Excess Baggage--Oct. 13, 2010

I. Readings
Psalms 15, 147:1-11, 48, 4
Hosea 13:1-3
Acts 27:9-26
Luke 9:1-17

II. Selections
Psalm 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
      You gave me room when I was in distress.
      Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

Hosea 13:3
Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
      or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
      or like smoke from a window.

Acts 27:11
But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.

Luke 9:3
[Jesus] said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. … ”

III. Meditation

O God of our right,
we call upon you to hear our prayer;
but when you answer us,
we ignore you for human authorities.

You tell us to travel light through life;
we carry all kinds of excess baggage.

Therefore we shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.