God, the Unchanging--Jan. 29, 2019

You are the first, you are the last, O God,

and our ultimate trust must be in you,

not in princes, nor in any mortal,

for when our breath departs,

our plans perish with us.

Human opinions are unreliable:

Jesus was greatly admired, then hated:

Paul was first feared, then much esteemed,

but you do not change, O God of steadfast love.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 54; 146; 28; 99

Isa. 48:12-22

Gal 1:18-2:10

Mark 6:1-13

Selected Verses

Ps. 146:3-4

Do not put your trust in princes,
          in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
          on that very day their plans perish.

Isa. 48:12

Listen to me, O Jacob,
          and Israel, whom I called:
I am He; I am the first,
          and I am the last. 

Gal 1:21-23

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy."

Mark 6:3

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at [Jesus].