Thoughts and Reflection
Today we read from St. Jude. Jude is a relative of Jesus – a brother of James. We do not know, however, the intended audience for this letter from St. Jude. Jude is well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures and uses Old Testament examples to show people they are rebelling against God. These rebellions cause other rebellions and destruction follows. Although his message may seem harsh, he wants people to be saved that read his words.
About This Project
For the year 2022, I decided that my New Year’s Resolution was to read the whole Bible following the Bible in the Year plan presented by Fr. Mike Schmitz. It is a big and bold undertaking. You can follow along by subscribing. Feel free to look at previous day’s post and comment. It’s something we can all learn from together!
Daily Readings
Jude
1 From Jude, servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James; to those who are called, to those who are dear to God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ,
2 mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
3 My dear friends, at a time when I was eagerly looking forward to writing to you about the salvation that we all share, I felt that I must write to you encouraging you to fight hard for the faith which has been once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
4 Certain people have infiltrated among you, who were long ago marked down for condemnation on this account; without any reverence they pervert the grace of our God to debauchery and deny all religion, rejecting our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 I should like to remind you — though you have already learnt it once and for all — that the Lord rescued the nation from Egypt, but afterwards he still destroyed the people who refused to believe him;
6 and the angels who did not keep to the authority they had, but left their appointed sphere, he has kept in darkness in eternal bonds until the judgement of the great Day.
7 Sodom and Gomorrah, too, and the neighbouring towns, who with the same sexual immorality pursued unnatural lusts, are put before us as an example since they are paying the penalty of eternal fire.
8 Nevertheless, these people are doing the same: in their delusions they not only defile their bodies and disregard Authority, but abuse the Glories as well.
9 Not even the archangel Michael, when he was engaged in argument with the devil about the corpse of Moses, dared to denounce him in the language of abuse; all he said was, ‘May the Lord rebuke you.’
10 But these people abuse anything they do not understand; and the only things they do understand — merely by nature like unreasoning animals — will turn out to be fatal to them.
11 Alas for them, because they have followed Cain; they have thrown themselves into the same delusion as Balaam for a reward; they have been ruined by the same rebellion as Korah -and share the same fate.
12 They are a dangerous hazard at your community meals, coming for the food and quite shamelessly only looking after themselves. They are like the clouds blown about by the winds and bringing no rain, or like autumn trees, barren and uprooted and so twice dead;
13 like wild sea waves with their own shame for foam; or like wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness is stored up for ever.
14 It was with them in mind that Enoch, the seventh patriarch from Adam, made his prophecy when he said, ‘I tell you, the Lord will come with his holy ones in their tens of thousands,
15 to pronounce judgement on all humanity and to sentence the godless for all the godless things they have done, and for all the defiant things said against him by godless sinners.’
16 They are mischief-makers, grumblers governed only by their own desires, with mouths full of boastful talk, ready to flatter others for gain.
17 But remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.
18 ‘At the final point of time’, they told you, ‘there will be mockers who follow nothing but their own godless desires.’
19 It is they who cause division, who live according to nature and do not possess the Spirit.
20 But you, my dear friends, must build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit;
21 keep yourselves within the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.
22 To some you must be compassionate because they are wavering;
23 others you must save by snatching them from the fire; to others again you must be compassionate but wary, hating even the tunicstained by their bodies.
24 To him who can keep you from falling and bring you safe to his glorious presence, innocent and joyful,
25 to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, authority and power, before all ages, now and for ever. Amen.
2 Timothy 1
1 From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God in accordance with his promise of life in Christ Jesus,
2 to Timothy, dear son of mine. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 Night and day I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience as my ancestors did. I remember you in my prayers constantly night and day;
4 I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my joy.
5 I also remember your sincere faith, a faith which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure dwells also in you.
6 That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift of God that you possess through the laying on of my hands.
7 God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control.
8 So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but share in my hardships for the sake of the gospel, relying on the power of God
9 who has saved us and called us to be holy — not because of anything we ourselves had done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time,
10 but it has been revealed only by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus. He has abolished death, and he has brought to light immortality and life through the gospel,
11 in whose service I have been made herald, apostle and teacher.
12 That is why I am experiencing my present sufferings; but I am not ashamed, because I know in whom I have put my trust, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to safeguard until that Day what I have entrusted to him.
13 Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, look after that precious thing given in trust.
15 As you know, Phygelus and Hermogenes and all the others in Asia have deserted me.
16 I hope the Lord will be kind to all the family of Onesiphorus, because he has often been a comfort to me and has never been ashamed of my chains.
17 On the contrary, as soon as he reached Rome, he searched hard for me and found me.
18 May the Lord grant him to find the Lord’s mercy on that Day. You know better than anyone else how much he helped me at Ephesus.
2 Timothy 2
1 As for you, my dear son, take strength from the grace which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Pass on to reliable people what you have heard from me through many witnesses so that they in turn will be able to teach others.
3 Bear with your share of difficulties, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No one on active service involves himself in the affairs of civilian life, because he must win the approval of the man who enlisted him;
5 or again someone who enters an athletic contest wins only by competing in the sports — a prize can be won only by competing according to the rules;
6 and again, it is the farmer who works hard that has the first claim on any crop that is harvested.
7 Think over what I have said, and the Lord will give you full understanding.
8 Remember the gospel that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’;
9 it is on account of this that I have to put up with suffering, even to being chained like a criminal. But God’s message cannot be chained up.
10 So I persevere for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they, too, may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 Here is a saying that you can rely on: If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.
12 If we persevere, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us.
13 If we are faithless, he is faithful still, for he cannot disown his own self.
14 Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there must be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening.
15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who keeps the message of truth on a straight path.
16 Have nothing to do with godless philosophical discussions — they only lead further and further away from true religion.
17 Talk of this kind spreads corruption like gangrene, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus,
18 the men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting some people’s faith.
19 However, God’s solid foundation-stone stands firm, and this is the seal on it: ‘The Lord knows those who are his own’ and ‘All who call on the name of the Lord must avoid evil.’
20 Not all the dishes in a large house are made of gold and silver; some are made of wood or earthenware: the former are held in honour, the latter held cheap.
21 If someone holds himself aloof from these faults I speak of, he will be a vessel held in honour, dedicated and fit for the Master, ready for any good work.
22 Turn away from the passions of youth, concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lordwith a pure heart.
23 Avoid these foolish and undisciplined speculations, understanding that they only give rise to quarrels;
24 and a servant of the Lord must not engage in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient.
25 He must be gentle when he corrects people who oppose him, in the hope that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognise the truth
26 and come to their senses, escaping the trap of the devil who made them his captives and subjected them to his will.
Proverbs 31:1-7
1 The sayings of Lemuel king of Massa, taught him by his mother:
2 What, my son! What, son of my womb! What, son of my vows!
3 Do not expend your energy on women nor your wealth on those who ruin kings.
4 Not for kings, O Lemuel, not for kings the drinking of wine, not for princes the love of liquor,
5 for fear that in liquor they forget what they have decreed and pervert the course of justice against all the poor.
6 Procure strong drink for someone about to die, wine for him whose heart is heavy:
7 let him drink and forget his misfortune, and remember his misery no more.
