Part 1 of 2
Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 9: Year 1
Morning, Psalms 146 and 147; Evening, Psalms 111, 112 and 113:
1st Samuel 14:36 to 45; Romans 5:1 to 11; Matthew 22:1 to 14:
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
These are the words that I read aloud each week at our Women’s Bible Study and can be found on page 105 of the Book of Common Prayer. These words remind us that our hearts contain the very love of God. All we have to do is relax and conduct our affairs through the love of God that is already in us.
Part 2 of 2
New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 9: Year B
2nd Corinthians 12:2 to 10 and Mark 6:1 to 13
“And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” (Mark 6: 5 and 6)
This is further evidence that our Lord Jesus uses the faith that God has implanted in us to cure us, to save us. Many times in the Gospel accounts we read where our Lord Jesus says to someone made well to “go, your faith has made you well;” or “healed you.” All we have to do is believe. The Risen Jesus of today will take it from there.
Faith is spiritual and works with spiritual matters that impact our biological wellness. Believing a locked door is not locked will not unlock the door. However, just believing in God, our Lord Jesus will take that faith and improve your spiritual health, and by extension, your physical health. Jesus makes faith work.
Questioning the credibility of a familiar source only raises doubt and weakens the presence of the faith. We must always focus on God, the Unknown, who shows up in whoever God chooses. Always ask, “Is God in this?,” “Is God working or speaking through this person?” We can’t rule out someone because we know them. We don’t know God enough to say who God will use. And we can’t even say God won’t use you or me. If we are human, God can use us for the spiritual enhancement of another or the community in which we live.
Today, the 4th of July, we, the people of the United States, remember and celebrate our Independence. We are “one Nation, Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Let us live in order that we might love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
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