[From July 10, 2006 archive]
Come to us, Holy Spirit,
in our weakness;
come to us who do not know
how to pray as we ought;
come to us and intercede
with sighs too deep for words.
O God, who lifts us up
from the gates of death,
show us what promises to make;
and strengthen us to keep our promises.
May what we teach be according to your word;
may what we do be according to what we teach.
Lectionary Readings
Ps. 62; 145; 73; 9
Numb. 32:1-6, 16-27
Rom. 8:26-30
Matt. 23:1-12
Selected Verses
Ps. 9:13c
...you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death...
Numb. 32:24
“...Build towns for your little ones, and folds for your flocks; but do what you have promised.” [Moses, to the Gadites and Reubenites]
Rom. 8:26
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
Matt. 23:3
“...therefore, do whatever [the scribes and Pharisees] teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach...”
After the harsh things Jesus said about the religious leaders of his day, and after they worked diligently to eliminate him, it is a wonder to me that anyone would seek to become a religious leader in the church now, with pulpits and vestments and all the other trappings. I'm not even sure the New Testament supports a separate class of people in the church called clergy. There were informal leaders in early Christianity, but that seems far removed from the clergy-laity split now.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Happy 4th of July to you! 🙂
Chris
Thanks for the thoughtful comment and for your good 4th of July wishes. As to the clergy-laity split, it is a problem, but one that concerns me far less than many other divisions that we are facing. I hope your weekend and holiday provided rest and renewal. Elmer
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