“This day is holy to the Lord your God,” Ezra, the priest and scribe, tells the Israelites who have returned from exile. They have, with great difficulty, refortified Jerusalem and restored the temple. Today’s appointed passage from the Hebrew scriptures describes the day of convocation set aside to read and hear the book of the law of Moses, a day of learning how to live in God’s way. Like the Israelites, most of us have a long way to go.

Ezra’s words above remind me of the psalmist’s proclamation: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”(118:24) I suspect that each and every day that our Creator makes is holy, not merely the ones we set aside as especially holy to us such as Christmas and Easter. Each day is a gift of life, as is each breath we take, each holy because they come from the Holy One. When we open our eyes in the morning, it is well to celebrate the gift of another day, to give thanks to the Beloved, to delight in the goodness of God before our feet even hit the floor. Once they do, after our morning ablutions, it is good to take some time alone with God, to soak in God’s Word, to enjoy whatever feeds our souls before the busyness of the day takes over. That quiet time prepares us for whatever the day has to offer.

This day, the here and now, this present moment provides the opportunity for our encounter with the Beloved if only we open the eyes and ears of our hearts, ready to walk through the door that God opens before us this very day.