I. Readings
Psalms 51, 65, 142
Hosea 9:10-17
Acts 24:24-25:12
Luke 8:1-15
II. Selections
Psalm 142:2
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
Hosea 9:10
Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree,
in its first season,
I saw your ancestors.
But they came to Baalpeor,
and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they love.
Acts 25:12
Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied [ to Paul], "You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go."
Luke 8:13
" ...The [ seeds] on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in time of testing fall away. ... " [ Jesus to his disciples]
III. Meditation: Appeals and complaints
Faced with the lesser of two evils,
Paul appealed to the emperor,
and was sent to the emperor
(who did not treat him well).
But Paul was able also to pour
out his complaint before you,
to tell you all his trouble-
a much greater resource.
As you listen to our complaints,
remind us of your complaints:
how you have loved us first,
and we have betrayed you.
Extravagantly you have sown
your seeds among us; we
took them up with joy,
but then we fell away.
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