FRIDAY OF ADVENT 1

Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

jude 3-4

I wrote a blog post two years ago on the many books on my shelves that I’ve not yet read.

You can read it HERE in its entirety if you care to.  

But to save you some time, here is a paragraph from that previous piece.

In addition to unread books on my shelves, I have a stack of unread and partially read books and magazines in nearly every nook and cranny in my home. Each morning when I wake up, I walk past them and say to myself, “Maybe I’ll dig into one of those today.” But the moment rarely comes. After I finish my devotional reading, which takes all of about fifteen minutes, I’m pretty much done for the day.

Blog Post, October 8, 2021

We can compare our reading of the Bible to overlooked books in our library. Every so often one comes across a book that has gone unnoticed or long ignored.

Such is the letter of Jude.

It is short – only twenty-five verses, leading some to question its value and why it was included in the canon of scripture at all. There are also questions as to its authorship and whether it was copied from the 2^nd letter of Peter or vice versa.

It is never read in the assigned Revised Common Lectionary readings, which we hear most often on Sunday, and its brevity means that this day, and tomorrow, the sixth and seventh day of the first week of Advent in year two, is the only time one will encounter it in the daily office lectionary.

So, you might ask, why bother?

And my answer would be that in every nook and cranny of scripture there is a nugget of wisdom. The interesting thing about reading scripture is that we all understand things differently. So, what might interest you may not interest me. I may pick up something in a verse that you may miss, or you may find a verse insightful that I find of little use.

That’s why I encourage group Bible studies. It’s much more beneficial to share with others. We learn much better collectively. I can’t stress that enough.

One passage I often quote when discussing the Bible is from Paul’s second letter to Timothy:

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

The New Testament letters, or epistles, were written to specific communities at a specific time for a specific purpose. We can learn from history and gain more insight into what was going on among those early Christians who were forging a new and different spiritual path without the physical presence of Jesus to give them clear direction.

They were at risk of being taken advantage of by false teachers, as our opening passage warns. And even today we are just as susceptible to being led astray.

I encourage you to sit with Jude for a while. Read through the 25 verses several times. Imagine yourself as a Christian new in the faith and the myriad of questions you might have had (and most likely still do). Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom that you may grow in faith and increase in hope.

Our closing prayer may be familiar to some of you. We often hear it as part of Vespers or evening prayer.

Let us pray:
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us. Amen.

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