Friday June 4 Trinity
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Psalm 40
All my life God lifted me up and I rejoiced in God’s care. But now my own sin, and my enemies, have nearly destroyed me. Do not wait any longer, God!
Psalm 54
I am in dire straights. Put everything back to right, God. I praise you, because you have done that.
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 What’s Deuteronomy about?
Moses says that the people must never imagine they escaped from Egypt by their own power or found this fertile land by their own cleverness. In fact, they received these as unexpected generous gifts. So, when they live in comfort they must resist the tendency to think they got all this for themselves and lose the sense that they were founded in generosity. So when their crops increase, they must take some to God in the temple to thank God, and must formally tell the story of how God rescued them from Egypt through the Red Sea. That formal story became a kind of creed for Judaism—they were founded in generosity. Even foreigners were to be included in the celebration of generosity.
The same would be a life-giving attitude for our modern world.
Luke 18: 9-14 What’s Luke about?
Jesus compares two people. One is rightly proud of himself because he has never done anything wrong. The other has collaborated with the Romans extorting money from his own people by violence, but asks God for mercy for having betrayed his people and betrayed God’s inclusive justice. Astonishingly, Jesus claims that God is delighted with him far more than the person who had never done anything wrong. Jesus says this to undermine our ideas that God is only loving toward good people—who, of course, are usually us—in our humble opinion! It’s a revolutionary idea that God’s care and joy extends to those who have totally rejected God and God’s justice.
This week’s collect:
Father, we praise you:
through your Word and Holy Spirit you created all things.
You reveal your salvation in all the world
by sending to us Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
Through your Holy Spirit
you give us a share in your life and love.
Fill us with the vision of your glory,
that we may always serve and praise you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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