Above: Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Grant us, Lord, the Spirit to think and do what is right;
that we, who cannot do anything good without thee, may,
with thee, be enabled to live according to thy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 125
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2 Kings 5:1-14
Acts 17:16-34
Mark 12:1-12
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God welcomes and seeks to be gracious to Jews and Gentiles. I, as a Gentile, thank God for this truth. We are all children of God, although not all of us acknowledge and respond faithfully to God. Humility before God is always proper. We need to recognize that God is the landlord and that we are all renters and stewards.
All of these principles contradict some preciously-held cultural assumptions. We humans enjoy establishing and maintaining categories that define ourselves as insiders and those who are different as outsiders. But what if we are really the outsiders? Furthermore, do we dare consider the possibility that we and very different people are all insiders?
If that is not sufficiently challenging, are we willing to part with the illusions of self-sufficiency and ownership? Do we dare to adjust our egos and attachments to prestige to match reality.
May we do so, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 23, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN, FOUNDRESS OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR; AND HER DAUGHTER, SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN, SUPERIOR OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR
THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE TEAGUE CASE, PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP EVANS AND JOHN LLOYD, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF THEODOR LILEY CLEMENS, ENGLISH MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, AND COMPOSER
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