Tuesday, June 29, 2021
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Endurance
The Chronicler meticulously details the connection between Adam and the Davidic monarchy, Adam and the temple built by Solomon. The names of these generations fall rhythmically from our lips when we read them aloud; and this litany connects us with not only our historical past, but to our spiritual past as well. We as a servant people have endured. God as a creator and provider has accompanied us in this arduous journey. The gift of endurance is one worth treasuring for it is endurance which brings us through the longest nights.
Today we celebrate the feast of Peter and Paul, two men who each in his unique way received the Word of God and moved with it in to an uncertain but mystical future. As we pray today, we might ask ourselves how we too might endure for the good and the blessing of God’s word.
The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever. (Psalm 37:18)
If an enemy were insulting me I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. (Psalm 55:12)
He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. (Psalm 72:5)
I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. (Psalm 89:29)
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong-doing but rejoiced with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith . . . The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed. (2 Timothy 4:6 & 17)
If you are patient when you suffer for doing good, this is a grace before God. (1 Peter 2:20)
If we have this lineage promise with God, how blessed must we be.
If this is the story of our ancestry, how resilient must we be.
If this is how much God loves us, how holy must we be.
If this is how much God abides with us, protects and endures with us, despite the times we have turned away from God’s work and turned inward to ourselves, how loved must we be.
Dear creator, originator of all that is good. We read this litany of names and we feel the echo of your covenant promise in our own souls. We know that you abide, especially when nights are long. We know that your love endures, strong enough to wipe away all separation and sorrow. Bring us again the rays of your warming and healing sun, that we may unite in one voice to praise you again on a new day. We ask this in the name of Christ Jesus who lives in us. Amen.
Image from: http://dimensionministries.com/blog/?p=5
Adapted from a reflection first written on December 13, 2008.
The Noontimes 