Sunday August 4 Pentecost 11
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Psalm 93
A psalm of praise to God who is forever and who makes the world secure. “The waters lifted up their voice” means that although the raging sea (the original chaos) is threatening to drown everything, God’s voice is stronger. Appropriate for a Sunday when we celebrate God’s victory in the resurrection of Christ.
The raging sea can be circumstances in our lives, in our inner life, or in the life of the world and we rejoice in the victory of God’s goodness over all the rages of our times.
Psalm 96
Praise to God who really will bring equity (equality) and righteousness (which really means ‘dignity’ and ‘justice’) to the whole of humanity. Every part of the world rejoices at God’s care.
Judges 6.1-24 What’s Judges about?
Again, Israel is unfaithful to God, and the consequences are that Midian defeats them and they are enslaved. The people plead to God for help. God calls Gideon, and, as Moses did, Gideon protests that he is not strong enough. And like Abraham and Sarah Gideon serves food under an oak tree to God who appears in the form of an angel. As the story continues, this theme will be emphasized: that it is God’s power and not Gideon’s that will rescue the people. It’s clear that the escape from Egypt is being repeated—God can be relied upon to rescue the people. That’s God’s character.
Mark 3.20-35 What’s Mark about?
Jesus, who brings in the fulfilled kingdom of God, is accused of being the agent of evil, and even his own family think he has lost his mind. Jesus points out that if evil starts healing people, then that proves the kingdom of God really has arrived and evil is destroying itself! But to deliberately call good actions “evil” is to utterly separate oneself from God.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ fed the hungry
with the bread of his life
and the word of his kingdom.
Renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your true and living bread,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.