll consider a cycle of God’s love that alternates between permission to love ourselves and the imperative to love our neighbor.
Bobby Gross introduces this week’s chapter, “In the Bible, the concepts of soul (psyche) and spirit (pneuma) each carry a range of meanings, which at points overlap, as do the concepts of heart and soul. I’ve made no attempt here to sort out these distinction, but rather have chosen Scriptures that encourage us to take care of our souls, that interior aspect of our being where the Holy Spirit dwells and we experience intimacy with God and even mystical encounters with his presence. If we do not tend to our souls, how can we love God fully?”
Set aside some extended time alone this week for quiet contemplation; give attention to the state of your soul, and open yourself to God’s loving and healing presence.
Related: I’m grateful to share this song based on Matthew 11:28-30 written and recorded by one of our fellow members, Joy Beless. (www.joyfulworship.com)
You can enjoy more of Joy’s recordings for The Invitation Project on YouTube or other streaming services.
Listen: Rest My Soul, The Invitation Project
*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!