Proper 20
Worship
Aids To The Psalms
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
Alternate Image
The Singer is home! The Singer has been on a long journey, a journey that has lasted a lifetime. And now the Singer and other pilgrims have arrived home. Each of them shares stories of their misadventures, times when they were lost in the journey. One tells of a time when he didn't want to make a certain journey and ran away only to be eaten by a big fish. Another tells of how a woman seduced him and led him into a life of debauchery and in the end he bare-handedly tore down the city of his mental captors. One tells of a missionary journey he made to another planet to only find out they already knew of the Lord who had just left them the week before. One tells of how his brothers threw him in a well to die but he was rescued, placed in charge of the economic affairs of a prosperous country and eventually gave food to his family which by then was starving. Another tells of being a runaway slave who was aided by a kind man in a major city who encouraged him to return to his master with his letter which his master read and then treated him as an equal. Another tells of his misplaced piety and who began to see only when he was struck blind. The stories are amazing, seemingly unbelievable, but were true. Each of the storytellers tell of the thankfulness to their Lord who came to them when they were lost and led them on again till they reached this place, their destination.
Reflection
All of us are on a journey, a life journey. We come from different places, we take different roads, we use different means of transportation, we travel at different rates of speed, but we all have a common destination. All of us from time to time forget or don't know the purpose of our journey and take some curious detours, but God always brings us back on course, even when we don't know we are lost. When we are hurt on our travels and cry out in our pain, God hears and comes to us and eases our pain if we listen. At the end of our journey we will encounter all our fellow travelers and enjoy each of their stories, even if we didn't like them before. The purpose of our journey is to discover the importance of relationships; the end of the journey celebrates the fullness of those relationships forever.
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
Alternate Image
The Singer is home! The Singer has been on a long journey, a journey that has lasted a lifetime. And now the Singer and other pilgrims have arrived home. Each of them shares stories of their misadventures, times when they were lost in the journey. One tells of a time when he didn't want to make a certain journey and ran away only to be eaten by a big fish. Another tells of how a woman seduced him and led him into a life of debauchery and in the end he bare-handedly tore down the city of his mental captors. One tells of a missionary journey he made to another planet to only find out they already knew of the Lord who had just left them the week before. One tells of how his brothers threw him in a well to die but he was rescued, placed in charge of the economic affairs of a prosperous country and eventually gave food to his family which by then was starving. Another tells of being a runaway slave who was aided by a kind man in a major city who encouraged him to return to his master with his letter which his master read and then treated him as an equal. Another tells of his misplaced piety and who began to see only when he was struck blind. The stories are amazing, seemingly unbelievable, but were true. Each of the storytellers tell of the thankfulness to their Lord who came to them when they were lost and led them on again till they reached this place, their destination.
Reflection
All of us are on a journey, a life journey. We come from different places, we take different roads, we use different means of transportation, we travel at different rates of speed, but we all have a common destination. All of us from time to time forget or don't know the purpose of our journey and take some curious detours, but God always brings us back on course, even when we don't know we are lost. When we are hurt on our travels and cry out in our pain, God hears and comes to us and eases our pain if we listen. At the end of our journey we will encounter all our fellow travelers and enjoy each of their stories, even if we didn't like them before. The purpose of our journey is to discover the importance of relationships; the end of the journey celebrates the fullness of those relationships forever.
