Proper 8
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 (C)
This is quite a story -- fabulous, really. The preachers I run with read this as an allegory. We can't quite believe in literal chariots of fire. I say this with respect for any colleagues among us who find this story to be literally true. The stories about Elijah are probably in the same department as our stories about George Washington and his cherry tree, his silver dollar throw, his gallant boat trip across the Potomac. No matter, true or not, stories like this symbolize the greatness of the person. Whether Elijah took a chariot trip to heaven, or whether his devoted friend and protege felt such a splendid vision in his own heart, we know that the great spirit which enabled Elijah to give such fine leadership to his people was passed along to Elisha. As we reflect on this passage and its homiletical implications, the idea of leadership, and having worthy influence on those who look to us commends itself.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 (RC); 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 (E)
Here we see evidence of the concept of God as a mountain god, having a geographical location.
Lesson 2: Galatians 5:1, 13-25 (C, E); Galatians 5:1, 13-18 (RC)
This is certainly a relevant word to our time. Oh, how we value our freedom. But in recent times we have come to equate freedom with entitlement. People in public life feel they can hardly open their mouths without offending someone or other. Many of us have lost our sense of humor. So many of us have come to feel abused if we don't get what we want, in the market place, in family life, in our jobs. "I'm gonnna sue" is a familiar word these days.
Well, enough of the Jeremiads. The point here is that freedom is the right to decide to do what we know is right. Yes, if we disagree with some authority we can stand up and say so with a fair degree of safety. But if love is at all working within us, we celebrate the fact that we are free to choose what is right and to do so. I think of those poor people in Kosovo, or Korea, or Iran, or dozens of other places where freedom is abridged. As I write, Mr. Milosovic of Yugoslavia has just placed five of his retired generals under house arrest because they disagree with him. I suppose that's better than Iraq where they'd already be dead. Same in China. Same in Cuba. Same so many places.
As for a sermon, the message here is clear. We are all engaged in an inner warfare between our selfish human nature, and the demands of God's Spirit upon us. It's the battle between self-centered striving and selfless love. It cannot be won by any of us on our own. Only through the power of God's Spirit can we be redeemed from our own tendencies to self-destruct. However, there is good news. We're not on our own. First of all, God has born in us an instinct to recognize this idea of love. He has assured us of assistance if we're willing to do battle for the right cause. He has also assured us that eventually, we will discover that the winning is worth the battle.
Gospel: Luke 9:51-62 (C, RC, E)
Apparently, Jesus encountered several people who would like whatever benefits they imagined to be available through Jesus and his ministry, but they all had excuses when it came time to actually follow him. Of course, if we treat this literally, we can see how anyone with good sense would want to cogitate a bit before following some itinerant preacher who has just assured them that they wouldn't have a very predictable or secure life.
I think, though, this story is intended to remind us that once we undertake to live the Christian life, there is no turning back. My errors and indiscretions may be forgivable beforehand. But once I know, once I have received the insight which is part of the process of conviction and conversion, the expectations are different, higher. That doesn't mean I can't be forgiven under the right conditions. It does, though, demand of me the highest possible moral and spiritual standards of which I am capable.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Someone Is Watching You"
Text: 2 Kings 2:1-12
Theme: We all have memories of fine examples by others which set standards for us. I think therein lies much of the problem in some areas of our society: young people growing up without those examples of character and kindness. We learn those things by seeing it in others. And we teach those things by practicing it before others.
1. Mentoring is the responsibility of a Christian. To our families, our friends, the people we work with. There was a rooming house where dwelt the dregs of society: a drunk, a prostitute, a nosy gossip, others. They were terrible to each other until one day a man of excellent character moved in. At first they were nasty to him, but he returned their discourtesy with kindness and respect. Each individual he treated as a worthy, valuable person. Slowly, the atmosphere began to change. One by one those people began to be kinder, more respectful to each other. By the time the good man had left, the others had become good as well.
2. Who are you mentoring now? I recently talked to a rising executive in a well-known corporation, who told me of the high regard in which he had held a now retired vice-president of that firm. He said he was this man's role model. I know that retired vice-president, and told him of this conversation. He was pleased, but I don't think he ever knew that a young man out there in the company was modeling himself after him.
Title: "On Wearing Freedom's Chains"
Text: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Theme: To a Christian, freedom doesn't mean license to do whatever you want. It means the freedom to do what you believe to be right, even when others disagree or oppose you. This also means, however, that since there must be laws to ensure the public welfare and to define for the individual what the community considers appropriate conduct, we must exercise that freedom within those laws. If those laws constrict or undermine what you genuinely believe to be right and just, freedom means not the freedom to break those laws, it means the freedom to change those laws. If, however, as a matter of conscience, you choose to break a law, you also agree that it is fair and just that you suffer the consequences prescribed by law. Martin Luther King and the blessed Rosa Parks are two shining examples.
Many years ago, during the Vietnam War, I joined with a group of clergy who opposed that war in standing in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. We were wearing placards pronouncing our opposition to the war and imploring the President to end our involvement. It was a cold, rainy day. Capitol police had arranged a line of officers to prevent our entrance onto Capitol building property itself. With ice-cold stares, those officers glared at us, sheer disdain on their faces. Frankly, I felt like a jerk. I was attending a conference in Washington at the time and had decided to join in the demonstration. There I stood, Mr. Suburban Minister, suit and tie, shivering, privately hoping the CBS cameras wouldn't get me in a close-up to be shown back in Indiana. But it was dawning on me that to stand up for one's belief does, indeed, involve a price. In America, though, we do it through orderly process. That has preserved our freedoms through the centuries. It was shortly thereafter that the war was called to a halt. Millions of Americans had made their convictions known and it had made the difference. Not all demonstrations were orderly. Some were violent. But there is evidence that it was only after ordinary citizens, the rank and file of America, had expressed their opposition that the leaders of our nation realized what they had to do. (Incidentally, those whom I knew who opposed the war held the heroic soldiers, sailors, and marines who fought there in the very highest regard.) Freedom meant expressing our convictions without fear of repression, but it also meant doing so in accord with regard for the best interests of all concerned. And that necessitates laws and obedience to those laws. It is slow, cumbersome. But it works. So freedom must be accompanied by responsibility.
In one's personal life, the same principles apply. Words and actions have consequences. I can choose my vocation, my friends, my leisure pursuits, my church. I can choose for myself how much education I want, where I want to live. I can decide, along with my wife, where we will eat tonight, how we will dress. But each action has a reaction. When my daughter left Indiana to live in California, she ordained that her father would only see his two grandsons once or twice a year. So, she ordained that they would never have the close relationship which so blessed my childhood with my grandad. On the other hand, they have a glorious life in the sun and surf of southern California. It's a trade-off.
Exercising freedom is very difficult. Back in the late '50s or early '60s, two Russian Air Force pilots flew their MIG jet to an Allied airfield where they asked for asylum. Both came to the United States where they began to build a new life, free from the restraints of the Communist state. A year or two later, one of them returned to Russia. He preferred the punishment he knew he'd face to the intolerable responsibility of exercising freedom. The other remained here, but never really found the happiness he sought. He admitted that once you get used to having all your choices made for you, it is well-nigh impossible to learn the use of freedom.
1. Freedom requires responsibility.
2. Freedom requires the ability to make choices.
3. Freedom requires acceptance of consequences.
4. Freedom, to a Christian, is exercised in love.
Title: "Commitment: Staying With It"
Text: Luke 9:61-62
Theme: Sometimes, after our initial zeal subsides, we may find adherence to the principles of the Christian faith to become something of a burden. It's easy to rationalize, to convince oneself that after all, God's a really good Person. A little slip here, a bit of compromise there, these things may seem hardly significant. Besides, didn't Jesus elsewhere tell about the man who sent workers out to work at various times in the day and then paid all of them the same? Wasn't that saying that even if we buy into the demands of the faith at the very end we will still be its beneficiaries?
This is all very human, of course. I'll admit right now that while my main intention is to live the gospel to the very letter, I actually temporize, rationalize all too often. And, if I may be blunt, I notice that just about everyone does. However, I like to think that in the matters which really count, I still adhere to the spirit of the teachings of Jesus. And the people I call friend nearly all do likewise. That's what Jesus calls us to do: persevere in the faith. Oh, I think of one fine fellow who stands above most of us in the faith. He seems always to do the right things, to worship sincerely, to refrain from the petty vices which beset most of us. But here's his problem: He simply can't understand how the rest of us can defend our little foibles. He -- I hate to say this because I may then be doing the same thing, but here goes -- he judges. He sniffs disapprovingly at some of the people I enjoy the most. He somehow seems to lack compassion for the common man and his efforts to live the decent but not the perfect life. I don't condemn him. But I see him as an example of the fact that we all end up with unloving impulses of one sort or another.
How can I preach a sermon like this, sounding an uncertain trumpet? Am I not giving tacit permission to fudge? No, my point is that there are some things which matter, matter a lot. If I am steadfastly faithful in those, I will find myself not liking my other flaws. I won't be able to eliminate them completely. But I will see them. And that will begin the process of healing. The problem with our advocacy of a perfect life is twofold: not a one of us preachers can achieve it, and two, we set people up for discouragement at their own failure. Note that Jesus thoroughly loved all those fellows who traveled with him, and they all had problems. But they had declared their loyalty to him. If we do that. If we fill our minds and hearts with the teachings of Jesus, if we grasp the end to which he pointed, if we immerse ourselves in the warming love of his presence we won't want to be other than what he calls us to be. Somehow it fills us with a marvelous sense of new direction, of knowing at last what life is all about, where joy is to be found. From that point on, we become new people yet able to love ourselves with all our faults and flaws, not always excusing them, but understanding that Jesus is working with common clay, and that he will succeed if we stay with him.
1. If we choose to follow Jesus, we must understand his stern demands.
2. To follow Jesus will involve repeated failure, and splendid successes.
3. Jesus understands and loves our human nature. He will be patient with us as we try to keep up.
4. We will grow in the faith, ultimately. There will be joy but first crucifixion.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Some scientists believe that dinosaurs disappeared from the earth not because of catastrophic accidents, but because of viruses which infected the earth, perhaps brought here from outer space by meteorites. How interesting, that a microscopically tiny being could bring down such an enormous creature. But so with the tiny little compromises we may make unless we realize what's happening to us.
____________
E. F. Schumacher used an interesting illustration: the story of a man who supposedly died and went to the next world. There he met many people, some of whom he liked, some he did not. But one man whom he met he especially disliked. Frequently this man said hurtful and self-important things which the newcomer hated. He found himself somehow able to see into the man's very being, seeing insincerity and pettiness. Finally, he went to someone who had lived in the next world for a long time and asked why that man was here at all. The old-timer explained: "Here we have mirrors of a different sort from those in the former world. They are in the form of ourselves -- you are looking into your own soul." Wouldn't that possibly describe what Hell might be like?
____________
Jurgen Moltmann observed that "man is not a finished product."
____________
Bruce Larson told of a man who moved his family from Liverpool to London, even though their location required a long trip to work. Eighteen years later, someone asked the man why the move. Was it because of economic needs? "No," the man replied, "we just wanted to live where things are happening." "Like what?" the other inquired. "Like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace," the man explained. He was then asked how many times he had seen the changing of the guard, and he said he had never seen it, but he liked knowing he could see it if he wished. (re: our rationalizations for doing what we want to do)
____________
There was a young maid from a mission
Who was seized by a dreadful suspicion,
That the problem of sin
Didn't matter a pin,
In this era of nuclear fission.
____________
Karl Menninger told of a man who became so angry at his wife that he put on a blindfold and went to bed. Except to eat and relieve himself, he remained there for seven years. Menninger's point in sharing this true anecdote was that we can easily ruin our own lives by uncontrolled negative emotions. Healthy-minded people learn to let go of things and move on.
____________
In C. S. Lewis' delightful The Great Divorce there is a woman, a resident of Hell, who thinks and talks only of herself and her wishes and needs. Each time we see her she is a bit shorter. Finally she is only barely visible, and at last not at all. She is so completely self-centered that she disappears.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 -- "I cry aloud to God."
Prayer Of The Day
Be merciful to us, O God, as we stumble and fall, stumble and fall. We earnestly desire to be loyal to him whom we would follow, yet at times we despair of doing so. Overcome in us, then, our persistent failings. Keep us steadfast in our efforts that one day we shall find that despite our failings, we have arrived where he would lead. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 (C)
This is quite a story -- fabulous, really. The preachers I run with read this as an allegory. We can't quite believe in literal chariots of fire. I say this with respect for any colleagues among us who find this story to be literally true. The stories about Elijah are probably in the same department as our stories about George Washington and his cherry tree, his silver dollar throw, his gallant boat trip across the Potomac. No matter, true or not, stories like this symbolize the greatness of the person. Whether Elijah took a chariot trip to heaven, or whether his devoted friend and protege felt such a splendid vision in his own heart, we know that the great spirit which enabled Elijah to give such fine leadership to his people was passed along to Elisha. As we reflect on this passage and its homiletical implications, the idea of leadership, and having worthy influence on those who look to us commends itself.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 (RC); 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 (E)
Here we see evidence of the concept of God as a mountain god, having a geographical location.
Lesson 2: Galatians 5:1, 13-25 (C, E); Galatians 5:1, 13-18 (RC)
This is certainly a relevant word to our time. Oh, how we value our freedom. But in recent times we have come to equate freedom with entitlement. People in public life feel they can hardly open their mouths without offending someone or other. Many of us have lost our sense of humor. So many of us have come to feel abused if we don't get what we want, in the market place, in family life, in our jobs. "I'm gonnna sue" is a familiar word these days.
Well, enough of the Jeremiads. The point here is that freedom is the right to decide to do what we know is right. Yes, if we disagree with some authority we can stand up and say so with a fair degree of safety. But if love is at all working within us, we celebrate the fact that we are free to choose what is right and to do so. I think of those poor people in Kosovo, or Korea, or Iran, or dozens of other places where freedom is abridged. As I write, Mr. Milosovic of Yugoslavia has just placed five of his retired generals under house arrest because they disagree with him. I suppose that's better than Iraq where they'd already be dead. Same in China. Same in Cuba. Same so many places.
As for a sermon, the message here is clear. We are all engaged in an inner warfare between our selfish human nature, and the demands of God's Spirit upon us. It's the battle between self-centered striving and selfless love. It cannot be won by any of us on our own. Only through the power of God's Spirit can we be redeemed from our own tendencies to self-destruct. However, there is good news. We're not on our own. First of all, God has born in us an instinct to recognize this idea of love. He has assured us of assistance if we're willing to do battle for the right cause. He has also assured us that eventually, we will discover that the winning is worth the battle.
Gospel: Luke 9:51-62 (C, RC, E)
Apparently, Jesus encountered several people who would like whatever benefits they imagined to be available through Jesus and his ministry, but they all had excuses when it came time to actually follow him. Of course, if we treat this literally, we can see how anyone with good sense would want to cogitate a bit before following some itinerant preacher who has just assured them that they wouldn't have a very predictable or secure life.
I think, though, this story is intended to remind us that once we undertake to live the Christian life, there is no turning back. My errors and indiscretions may be forgivable beforehand. But once I know, once I have received the insight which is part of the process of conviction and conversion, the expectations are different, higher. That doesn't mean I can't be forgiven under the right conditions. It does, though, demand of me the highest possible moral and spiritual standards of which I am capable.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Someone Is Watching You"
Text: 2 Kings 2:1-12
Theme: We all have memories of fine examples by others which set standards for us. I think therein lies much of the problem in some areas of our society: young people growing up without those examples of character and kindness. We learn those things by seeing it in others. And we teach those things by practicing it before others.
1. Mentoring is the responsibility of a Christian. To our families, our friends, the people we work with. There was a rooming house where dwelt the dregs of society: a drunk, a prostitute, a nosy gossip, others. They were terrible to each other until one day a man of excellent character moved in. At first they were nasty to him, but he returned their discourtesy with kindness and respect. Each individual he treated as a worthy, valuable person. Slowly, the atmosphere began to change. One by one those people began to be kinder, more respectful to each other. By the time the good man had left, the others had become good as well.
2. Who are you mentoring now? I recently talked to a rising executive in a well-known corporation, who told me of the high regard in which he had held a now retired vice-president of that firm. He said he was this man's role model. I know that retired vice-president, and told him of this conversation. He was pleased, but I don't think he ever knew that a young man out there in the company was modeling himself after him.
Title: "On Wearing Freedom's Chains"
Text: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Theme: To a Christian, freedom doesn't mean license to do whatever you want. It means the freedom to do what you believe to be right, even when others disagree or oppose you. This also means, however, that since there must be laws to ensure the public welfare and to define for the individual what the community considers appropriate conduct, we must exercise that freedom within those laws. If those laws constrict or undermine what you genuinely believe to be right and just, freedom means not the freedom to break those laws, it means the freedom to change those laws. If, however, as a matter of conscience, you choose to break a law, you also agree that it is fair and just that you suffer the consequences prescribed by law. Martin Luther King and the blessed Rosa Parks are two shining examples.
Many years ago, during the Vietnam War, I joined with a group of clergy who opposed that war in standing in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. We were wearing placards pronouncing our opposition to the war and imploring the President to end our involvement. It was a cold, rainy day. Capitol police had arranged a line of officers to prevent our entrance onto Capitol building property itself. With ice-cold stares, those officers glared at us, sheer disdain on their faces. Frankly, I felt like a jerk. I was attending a conference in Washington at the time and had decided to join in the demonstration. There I stood, Mr. Suburban Minister, suit and tie, shivering, privately hoping the CBS cameras wouldn't get me in a close-up to be shown back in Indiana. But it was dawning on me that to stand up for one's belief does, indeed, involve a price. In America, though, we do it through orderly process. That has preserved our freedoms through the centuries. It was shortly thereafter that the war was called to a halt. Millions of Americans had made their convictions known and it had made the difference. Not all demonstrations were orderly. Some were violent. But there is evidence that it was only after ordinary citizens, the rank and file of America, had expressed their opposition that the leaders of our nation realized what they had to do. (Incidentally, those whom I knew who opposed the war held the heroic soldiers, sailors, and marines who fought there in the very highest regard.) Freedom meant expressing our convictions without fear of repression, but it also meant doing so in accord with regard for the best interests of all concerned. And that necessitates laws and obedience to those laws. It is slow, cumbersome. But it works. So freedom must be accompanied by responsibility.
In one's personal life, the same principles apply. Words and actions have consequences. I can choose my vocation, my friends, my leisure pursuits, my church. I can choose for myself how much education I want, where I want to live. I can decide, along with my wife, where we will eat tonight, how we will dress. But each action has a reaction. When my daughter left Indiana to live in California, she ordained that her father would only see his two grandsons once or twice a year. So, she ordained that they would never have the close relationship which so blessed my childhood with my grandad. On the other hand, they have a glorious life in the sun and surf of southern California. It's a trade-off.
Exercising freedom is very difficult. Back in the late '50s or early '60s, two Russian Air Force pilots flew their MIG jet to an Allied airfield where they asked for asylum. Both came to the United States where they began to build a new life, free from the restraints of the Communist state. A year or two later, one of them returned to Russia. He preferred the punishment he knew he'd face to the intolerable responsibility of exercising freedom. The other remained here, but never really found the happiness he sought. He admitted that once you get used to having all your choices made for you, it is well-nigh impossible to learn the use of freedom.
1. Freedom requires responsibility.
2. Freedom requires the ability to make choices.
3. Freedom requires acceptance of consequences.
4. Freedom, to a Christian, is exercised in love.
Title: "Commitment: Staying With It"
Text: Luke 9:61-62
Theme: Sometimes, after our initial zeal subsides, we may find adherence to the principles of the Christian faith to become something of a burden. It's easy to rationalize, to convince oneself that after all, God's a really good Person. A little slip here, a bit of compromise there, these things may seem hardly significant. Besides, didn't Jesus elsewhere tell about the man who sent workers out to work at various times in the day and then paid all of them the same? Wasn't that saying that even if we buy into the demands of the faith at the very end we will still be its beneficiaries?
This is all very human, of course. I'll admit right now that while my main intention is to live the gospel to the very letter, I actually temporize, rationalize all too often. And, if I may be blunt, I notice that just about everyone does. However, I like to think that in the matters which really count, I still adhere to the spirit of the teachings of Jesus. And the people I call friend nearly all do likewise. That's what Jesus calls us to do: persevere in the faith. Oh, I think of one fine fellow who stands above most of us in the faith. He seems always to do the right things, to worship sincerely, to refrain from the petty vices which beset most of us. But here's his problem: He simply can't understand how the rest of us can defend our little foibles. He -- I hate to say this because I may then be doing the same thing, but here goes -- he judges. He sniffs disapprovingly at some of the people I enjoy the most. He somehow seems to lack compassion for the common man and his efforts to live the decent but not the perfect life. I don't condemn him. But I see him as an example of the fact that we all end up with unloving impulses of one sort or another.
How can I preach a sermon like this, sounding an uncertain trumpet? Am I not giving tacit permission to fudge? No, my point is that there are some things which matter, matter a lot. If I am steadfastly faithful in those, I will find myself not liking my other flaws. I won't be able to eliminate them completely. But I will see them. And that will begin the process of healing. The problem with our advocacy of a perfect life is twofold: not a one of us preachers can achieve it, and two, we set people up for discouragement at their own failure. Note that Jesus thoroughly loved all those fellows who traveled with him, and they all had problems. But they had declared their loyalty to him. If we do that. If we fill our minds and hearts with the teachings of Jesus, if we grasp the end to which he pointed, if we immerse ourselves in the warming love of his presence we won't want to be other than what he calls us to be. Somehow it fills us with a marvelous sense of new direction, of knowing at last what life is all about, where joy is to be found. From that point on, we become new people yet able to love ourselves with all our faults and flaws, not always excusing them, but understanding that Jesus is working with common clay, and that he will succeed if we stay with him.
1. If we choose to follow Jesus, we must understand his stern demands.
2. To follow Jesus will involve repeated failure, and splendid successes.
3. Jesus understands and loves our human nature. He will be patient with us as we try to keep up.
4. We will grow in the faith, ultimately. There will be joy but first crucifixion.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Some scientists believe that dinosaurs disappeared from the earth not because of catastrophic accidents, but because of viruses which infected the earth, perhaps brought here from outer space by meteorites. How interesting, that a microscopically tiny being could bring down such an enormous creature. But so with the tiny little compromises we may make unless we realize what's happening to us.
____________
E. F. Schumacher used an interesting illustration: the story of a man who supposedly died and went to the next world. There he met many people, some of whom he liked, some he did not. But one man whom he met he especially disliked. Frequently this man said hurtful and self-important things which the newcomer hated. He found himself somehow able to see into the man's very being, seeing insincerity and pettiness. Finally, he went to someone who had lived in the next world for a long time and asked why that man was here at all. The old-timer explained: "Here we have mirrors of a different sort from those in the former world. They are in the form of ourselves -- you are looking into your own soul." Wouldn't that possibly describe what Hell might be like?
____________
Jurgen Moltmann observed that "man is not a finished product."
____________
Bruce Larson told of a man who moved his family from Liverpool to London, even though their location required a long trip to work. Eighteen years later, someone asked the man why the move. Was it because of economic needs? "No," the man replied, "we just wanted to live where things are happening." "Like what?" the other inquired. "Like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace," the man explained. He was then asked how many times he had seen the changing of the guard, and he said he had never seen it, but he liked knowing he could see it if he wished. (re: our rationalizations for doing what we want to do)
____________
There was a young maid from a mission
Who was seized by a dreadful suspicion,
That the problem of sin
Didn't matter a pin,
In this era of nuclear fission.
____________
Karl Menninger told of a man who became so angry at his wife that he put on a blindfold and went to bed. Except to eat and relieve himself, he remained there for seven years. Menninger's point in sharing this true anecdote was that we can easily ruin our own lives by uncontrolled negative emotions. Healthy-minded people learn to let go of things and move on.
____________
In C. S. Lewis' delightful The Great Divorce there is a woman, a resident of Hell, who thinks and talks only of herself and her wishes and needs. Each time we see her she is a bit shorter. Finally she is only barely visible, and at last not at all. She is so completely self-centered that she disappears.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 -- "I cry aloud to God."
Prayer Of The Day
Be merciful to us, O God, as we stumble and fall, stumble and fall. We earnestly desire to be loyal to him whom we would follow, yet at times we despair of doing so. Overcome in us, then, our persistent failings. Keep us steadfast in our efforts that one day we shall find that despite our failings, we have arrived where he would lead. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
