Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (from the Revised Common Lectionary for 10.26.2014):
Ah God, I am not wise like Moses; I have neither his courage for the wilderness nor his faith for miracles. Still I dare to pray for the gift of a vision like the one given to Moses on Mount Nebo — a sweeping view of the horizons, a panoramic reminder of your faithfulness across place and time and generation. No matter if this momentary vision is my beginning or my end or one step along my way, only open my eyes to the knowledge of what you are doing through me, within me, and so very much beyond me.
Psalm 1 (RCL):
Too easy to judge my own path tolerantly. Too easy to see my way clear and my footsteps righteous. Too easy to scoff at the scoffers and the sinners alike, while I stroll mindlessly through mire and quench my thirst in streams of vanity and greed. And — irony among ironies — too easy, O LORD, to be discontent with walking in your way. Let my steps be gentle and joyful and ever-alert to fellow travelers.
Matthew 22:34-46 (RCL):
With our hearts and minds and souls,
we love you —
the One Within our lives.
With our minds and souls and hearts,
we love our neighbor and we love the stranger —
the One Alongside us in every face.
With our souls and hearts and minds,
we love the commandments and we love the questions —
the One Beyond all knowing.
1 Kings 3:4-28 (from the Narrative Lectionary for 10.26.2014):
I cannot count all that you know, O Wise and Wondrous God, but all that I know I can count on one hand. I despair to recognize my unknowing; I cry out in vain to claim something — anything — in this life and to hold onto it with certainty. Why should I ask for a long life that fades no matter how many days it is granted? Why would I ask for wealth and peace around me when my soul remains unsatisfied? Teach me something, I beg you O God. Let me glimpse the ways that you walk over the earth, and let this flesh and breath have purpose somehow amid your wondering.