Unworthy Guests--July 1, 2010

I. Readings
Psalms 143, 147:12-20, 81, 116
Numbers 23:11-26
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 22:1-14

II. Selections
Psalms 81:7
“…In distress you called, and I rescued you;
      I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
      I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah … ”
[A voice the psalmist had not known]

Numbers 23:18-19
Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
      “Rise, Balak, and hear;
            listen to me, O son of Zippor:
      God is not a human being, that he should lie,
            or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
      Has he promised, and will he not do it?
            Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? … ”

Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Matthew 22:8
“…Then [the king] said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. …’ …” [Jesus speaking in a parable to the chief priests and Pharisees]

III. Meditation

You have prepared the wedding banquet
and invited all to come;
but as guests we are not worthy.

In our distress we call upon you;
when we call, you answer us.

Your answer comes in secret places,
and it comes in times of testing;
but surely it will come.

For when you promise, you will do it;
when you speak, you keep your word.

Though dead our bodies now from sin,
let your Spirit dwell within—
give us life.