The Divine Lamp

I had a lot of trouble with this one for some reason, and it shows. I’ll re-post it this Saturday evening. I may redo it.

The introit is based upon Psalm 67 (68 in the NAB and some other translations).

Introit:
“God is in His holy place; God who maketh men of one mind to dwell in a house; He shall give power and strength to His people. Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.”

In times past God dealt with his enemies by causing them to flee from His presence; but this was part of the Divine pedagogy, designed to train men that their arms were too short to box with God, as a famous Broadway tune once put it. This it what He once did in the wonders he wrought in Egypt. His people despoiled the Egyptians who were so anxious to be rid of the Lord’s power against them that they bestowed on His people their treasures (Exodus 12:36). The treasure too of the kings of the promised land came to them (Judges 5:19). The day would come, however, when the peoples of the nations would come to the Lord, recognizing his power and beneficence (Isaiah 18:7; 60:6; Zeph 3:10; Psalm 72:10-11; Matt 2:1-11). Just as the Israelites once brought their offerings to the Lord, so too will the nations bring themselves as an offering (Isaiah 66:18-21).

Prayer before the Epistle:
“O Almighty and Eternal God, since, in the abundance of Thy loving kindness, Thou dost usually go beyond the merits and desires of Thy lowly petitioners, pour forth Thy mercy upon us both to forgive what our conscience fears and to give what our prayer would not presume to ask”

Epistle 1 Cor 15:1-10
Cephas (i.e., Peter) denied our Lord three times, yet nonetheless he became the chief witness to the resurrection. Certainly what the Lord did for him went well beyond both his merits and his desires. Indeed: “When you were younger you used to dress yourself and go where you willed; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” But go he did, accord with God’s desires rather than his own, and thus dying he glorified god (John 21:18-19). The same could be said for Paul, who persecuted the Church of God but was, nonetheless, shown mercy, and thereby became the greatest missionary the Church ever had; and like Peter, sealed his testimony with his blood. Such is the grace of God, whose Son died for our sins. How absurd then is it that some men render the grace of God fruitless? This they do by attempting to accept Jesus on their own terms rather than on his terms as laid out in the Gospel. The Gospel revealed to the Apostles and Prophets (Ephesians 2:20). How can God “maketh men of one mind” (introit) if he allows them to follow their own whims and fancies and become like Eve, losing true devotion (2 Corinthians 11:3)? This is to bring a curse down upon ones self (Galatians 1:7-9); and to end up in the flesh (Galatians 3:3) which brings death and hostility to God (Romans 8:6-7). Who in their right mind would think that they could “hold fast” to this and be “saved”?
Gradual: The gradual is based upon Psalm 27 which expresses trust in God.

“In God hath my heart confided, and I have been helped; and my flesh hath flourished again; and with my will I will give praise to Him. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not Thou Silent; depart not from me. Alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice to God our helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob: take a pleasant Psalm with the harp.”

Gospel Mark 7:31-37
Earlier in the Gospel of Mark People had come to Jesus from the Pagan districts of Tyre and Sidon, (Mark 3:8), and Jesus himself had ventured into Pagan territory but had met resistance (Mark 5:1-20). Undaunted, he returned to pagan land and met a Gentile who was deaf and unable to speak, much like the gods of the pagans whom the prophets describe in this fashion (Isaiah 44:9, 18). Jesus took him away from the crowd, much as he had instructed his disciples in the absence of their Jewish countrymen (see Mark 4:34). Jesus must be accepted on His own terms, not according to the fashions and opinions of the crowd, however well intentioned they may appear to be. When the crowd came to realize what Jesus had done for the man, he warned them to tell no one, but to no avail, they spread the news far and wide. They were not doing the will of God (mark 3:35), and were therefore unable to understand the true significance of Jesus and His teaching (John 7:16-18).