Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Photo Credit: Lara Stoudt
Twenty-sixth Week After Pentecost, Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Ezekiel 29:1-12
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against [Pharaoh] and against all Egypt; speak, and say, Thus says the LORD God:
I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon sprawling
in the midst of its channels,
saying, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”
I will put hooks in your jaws,
and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales.
I will draw you up from your channels,
with all the fish of your channels
sticking to your scales.
I will fling you into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your channels;
you shall fall in the open field,
and not be gathered and buried.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air
I have given you as food.
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know
that I am the LORD
because you were a staff of reed
to the house of Israel;
when they grasped you with the hand, you broke,
and tore all their shoulders;
and when they leaned on you, you broke,
and made all their legs unsteady.
Therefore, thus says the LORD God: I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you human being and animal; and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
Because you said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it,” therefore, I am against you, and against your channels, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries; and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries.
(New Revised Standard Version)
Loving Divine Family,
We enter your holy prayer space seeking your guidance. As we prepare for the Advent journey upon which we are soon to embark, we become concerned for the barriers that stand in our way. We look to you and find you gazing back at us with a parent’s love and affection. You encourage us to fear not, because although the barriers in our path may seem to have power and authority, your word and ways are sure and pure. At the blink of your eye, the barriers are cast into the wilderness where we can fear them no more.
Often, we think we are mighty and powerful. We act like we own everything and do not share. We say “mine, mine, mine!” Everything we have is yours, everything we are is because of you. May we never forget. O Loving Yahweh, thank you for preparing us for what is to come. May we hear your instructions and prepare.
I see you clearing the path before me, Loving Yahweh, and thank you for…
The earth and all within it are yours, O LORD. The heavens proclaim your mysterious ways. The angels do your bidding; your armies fight battles for you in the spiritual realm. At your mercy, the earth does not melt away and the waters do not boil. Your ways are perfect. We step forward onto the path you have prepared for us and celebrate together in this wondrous landscape.
With joy we praise you!
Amen!
Cherie and Donovan Mutschler
Other Lectionary Readings for Today:
Psalm 76:1-12
Revelation 11:15-19
