Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law. PS 118:36, 29
1 KINGS 8:22-23,27-30
My Soul's Beloved,
Solomon's story is the story of so many of us who begin well but end badly. In fact, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived in the Old Testament, ended up a fool because he ultimately relied on his own wisdom rather than on the wisdom of God.
Lord God, we are raised in the faith handed down from generation to generation, but we make little or no effort to make it our own, to study it, examine it, and understand why we believe what we believe, allowing that faith to expand and grow. It is the duty of every baptized Christian to have a vibrant faith that is unshakeable. However, we are so weak in our beliefs that when asked for a reason for our beliefs and practices, we are unable to give a suitable defence.
Beloved, You have made my heart Your holy temple in which You delight to live. Sadly, Lord, I am negligent in making sure that it is a place fit for You to dwell in. Today, I make the prayer of Solomon my own, unworthy as I am, stay with me, Lord. Walk with me, direct my steps, show mercy and kindness always. Grant me the graces I need to discern Your will in all things and then do it without question or hesitation, but joyfully and promptly. Hear my prayers always on my own behalf and for those I love, and when You hear the sound of my voice crying to You, O Lord,
‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’
In the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord and, stretching out his hands towards heaven, said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way. Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built! Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, O Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today. Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, “My name shall be there.” Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.
‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’
PSALM 83(84):3-5,10-11
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed.
One day within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
MARK 7:1-13
My Soul's Beloved,
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:
This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’
In the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord and, stretching out his hands towards heaven, said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way. Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built! Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, O Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today. Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, “My name shall be there.” Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.
‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’
PSALM 83(84):3-5,10-11
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed.
One day within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
MARK 7:1-13
My Soul's Beloved,
We humans, like the Pharisees and some of the leaders of the law in Your day, are extremely clever when it comes to justifying our sinful actions, which are contradictory to the will and law of God. We are extremely good at making excuses for our own sinful actions while freely condemning everybody else and assigning and consigning them to hell. If we kept our gaze unflinchingly on our words and deeds, we would have far less time nitpicking the flaws of our neighbours.
Lord God, the plight of so many aging parents is heartbreaking. How heartlessly they are treated and neglected by their sons and daughters after they have sacrificed everything for them. The day will come, though, Lord, when the same harsh and coldly selfish reasons they trumpeted for their negligence in doing their duty will be used by their own children against them. For the ways of the Lord are just, and to those who have shown kindness and mercy will receive it, but those who have been wicked and selfish, disobedient and hard of heart will be punished until they pay everything they owe to the last penny.
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:
This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’
