From the Beginning--May 5, 2011

From the beginning we have heard it from you:
If we have two coats, our neighbor none, share.
If we have food, our neighbor is hungry, share.

You care about the poor who lie in the dust,
about the needy in the ash heap. You will raise
them up, and you would have us do our part.

The rich and powerful do not impress you,
nor should they impress us. Human empires
will perish; your kingdom is forever.

We have heard it from the beginning;
O that what we have heard
might abide in us!

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 47; 147:12-20; 68; 113
Dan. 2:31-49
1 John 2:18-29
Luke 3:1-14

Selected Verses
Ps. 113:7
[The LORD] raises the poor from the dust,
      and lifts the needy from the ash heap…

Dan. 2:44-45a
“…And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. …” [Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar]

1 John 2:24a
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.

Luke 3:10-11
And the crowds asked [John son of Zechariah], “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”