One Step at a Time

Inspired by Bishop Rob Wright’s weekly practice of writing a 150-word reflection on the upcoming Sunday’s lectionary readings, I’m going to try to write a reflection on the readings each week in 250 words or less…

One Step at a Time
Pentecost 7 – Year A  – Proper 10 (Track 1) – July 12, 2026

Genesis 25:19-34
Psalm 119:105-112
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

The 14^th stanza of the acrostic Psalm 119 is associated with the 14^th letter of the Hebrew alphabet: nun,[1] which, in its ancient form, represents a sprouting seed. The ancient meaning of the mystical letter nun connects the psalm with the Genesis reading, which is about siblings (Abraham’s seed) managing or mismanaging their family inheritance, and it connects the psalm with Jesus’s parable about a sower spreading the Word of God on a path in the form of seed. Similarly, the psalm stanza is about a person spreading the Word of God on a path in the form of light.[2] The Word of God is a lantern guiding the poet’s every step, which implies that the poet is surrounded by darkness. Why else would he need a lamp to guide his feet? Because he cannot see beyond his next step. He must trust God every step of the way.

The readings invite us to live one day at a time, guided each step by the light of God’s Word. As Dr. Catherine Meeks teaches, “The main thing is to do the next thing. I’ve been doing ‘the next thing’ all of my life. You do the first thing and then you do the next thing and before you know it, you are way down this road and you don’t even know really how you got there because you’ve been taking a step at a time.”[3] Such is the way the acorn becomes the mighty oak: one day at a time.

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[1] The pronunciation of nun sounds more like the English “noon” than “none.”

[2] The Word of God is a lantern guiding the poet’s every step. This image implies that the poet is actually surrounded by darkness. Why else would he need a lamp to guide his feet? Because he cannot see beyond his next step. He cannot see the light ahead of him, the light at the end of the road. That’s why the poet also says “I am deeply troubled,” because he can only see his next step. He has to trust God every step of the way!

[3] Dr. Catherine Meeks is the founding Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta Georgia. Beloved Community Q & A with Catherine Meeks: A special Q & A with Dr. Catherine Meeks and the Rev. Matthew Heyd, Church of the Heavenly Rest, June 25, 2020 https://vimeo.com/432392814