I. Readings
Psalms 16, 62, 97
Hosea 9:1-9
Acts 24:1-23
Luke 7:36-50
II. Selections
Psalm 62:3
How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
Hosea 9:7
The days of punishment have come,
the days of recompense have come;
Israel cries,
"The prophet is a fool,
the man of the spirit is mad!"
Because of your great iniquity,
your hostility is great.
Acts 24:5
" ...We have, in fact, found this man [ Paul] a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ... " [ Tertullus, attorney for the high priest, Ananias, speaking before Governor Felix at Caesarea]
Luke 7:38
[ A woman in the city, who was a sinner,] stood behind [ Jesus] at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.
III. Meditation: Because our iniquity is great
The days of punishment have come,
the days of recompense have come,
and how shall we respond?
Because our iniquity is great
shall our hostility be great?
Shall we seek a troublemaker
upon whom to place the blame?
Shall we find an agitator,
cry, "The prophet is a fool?"
How long will we assail him,
as we would a leaning wall--
how long batter him,
till the tottering fence falls down?
Or should we stand behind the prophet,
weeping, and begin to bathe his feet,
kiss them as we dry them with our hair
and anoint them with our ointment
...because our iniquity is great?
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