God Known and Unknown--Feb. 17, 2019

[From Feb. 13, 2011 archive]

O God,

You have not forsaken your people,

on the contrary, you have redeemed us—

relieved our shoulder of the burden,

freed our hands from the basket.

Yet sometimes you speak to us as a voice unknown;

is it because we have not obeyed your commandments?

Jesus knew where he came from and where he was going;

sometimes we act as if such information has escaped us.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 19; 150; 81; 113

Isa. 62:6-12

1 John 2:3-11

John 8:12-19

Selected Verses

Ps. 81:5c-6

I hear a voice I had not known:

"I relieved your shoulder of the burden;

            your hands were freed from the basket. …"

Isa. 62:12

They shall be called, "The Holy People,
            The Redeemed of the LORD";
and you shall be called, "Sought Out,
            A City Not Forsaken."

1 John 2:3

Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.

John 8:14

Jesus answered [the Pharisees], "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. …"