Lectionary Thursday 2-23-23

 

Lectionary Thursday 2-23-23

Deuteronomy 7:6-11 (CJB)

⁷ Adonai didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. 

⁷It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, indeed you are the smallest of peoples… (The Jewish Study Bible)

Titus 1 (CJB)

¹⁵ To all who are themselves pure, everything is pure. But to those who are defiled and without trust, nothing is pure — even their minds and consciences have been defiled.

 

¹⁵All things are clean to the clean, but to the defiled and unbelieving (untrusting), nothing is clean, but both their mind and conscience are defiled.  (Mounce Reverse Interlinear, paraphrased—English text only)

 

 

John 1:29-34 (CJB)

 

³² Then Yochanan gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and remaining on him. ³³ I myself did not know who he was, but the one who sent me to immerse in water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the one who immerses in the Ruach HaKodesh.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

 

³² Then John testified, saying, “I saw The Wind coming down as a dove from heaven and it settled on them. ³³ I myself did not know them, but the One who sent me to immerse in water said to me, “The one on whom you see The Wind coming down and remaining, that is the one who immerses in Holy Breath. ³⁴ I myself saw it, and I bear witness that this one is Chosen of God.” (Mounce Reverse Interlinear, paraphrased—English text only)

In brief, the prayer for today revolves around these emergent phrases:

“the smallest of peoples,” and “to the clean all things are clean, but to the untrusting nothing is clean,” and “the One on whom The Wind settles.”

Sometimes Lectio Divina goes off the rails, and today was one of those times. I ended up remembering Bill Potts telling the 12^th Doctor: “You go places. I can tell. My mom always said with some people you can smell the wind in their clothes.”

Even the very least of us recognize that smell, of when the wind has settled in someone’s clothes. It makes us turn our heads and breathe deep. It’s a clean smell, a trustworthy smell: a little bit chilly, a little bit wild. It makes us want to go wherever they’ve been.

Just imagine then, the wild and holy smell of the One on whom The Wind settles.