What Will the Passerby See in Us?--Sept. 5, 2017

If  a passerby looks at us,

will she say she saw us with you,

Lord Jesus?

Or will she perceive that

all we have done is a heap of ruins?

Perhaps it depends upon whether

we have executed justice for the oppressed,

given food to the hungry, set the prisoners free,

and cared for the blind.

For if a sister or brother is naked

and lacks daily food, and we wish them well,

but do not supply their bodily needs,

what is the good of that?

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 12; 146; 36; 7

1 Kings 8:65-9:9

James 2:14-26

Mark 14:66-72

Selected Verses

Ps. 146:5, 7-8a

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
          whose hope is in the LORD their God

          who executes justice for the oppressed;
          who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
          the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. 

1 Kings 9:8

"…This house will become a heap of ruins; everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this house?’  …" [The LORD to Solomon]

James 2:15-16

If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 

Mark 14:67

When [the high priest's servant girl] saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, "You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth."