Daily Prayer: a resource of Forward Movement

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for November 23, 2020

We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, you can log in to Disqus with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account; just click "Login," or the appropriate logo below. Or, you can sign up for a Disqus account; just use the entry form below, or click the "D" logo to start the process. You can find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page. You can also listen to the Forward Day by Day podcast anywhere you find podcasts!

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MONDAY, November 23 Clement of Rome

Psalm 106:19-20 Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb and worshiped a molten image; And so they exchanged their Glory for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.

When the psalmist puts Israel’s sin in such explicit terms, it seems pretty silly that people would exchange their relationship with God to worship a baby bull. Usually when we find ourselves worshiping false idols, exchanging our own glory isn’t so obvious.

What about being an obsessive saver of money or so devoted to a personal cause that it crowds out all other aspects of our lives or pursuing physical fitness until we find ourselves injured? How do we walk the line of reasonableness when the golden calf is something that isn’t so flashy or typically idolatrous? Our nature as human beings is to find things that are perfectly fine, innocent even, and then overuse them until they remind us that they are not God and can give us no real glory.

MOVING FORWARD: Is there a silly thing distracting you from worship or service? How can God help you clear this distraction?

PRAY for the Dioceses of Santiago (Chile) and the Philippines

Ps 106:1-18 * 106:19-48 | Zechariah 10:1-12 | Galatians 6:1-10 | Luke 18:15-30