This blog provides a meditation on the Episcopal daily readings along with a headline from world news:
IS GOD LEFT WITH NO SECRETS, SCIENTISTS ASK AS HIGGS BOSON IS SPOTTED 
Zechariah 3:1-10
3Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2And the Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?’ 3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you in festal apparel.’ 5And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him in the apparel; and the angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 Then the angel of the Lord assured Joshua, saying 7‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. 9For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. 10On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.’
in a moment he gets new clothes...
In this passage as in the Old Testament generally, Satan is simply a kind of “devil’s advocate”-a member of the heavenly court who doesn’t share God’s care for humanity and opposes their interests. That makes him an interesting and ambiguous character. Does he represent something in God’s character or something in the human character? The desire to bring down rather than to lift up , to denigrate rathe3r than to praise, to punish rather than to forgive-yes, the character of the Satan lives in human beings. Here the target of Satan’s spite is the priest Joshua who represents Israel, which has gone astray and been punished by humiliating exile. God will not permit this humiliation any longer but commands new clothes for the leader of his people. His sin is forgiven and the sin of Israel will be forgiven and God will return to his people. God has set his justice so that it cannot be changed: evil done brings evil in return; but God time and time again steps in to break this cycle by forgiveness so that his people enjoy a new start. There is a view still peddled that Judaism knows nothing of forgiveness whereas Christianity is the religion of grace. This is nonsense which shows a complete ignorance of the Bible. Jesus fulfils but does not destroy the tradition of Old Testament faith. Indeed Jesus may have used elements of this vision is his parable of the prodigal son. God’s opposition to the cynical spite of Satan is one we should take to heart, especially as regards our own desire to bring people down, but also as regards our popular press, which often seems to have made cynical spite into its main principle of operation. If you read a “Redtop” take a look at it today and ask yourself if it’s not “Satanic.”
Matthew 24:45-51
45 Jesus said,‘Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? 46Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 47Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that wicked slave says to himself, “My master is delayed”, 49and he begins to beat his fellow-slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. 51He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
This passage demonstrates that some of the greatest threats of punishment in the Bible come from the mouth of Jesus. Authority in Jesus community is a privilege which requires responsibility and care. Those who abuse the privilege should watch out. The master may arrive at any time. The temptation to bully is always present for those in authority, and as recent scandals have shown has not always been resisted in the Christian church. As this passage suggests there is a need for wise authority which unwise and oppressive authority destroys. That’s why Jesus is so severe on those whose behaviour casts doubt on all authority.
Emmock's Blog 