Proper 22 (C, E)
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle B
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Job 1:1; 2:1-10 (C)
What a wonderful, majestic story is Job. It struggles with humanityÍs most fundamental question: What is the meaning of suffering? Philosophers before the time of Jesus tried to make sense of suffering. If God is really a good God, why could he not have created a world free of suffering? I watched part of the movie Gettysburg recently. Watching those men reenact the battles, seeing them fall, knowing that the rudimentary state of medicine at that time meant that almost every wound would either prove fatal or require a young man to lose a limb, and that amputations were performed without anesthetic, was appalling. Anyone who has watched a dear one slowly waste away with cancer knows the awful question of suffering. ñCurse God and die,'' advised Mrs. Job, and many a person has done that (though I donÍt think God holds that against one. He understands).
Our text is only introductory to the story, but you and I know how it goes and how it ends. We know it raises the question of whether God sends suffering, whether suffering is a consequence of wrongdoing as the so-called ñcomforters'' of Job assumed, whether, indeed, we are to ever find answers to our questions at all.
The next several Sundays will present us with other dimensions to the story of Job. Today, I would fasten on the tenth verse of chapter 2: ñShall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?'' The presumption seems to be that God, if not sending suffering, was at least a party to its happening. As far as Satan is concerned, I am of the opinion that ancient people, having no sense of science, attributed all terrible happenings to evil spiritual forces. While I donÍt completely discount the existence of such, I do think an enlightened view of such things begins with natural causes. Therefore, I will take the Satan part of this story at face value but with a bit of tongue in cheek.
Lesson 1: Genesis 2:18-24 (RC, E)
Lesson 2: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 (C); Hebrews 2:9-11 (RC); Hebrews 2:(1-8) 9-18 (E)
I commend to you the commentary by William Barclay on these verses, as they are extremely complicated and that manÍs scholarship is valuable to us. There are many possible emphases here. One must keep in mind that a congregation is asking, ñYes, but what does this mean to me in my life now?'' While a scholarly approach to this passage is fascinating, the question before you and me is that question: ñWhat does this mean to me in my life now?''
Suffering comes before us again, as the writer observes that ñIt was only right that God ... should make Jesus perfect through suffering.'' We could struggle with the question: In what way does suffering perfect us? Another issue is that of angels. The Jews of JesusÍ time believed in angels. The early Christians had several different ideas about angels. The prevailing idea was that God was so remote from mankind that angels were sent as intermediaries. But one school of thought held that angels only lived for one day. Each day, God created an entire new army of angels. Some believed they were so numerous that one rabbi contended that each blade of grass had an angel. Then there were those special angels, the archangels, of which there were supposedly seven, Gabriel being the one who brought messages to people.
Well, we donÍt have much evidence about angels. I myself am agnostic on the subject. By that I mean I donÍt know and canÍt decide. I certainly feel a kindly presence in my life, and have had occasion to feel that someone or something had intervened on my behalf. But I have always thought of that as the Holy Spirit. Maybe in some way beyond human understanding both are true, but I canÍt preach a sermon about angels so long as I know so little about them.
Of course we have affirmed here the primacy of Jesus, and the fact that through Jesus we can be saved. That is always an excellent theme on which to preach. On the other hand, that truth is presented to us by many of our Bible passages, and a practical word must be inserted often as well.
Dr. Barclay suggested a three-point outline which would be perfect for us. We will look at that outline in the section on Sermon Suggestions.
Gospel: Mark 10:2-16 (C, RC); Mark 10:2-9 (E)
We have two themes here. First, Jesus deals with the matter of divorce. Then, in the last four verses we have Jesus comparing the good Christian to a small child. These are both relevant passages to me since I have been through a divorce and I live next door to two small children who most recently knocked over a stone fence in our yard (which their father politely repaired), and even now they are screaming about the neighborhood. I donÍt know whether Jesus was ever faced with that problem or not. Anyway, we all understand that Jesus was commending childlikeness, not childishness.
I would choose to preach on the subject of divorce. We have recognized that sociologists tell us 43 percent of all marriages will end in divorce. I estimate that about half of all the marriages I performed in my ministry involved one or both parties having been in previous marriages. IÍm even sad to report that most of the happy marriages among my own friendship circle are people who have been divorced before their present marriage. This is a subject we dare not turn from.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: ñJob, And The Problem Of Suffering''
Text: Job 1:1; 2:1-10
Theme: The book of Job struggles with the question as to whether suffering is related to our conduct. Does God punish us in this life for our wrongdoing as well as rewarding us for our good deeds? The book will leave that somewhat up in the air, but it also depicts Job as an innocent who does not deserve to suffer. His buddies assume he must have done something bad, otherwise these things would not have happened. But Job knows better, and the reader sees that JobÍs suffering is caused by evil forces, not by God (although God certainly stood aside and let it happen, according to the introduction).
1. Does God send suffering? No! Jesus repeatedly assured us that he came that our lives might be filled with joy. As far as Satan is concerned, that stands as a symbol for all the hurtful forces which bear upon us in this life.
2. Can suffering bless our lives? Yes! Paul pointed out that suffering produces endurance, character, and hope.
3. Does God really stand aside when we suffer? No! Jesus would welcome us to come to him in times of suffering, and that we would discover that our prayers are answered.
4. Does this mean that God will take away our suffering? Yes and No! He certainly strengthens us in times of trial. As William Temple put the matter, ñWe do not ask for lighter burdens, we ask for stronger backs.''
Title: ñBeing And Becoming''
Text: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Theme: William Barclay suggests a three-point outline. I try not to copy other people too often, but if we are to copy someone elseÍs idea, this is a good man to turn to.
1. Jesus shows us the ideal of what a person should be.
2. Jesus shows us what we actually have become.
3. Jesus shows us how the actual can be changed into the ideal.
Title: ñWhat Would Jesus Say Today About Divorce''
Text: Mark 10:1-12
Theme: Dear friends, as I have shared with you, I have been divorced. I wonÍt bother you with details except to say it was very painful and I deeply regret that it happened. I fully understand that many of my readers will disagree with me in what I plan to write. One pastor friend of mine recently asked a woman to leave his church because she has recently divorced. I think he is dead wrong and, much as I like him as a friend, I consider him narrow-minded and heartless in that situation. So there. But as a preacher myself (incidentally, I know several divorced clergy, and the psychologist who counseled clergy in our state told me he estimated that except for the prevailing sanctions, the divorce rate among clergy would be the same 43 percent as among the rest of humanity), I have wrestled with the issue in depth.
1. Some things have changed since Jesus spoke. Life expectancy then was twenty-something, today itÍs eighty. Two people married at, say, age sixteen in JesusÍ time faced just a few years before the likelihood that one or the other would die. Today a couple married at 21 could be together for sixty years. It is during the middle of life that people undergo change. A la Passages, we all know that mid-life crises are real and sometimes people innocently drift apart. Also, sometimes two good people awaken to the fact that they are not compatible, have different life goals, cannot force feelings which do not exist, and yet are facing twenty, thirty, forty years together.
2. Would Jesus reword his injunction? I think so. I have seen so many couples who „ each person of sterling character „ are just terribly unhappy together. To insist that they stay together once they have made a sincere and sustained effort through counseling and prayer to make their marriage work, only to fail, seems to me to be inhumane. Just last evening my wife and I had dinner with one of the happiest couples I know. Each is divorced and, IÍm glad to report, the former spouses are very happy in their new lives where they have been for ten or so years.
3. Does this mean divorce in order to marry someone to whom one is attracted is permissible? Absolutely not. Any betrayal of the commitment of marriage is unacceptable. Jesus would never agree to such a thing.
4. When divorce has been done honorably and with sensitivity on the part of both parties, is remarriage still adulterous? I donÍt think so. If it is, it is forgivable.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Ronald Love made a good point in referring to angels. He said when one hears the voice of an angel itÍs usually telling you to get up and get moving. He quotes Halfold Luccock, who pointed out that in the Bible we read such words as these: An angel comes to Peter in jail and says, ñRise quickly''; an angel says to Gideon, ñArise, and go in this thy might''; an angel says to Elijah, ñArise and eat''; an angel appears to Joseph and says, ñGo quickly.'' ñListen carefully,'' wrote Luccock, ñand you can hear the voices of angels above the contemporary din of the world, a voice that ought to get us out of lounge chairs and comfortable beds. ïArise, go quickly.Í ''
____________
The old philosophers used to tell a tale about a group of tadpoles swimming in the bottom of a muddy creek. One day, one little tadpole managed to flop his muddy body up on the bank long enough to glimpse through filmy eyes a world of far greater wonder than his mind had ever imagined. He saw the distant swell of a field alive with grain shimmering in the summer sun, and to his ears came the whisper of a breeze through fragrant trees, and he caught for an instant the graceful arc of a bluebird gliding through the azure sky. Quickly, for he was not yet ready for this world, he flopped himself back into the muddy creek and swam off to join his friends, to excitedly tell them about that magical world beyond their creek. Ah, but who could believe such a fanciful tale? Another world, one filled with beauty? Ridiculous. ñSurely someone would have told us of this if it were true,'' they replied. So the little tadpole was laughed at and rejected by his friends. Perhaps they crucified him. They could hardly be expected to believe in something which they could neither imagine nor explain.
____________
A young missionary wife once wrote famed Bible scholar James Stewart following the untimely death of her husband. She wrote: ñI cannot begin to understand „ but I know our love for our little children and that GodÍs love is infinitely greater „ I can only trust that love.'' IsnÍt this essentially what Job was saying?
Anne Douglas Sedgewick, the novelist, echoed this insight when she wrote a letter to a friend during the most painful stages of her illness. ñNow, added to everything else, I canÍt breathe unless lying down. My ribs collapse. Yet I canÍt drink my food unless sitting up. Life is a queer struggle, yet it is mine and it is beautiful to me. There is joy in knowing I lie in the hands of God.''
____________
ñYou see a world that wildly whirls
Through coiling clouds of battle smoke.
And drenched with blood, the childrenÍs curls,
And womenÍs hearts by thousands broke.
I see a host above it all
Where angels wield their conquering sword,
And thrones may rise and thrones may fall,
But „ comes the kingdom of the Lord.''
____________
Consider this: in JesusÍ time, according to prevailing laws, a man could get a divorce, a woman could not. For the man it was a simple process and grounds could be as petty as failure to produce male children. At times, custom even permitted a man to take a mistress for that purpose, whereas a woman having an affair with another man could be put to death. This must have left women with the conviction that their main value lay only in having boy babies, and there was no force for ñconsciousness raising'' in that society. Women rarely questioned the way of things. They must have suffered embarrassing ostracism if they failed in their duties.
Women in the time of Jesus were treated as little more than chattel property. A man could give his daughter in marriage to someone she didnÍt know, much less love, and the daughter had little say in the matter. Furthermore, the father expected a dowry, often a lavish payoff with farm animals and other valuables. Put bluntly, men could sell their daughters for a good price and women could do nothing about this shameful practice. The idea of marriage as a contract between two people who first fell in love and made an independent commitment was virtually unknown 2,000 years ago.
____________
When divorce takes place, equality of treatment of both parties is essential. If one has more power, more resources than the other, it is incumbent on that person to be generous in seeing to the welfare and best interests of the other. Where young children are involved, their welfare must take precedence over that of either parent. When a divorce takes place it is a sin for either parent to say hurtful things about the other parent in the hearing of the children. As years pass, the non-custodial parent must be generous in caring for any children, and must, at the cost of personal sacrifice if necessary, meet all legal and moral obligations to the child and to the former spouse promptly. Likewise, the custodial parent is duty-bound to foster a loving and healthy relationship with the absent parent.
____________
ñHusband and wife should go off on vacations alone and also on vacations alone together. How wonderful it was to leave the children, the house, the job and all the obligations of daily life; to go out together ... How the table at home has grown! And how distracting it is, with four or five children, a telephone ringing in the hall, two or three school buses to catch, not to speak of the commuterÍs train. How all this separates one from oneÍs husband and clogs up the pure relationship. But sitting at a table alone opposite each other, what is there to separate one? Nothing but a coffee pot, corn muffins and marmalade. A simple enough pleasure, surely, to have breakfast alone with oneÍs husband, but how seldom married people in the midst of life achieve it.''
„ Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in Gifts From The Sea
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 26 (C) „ ñVindicate me, O Lord.''
Psalm 127 (RC) „ ñUnless the Lord builds the house....''
Psalm 8 (E) „ ñO Lord, our sovereign.''
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God, we sometimes find ourselves in pain and angry at the world and at you for the suffering we must endure. Forgive our anger, O Lord, and help us, we pray, to find within ourselves both the courage to face our difficulty and the faith to draw upon the powers you have made available to us through Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Job 1:1; 2:1-10 (C)
What a wonderful, majestic story is Job. It struggles with humanityÍs most fundamental question: What is the meaning of suffering? Philosophers before the time of Jesus tried to make sense of suffering. If God is really a good God, why could he not have created a world free of suffering? I watched part of the movie Gettysburg recently. Watching those men reenact the battles, seeing them fall, knowing that the rudimentary state of medicine at that time meant that almost every wound would either prove fatal or require a young man to lose a limb, and that amputations were performed without anesthetic, was appalling. Anyone who has watched a dear one slowly waste away with cancer knows the awful question of suffering. ñCurse God and die,'' advised Mrs. Job, and many a person has done that (though I donÍt think God holds that against one. He understands).
Our text is only introductory to the story, but you and I know how it goes and how it ends. We know it raises the question of whether God sends suffering, whether suffering is a consequence of wrongdoing as the so-called ñcomforters'' of Job assumed, whether, indeed, we are to ever find answers to our questions at all.
The next several Sundays will present us with other dimensions to the story of Job. Today, I would fasten on the tenth verse of chapter 2: ñShall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?'' The presumption seems to be that God, if not sending suffering, was at least a party to its happening. As far as Satan is concerned, I am of the opinion that ancient people, having no sense of science, attributed all terrible happenings to evil spiritual forces. While I donÍt completely discount the existence of such, I do think an enlightened view of such things begins with natural causes. Therefore, I will take the Satan part of this story at face value but with a bit of tongue in cheek.
Lesson 1: Genesis 2:18-24 (RC, E)
Lesson 2: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 (C); Hebrews 2:9-11 (RC); Hebrews 2:(1-8) 9-18 (E)
I commend to you the commentary by William Barclay on these verses, as they are extremely complicated and that manÍs scholarship is valuable to us. There are many possible emphases here. One must keep in mind that a congregation is asking, ñYes, but what does this mean to me in my life now?'' While a scholarly approach to this passage is fascinating, the question before you and me is that question: ñWhat does this mean to me in my life now?''
Suffering comes before us again, as the writer observes that ñIt was only right that God ... should make Jesus perfect through suffering.'' We could struggle with the question: In what way does suffering perfect us? Another issue is that of angels. The Jews of JesusÍ time believed in angels. The early Christians had several different ideas about angels. The prevailing idea was that God was so remote from mankind that angels were sent as intermediaries. But one school of thought held that angels only lived for one day. Each day, God created an entire new army of angels. Some believed they were so numerous that one rabbi contended that each blade of grass had an angel. Then there were those special angels, the archangels, of which there were supposedly seven, Gabriel being the one who brought messages to people.
Well, we donÍt have much evidence about angels. I myself am agnostic on the subject. By that I mean I donÍt know and canÍt decide. I certainly feel a kindly presence in my life, and have had occasion to feel that someone or something had intervened on my behalf. But I have always thought of that as the Holy Spirit. Maybe in some way beyond human understanding both are true, but I canÍt preach a sermon about angels so long as I know so little about them.
Of course we have affirmed here the primacy of Jesus, and the fact that through Jesus we can be saved. That is always an excellent theme on which to preach. On the other hand, that truth is presented to us by many of our Bible passages, and a practical word must be inserted often as well.
Dr. Barclay suggested a three-point outline which would be perfect for us. We will look at that outline in the section on Sermon Suggestions.
Gospel: Mark 10:2-16 (C, RC); Mark 10:2-9 (E)
We have two themes here. First, Jesus deals with the matter of divorce. Then, in the last four verses we have Jesus comparing the good Christian to a small child. These are both relevant passages to me since I have been through a divorce and I live next door to two small children who most recently knocked over a stone fence in our yard (which their father politely repaired), and even now they are screaming about the neighborhood. I donÍt know whether Jesus was ever faced with that problem or not. Anyway, we all understand that Jesus was commending childlikeness, not childishness.
I would choose to preach on the subject of divorce. We have recognized that sociologists tell us 43 percent of all marriages will end in divorce. I estimate that about half of all the marriages I performed in my ministry involved one or both parties having been in previous marriages. IÍm even sad to report that most of the happy marriages among my own friendship circle are people who have been divorced before their present marriage. This is a subject we dare not turn from.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: ñJob, And The Problem Of Suffering''
Text: Job 1:1; 2:1-10
Theme: The book of Job struggles with the question as to whether suffering is related to our conduct. Does God punish us in this life for our wrongdoing as well as rewarding us for our good deeds? The book will leave that somewhat up in the air, but it also depicts Job as an innocent who does not deserve to suffer. His buddies assume he must have done something bad, otherwise these things would not have happened. But Job knows better, and the reader sees that JobÍs suffering is caused by evil forces, not by God (although God certainly stood aside and let it happen, according to the introduction).
1. Does God send suffering? No! Jesus repeatedly assured us that he came that our lives might be filled with joy. As far as Satan is concerned, that stands as a symbol for all the hurtful forces which bear upon us in this life.
2. Can suffering bless our lives? Yes! Paul pointed out that suffering produces endurance, character, and hope.
3. Does God really stand aside when we suffer? No! Jesus would welcome us to come to him in times of suffering, and that we would discover that our prayers are answered.
4. Does this mean that God will take away our suffering? Yes and No! He certainly strengthens us in times of trial. As William Temple put the matter, ñWe do not ask for lighter burdens, we ask for stronger backs.''
Title: ñBeing And Becoming''
Text: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Theme: William Barclay suggests a three-point outline. I try not to copy other people too often, but if we are to copy someone elseÍs idea, this is a good man to turn to.
1. Jesus shows us the ideal of what a person should be.
2. Jesus shows us what we actually have become.
3. Jesus shows us how the actual can be changed into the ideal.
Title: ñWhat Would Jesus Say Today About Divorce''
Text: Mark 10:1-12
Theme: Dear friends, as I have shared with you, I have been divorced. I wonÍt bother you with details except to say it was very painful and I deeply regret that it happened. I fully understand that many of my readers will disagree with me in what I plan to write. One pastor friend of mine recently asked a woman to leave his church because she has recently divorced. I think he is dead wrong and, much as I like him as a friend, I consider him narrow-minded and heartless in that situation. So there. But as a preacher myself (incidentally, I know several divorced clergy, and the psychologist who counseled clergy in our state told me he estimated that except for the prevailing sanctions, the divorce rate among clergy would be the same 43 percent as among the rest of humanity), I have wrestled with the issue in depth.
1. Some things have changed since Jesus spoke. Life expectancy then was twenty-something, today itÍs eighty. Two people married at, say, age sixteen in JesusÍ time faced just a few years before the likelihood that one or the other would die. Today a couple married at 21 could be together for sixty years. It is during the middle of life that people undergo change. A la Passages, we all know that mid-life crises are real and sometimes people innocently drift apart. Also, sometimes two good people awaken to the fact that they are not compatible, have different life goals, cannot force feelings which do not exist, and yet are facing twenty, thirty, forty years together.
2. Would Jesus reword his injunction? I think so. I have seen so many couples who „ each person of sterling character „ are just terribly unhappy together. To insist that they stay together once they have made a sincere and sustained effort through counseling and prayer to make their marriage work, only to fail, seems to me to be inhumane. Just last evening my wife and I had dinner with one of the happiest couples I know. Each is divorced and, IÍm glad to report, the former spouses are very happy in their new lives where they have been for ten or so years.
3. Does this mean divorce in order to marry someone to whom one is attracted is permissible? Absolutely not. Any betrayal of the commitment of marriage is unacceptable. Jesus would never agree to such a thing.
4. When divorce has been done honorably and with sensitivity on the part of both parties, is remarriage still adulterous? I donÍt think so. If it is, it is forgivable.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Ronald Love made a good point in referring to angels. He said when one hears the voice of an angel itÍs usually telling you to get up and get moving. He quotes Halfold Luccock, who pointed out that in the Bible we read such words as these: An angel comes to Peter in jail and says, ñRise quickly''; an angel says to Gideon, ñArise, and go in this thy might''; an angel says to Elijah, ñArise and eat''; an angel appears to Joseph and says, ñGo quickly.'' ñListen carefully,'' wrote Luccock, ñand you can hear the voices of angels above the contemporary din of the world, a voice that ought to get us out of lounge chairs and comfortable beds. ïArise, go quickly.Í ''
____________
The old philosophers used to tell a tale about a group of tadpoles swimming in the bottom of a muddy creek. One day, one little tadpole managed to flop his muddy body up on the bank long enough to glimpse through filmy eyes a world of far greater wonder than his mind had ever imagined. He saw the distant swell of a field alive with grain shimmering in the summer sun, and to his ears came the whisper of a breeze through fragrant trees, and he caught for an instant the graceful arc of a bluebird gliding through the azure sky. Quickly, for he was not yet ready for this world, he flopped himself back into the muddy creek and swam off to join his friends, to excitedly tell them about that magical world beyond their creek. Ah, but who could believe such a fanciful tale? Another world, one filled with beauty? Ridiculous. ñSurely someone would have told us of this if it were true,'' they replied. So the little tadpole was laughed at and rejected by his friends. Perhaps they crucified him. They could hardly be expected to believe in something which they could neither imagine nor explain.
____________
A young missionary wife once wrote famed Bible scholar James Stewart following the untimely death of her husband. She wrote: ñI cannot begin to understand „ but I know our love for our little children and that GodÍs love is infinitely greater „ I can only trust that love.'' IsnÍt this essentially what Job was saying?
Anne Douglas Sedgewick, the novelist, echoed this insight when she wrote a letter to a friend during the most painful stages of her illness. ñNow, added to everything else, I canÍt breathe unless lying down. My ribs collapse. Yet I canÍt drink my food unless sitting up. Life is a queer struggle, yet it is mine and it is beautiful to me. There is joy in knowing I lie in the hands of God.''
____________
ñYou see a world that wildly whirls
Through coiling clouds of battle smoke.
And drenched with blood, the childrenÍs curls,
And womenÍs hearts by thousands broke.
I see a host above it all
Where angels wield their conquering sword,
And thrones may rise and thrones may fall,
But „ comes the kingdom of the Lord.''
____________
Consider this: in JesusÍ time, according to prevailing laws, a man could get a divorce, a woman could not. For the man it was a simple process and grounds could be as petty as failure to produce male children. At times, custom even permitted a man to take a mistress for that purpose, whereas a woman having an affair with another man could be put to death. This must have left women with the conviction that their main value lay only in having boy babies, and there was no force for ñconsciousness raising'' in that society. Women rarely questioned the way of things. They must have suffered embarrassing ostracism if they failed in their duties.
Women in the time of Jesus were treated as little more than chattel property. A man could give his daughter in marriage to someone she didnÍt know, much less love, and the daughter had little say in the matter. Furthermore, the father expected a dowry, often a lavish payoff with farm animals and other valuables. Put bluntly, men could sell their daughters for a good price and women could do nothing about this shameful practice. The idea of marriage as a contract between two people who first fell in love and made an independent commitment was virtually unknown 2,000 years ago.
____________
When divorce takes place, equality of treatment of both parties is essential. If one has more power, more resources than the other, it is incumbent on that person to be generous in seeing to the welfare and best interests of the other. Where young children are involved, their welfare must take precedence over that of either parent. When a divorce takes place it is a sin for either parent to say hurtful things about the other parent in the hearing of the children. As years pass, the non-custodial parent must be generous in caring for any children, and must, at the cost of personal sacrifice if necessary, meet all legal and moral obligations to the child and to the former spouse promptly. Likewise, the custodial parent is duty-bound to foster a loving and healthy relationship with the absent parent.
____________
ñHusband and wife should go off on vacations alone and also on vacations alone together. How wonderful it was to leave the children, the house, the job and all the obligations of daily life; to go out together ... How the table at home has grown! And how distracting it is, with four or five children, a telephone ringing in the hall, two or three school buses to catch, not to speak of the commuterÍs train. How all this separates one from oneÍs husband and clogs up the pure relationship. But sitting at a table alone opposite each other, what is there to separate one? Nothing but a coffee pot, corn muffins and marmalade. A simple enough pleasure, surely, to have breakfast alone with oneÍs husband, but how seldom married people in the midst of life achieve it.''
„ Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in Gifts From The Sea
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 26 (C) „ ñVindicate me, O Lord.''
Psalm 127 (RC) „ ñUnless the Lord builds the house....''
Psalm 8 (E) „ ñO Lord, our sovereign.''
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God, we sometimes find ourselves in pain and angry at the world and at you for the suffering we must endure. Forgive our anger, O Lord, and help us, we pray, to find within ourselves both the courage to face our difficulty and the faith to draw upon the powers you have made available to us through Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen.
