In many of our hymn books there is a lovely modern hymn by Michael Joncas that is listed in the hymn books according to its first line, “You Who Dwell in the Shelter of the Lord”, but is better known as “On Eagles’ Wings.” It is a paraphrase of Psalm 91 and wonderfully expresses God’s protective care over us, His loved ones. As soon as I started reading Psalm 91 this morning the words and melody of this hymn came to mind. It is a great way to remember this psalm and its message.

I have long had a struggle with the realities of pain, suffering, sin, temptation and evil, and no more are these things put into the spotlight than the book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. Once again, today, I had to struggle with these and my meditation, inadequate as it will undoubtedly be in dealing with these issues, is the fruit of that struggle. And then, to assist you in your thoughts about this, I have also included a meditation on the same passage from several years ago. I hope that both of them will be of help.

I have long had a struggle with the realities of pain, suffering, sin, temptation and evil, and no more are these things put into the spotlight than the book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. Once again, today, I had to struggle with these and my meditation, inadequate as it will undoubtedly be in dealing with these issues, is the fruit of that struggle. And then, to assist you in your thoughts about this, I have also included a meditation on the same passage from several years ago. I hope that both of them will be of help.

Unfortunately, we are often so accustomed to praying the Lord’s Prayer that it sometimes becomes just a habit, something said by rote without much thought. And so it is good to revisit it from time to time, and especially to reconsider several phrases contained within it--the phrases, ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ What we are thereby committing ourselves to is the establishment of God’s kingdom, Christ’s kingdom, here on earth, and, presumably, the idea is that it will start with us. The idea is that we will enthrone Him as king and follow and obey Him right now, and thus provide a minuscule element, a minuscule expression, of that kingdom right now. The crowds there by the Sea of Galilee wanted Jesus to be their king, albeit in a very limited way, but we, you and I, want Him to be far more than that. Let that be so. Amen.

Trusting in the Lord, depending upon Him for His guidance and assistance, should be something that goes without saying. Yet, if you are at all like me, you may well go about your day without thinking to ask Him what He wants, and certainly not asking Him for His help. Yes, we are often quite inclined to be like Frank Sinatra in saying, 'I did it my way.’ Today’s psalm reminds us that things will go better if we do it His way, God’s way, and rely on His help and direction.

One of our persistent downfalls as humans is that we latch onto certain ideas or beliefs, sometimes quite unreasonably and irrationally, and refuse to examine them, much less let them go. We have seen this writ all too large when it came to our national and political lives. People were almost willing to die for their beliefs about medicine or vaccinations or public safeguards or government action or inaction. And, mixed in with all this were vague rumours about conspiracies and sinister threats to our freedom, health and well-being. Sad to say that on neither side of the debate--actually there were more than just two sides--no one was willing to listen, to carefully examine the facts and sort fact from fiction.

And, this doesn’t just happen in the larger ‘public’ realm: it can also happen with couples, families, churches and other organizations. In these areas as well, we can accept certain things as ‘given’, as unnegotiable, without truly examining to see whether are really of God or not. So, in all this, we need God’s help and guidance.

One of the suggested Scripture readings for today is 1 Kings 2: 10-12; 3: 3-14, where King Solomon is asked by God in a dream what he’d most like in life. The king asks for wisdom, which God acclaims as a very wise choice. In today's reading from Proverbs we find wisdom showing up again, this time personified as a person, a woman. There she is described as building a house erected upon seven pillars, seven pillars of wisdom. Various people over the centuries have applied themselves to this idea and tried to name what seven things these might be. (I say more about this in today’s meditation). But here, let me leave you with a thought, namely of those various things mentioned in my various lists, which ones do you feel are the most important? And which ones would you like to cultivate? Something to think about.

I began today’s meditation with the title, ‘the proof of the pudding’, and applied it to the evidence that the Bible provides us with regarding Jesus’ life and ministry. However, we can apply that same idea to our own prayer lives. The proof of ‘the pudding’ as it were, in terms of our prayers, is in the ‘results’ or outcomes of our fervent and earnest prayers. And, of course, if we don’t pray, and expect results, then we probably won’t see any. And there will be no proof of the pudding. So, just a reminder always to pray and not to give up.

Today’s meditation and Scripture passage remind us that we should go to God in prayer, and persevere in it, even when we are not happy with God or feel somehow that God is to blame for the mess we are in either as individuals or as a society. God has long been blamed for things, so don’t worry about that. He can take it. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t stop us from praying.

I will never forget my parents’ frequent refrain during our teenage years. My brother and I would lament and plead with our parents, ‘But all the other kids have it...or are doing it’. To which our parents would reply, "But we’re not ‘other’ people. We are Stonhouses, and we don’t do that." Indeed, constantly hanging over our heads--and in our thoughts--was the idea, spoken or unspoken, “We are Stonhouses and that’s that. We don’t necessarily do what other people do.”

Indeed, something along the same lines should likewise be our refrain--and our compelling thought and motivations--as Christians. “We are Christians and that’s that. We don’t necessarily do what other people do.” Indeed, we are to people with a difference, an attractive and winsome difference that, just because of what it is, will cause others to sit up and take notice--and be part of it. And, part of that should be our love towards one another. As a wag in the ancient world said, upon observing the behaviour of Christians, “See how they love one another.” Yes, there should be an observable difference in us and how we behave. Thanks be to God.

Today’s psalm and meditation remind us that ‘good intentions’ are just that--intentions versus action, and here we learn that King David’s good intentions, as well meaning and intended as they were, were not spelled out consistently in his actions. And, seemingly, they came to naught through simple, ordinary decisions that had crucially bad and unintentional consequences. And so can it be with us: it is the small and seemingly ordinary decisions that can have serious impacts in the long run. And so, we need to careful, and more importantly, guided by God and His word.

Today’s Scripture passage and meditation certainly raise some profound and searching questions for us. Firstly, about our giving and our motives for giving. And secondly--and probably more importantly, about our promises, the promises we make to ourselves, others and God, for promises made but not kept are a kind of lie, or, they are if we just gloss over them as unimportant. Anyway, something to think about.

At first glance, Mary’s approach to the situation at this wedding feast was rather measured and ill-defined. She simply explained the situation to Jesus and then leaves the results to Him. At first glance, the situation seems hardly worth bothering about, and hardly worth bothering Jesus about. And yet, Jesus ‘wants’ to be ‘bothered’ with our needs and concerns. And actually, perhaps this situation here in Cana was ‘more’ than we think. We are told that families skimmed and saved for years--even to the point of going into debt--to make a ‘big splash’ on a wedding day. It was a point of pride for the family to give as splendid and extravagant feast as possible, and everlasting point of shame if they didn’t. In fact, it the food or drink ran out before the allotted number of days, it was seen as an inauspicious omen for the newly married couple. And so, maybe it did matter and Jesus and His mother knew it.

So, as to us: we matter to God, to Jesus Christ, and likewise it matters whatever it is that worries or concerns us. And so, we too need to go to Him just as quickly and readily as Mary did, and be willing to say in response to Him, “Whatever He says, do it.”

We, as Christians, are remarkably privileged, privileged in not simply knowing and loving God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ, but also as the recipients of His manifold blessings. But, with privilege comes responsibility. We have the responsibility not just to share that knowledge of Jesus with others so that others might come to know and love Him, but also to use His blessings for the benefit of others, indeed of the whole world. It is quite a responsibility. My prayer is that we may all be ‘up to the task.’

One of the most important things in the world is for others to come to know and love our Lord Jesus, and one of our most important tasks--if not, the most important of all, is helping others to come to this decision. And yet, it is something that most of us are tongue-tied about, and, singularly ill-equipped and ill-disposed. After all, how does one bring up subject that is so personal and yet so crucial? I’m afraid that this is something that we all need help with--and practice in knowing how. I pray that we will find these ways.

Today’s Scripture and meditation emphasize the need for believers to take seriously what God has said and done, especially as revealed in the words of the Holy Scriptures. But, here we need to be a mite careful. Many people over the years have taken verses or larger passages out of context and twisted them, used them, to suit their own purposes and agendas. For instance, people in both South Africa and the United States used passages of Scripture to justify their treatment of Blacks.

Yes, that was from the past, but even now we need to be careful on this matter. For instance, I just came across something from a Messianic Jew asserting that Leviticus 8:23; 14:14, 17, 25, 28, passages about the consecration of the Jewish High Priest, also apply to former US President Donald Trump. Those verses from Leviticus say that Aaron was to take the blood from a newly sacrificed ram and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. This author asserts that this is all about Mr. Thump being set apart, ordained, as God’s anointed one.

Well, here is where I suggest the caution is due, regardless of one’s own feelings or opinions about Mr. Thump. One of the verses from today’s passage from 2 Peter says ‘that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation’ (verse 20). I take that advice very seriously, meaning that whenever I come up with an interpretation of Holy Scripture, or a meaning therein, that has never to my knowledge been expounded previously, I am somewhat suspicious. My thinking is that surely someone in the Holy Church through the ages would have seen it in similar light. And likewise, with the passage from Leviticus: surely the rabbis, or someone, would have applied it in a similar way, and so I am likewise cautious. And, to my thinking, so should we all, when there is any kind of new or radical way of taking God’s word. We need to carefully take heed of what it says. Thanks be to God.

I’m afraid that I have a somewhat challenging--and discomforting--question for each of us. Most, if not all of us, would say that we want others to come to know and obey Christ. In fact, we probably would say that we’d like to see a revival sweep our communities, our nations, and even our world. But then, are we prepared to ‘pay the price’? What do I mean by that? Well, we can easily attribute the amazing success and impact of the Day of Pentecost to the coming of the Holy Spirit, but do we see what lay immediately behind it? If we look at Acts 1:14, we read that the disciples were ‘constantly devoting themselves to prayer’, or, as another translation puts it, that ‘they prayed with a single purpose in mind’. This speaks both of their unity of purpose and of their devotion to prayer. Indeed, from my reading of past revivals, these two things seem to be the common denominator. So, my question returns: are we willing to undertake this, in order for people to come to Christ? A good question indeed.