At Risk--July 25, 2022

[From July 8, 2008 archive]

 

To follow you is to live at risk ourselves,

and to have others risk their necks for us.

 

To follow you is to have traps set for us,

and sometimes to enjoy your protection.

 

It is to work with others in Christ Jesus—

the one mocked, stripped, and crucified—

 

and though our souls are bowed down,

to give thanks for your ultimate victory.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47

Josh. 24:16-33

Rom. 16:1-16

Matt. 27:24-31

 

Selected Verses 

Ps. 57:6

They set a net for my steps;

            my soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my path,

            but they have fallen into it themselves.  Selah

 

Josh. 24:17b

“…[The LORD our God] protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed…  ”  [The people of Israel responding to Joshua’s challenge]

 

Rom. 16:3-4

Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

 

Matt. 27:31

After mocking [Jesus], they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him away to crucify him.