GPS for the week of September 8th, 2024
“Listen, My Beloved Brothers and Sisters”
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“When life has lost its promise, or disappointed us one too many
times, when it is hard to trust again or feel alive and curious again,
love beckons us over and asks, ‘Got a minute?’ What is there to
lose? A lot-familiarity, complacency, the illusion of control. And
what is there to gain? A chance to loosen up and lighten up and
sometimes even live it up, a chance to feel the warmth of this
gentle, wild, messy, holy world (Anne Lamott).”
Dear Lord, help us to rejoice in serving and seeking justice
for others. Help us to be filled with joy as we give ourselves
to those who are in need. Amen.
Monday 9.9 “The Lord is the maker of them all.”
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is
better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all… Whoever sows injustice will reap
calamity, and the rod of anger will fail. Those who are generous are
blessed, for they share their bread with the poor… Do not rob the
poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the
Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.”
Be generous and seek justice for those who face injustice. Our Lord
cares for all of us.
Tuesday 9.10 “The Lord surrounds his people.”
Psalm 125
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be
moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so
the Lord surrounds his people, from this time on and for evermore.
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the
righteous, so that the righteous may not stretch out their hands to do
wrong. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who
are upright in their hearts. But those who turn aside to their own
crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers. Peace be upon
Israel!” It is our Lord who will give good things and care for us.
Wednesday 9.11 “Streams in the desert.”
Isaiah 35:4-7a
“Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here
is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap
like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters
shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the
burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of
water…” Fear gives way to strength and rejoicing in the goodness of
our Lord.
Thursday 9.12 “Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 146
“I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all
my life long. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom
there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is
the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith
forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to
the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the
eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the
Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he
upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he
brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all
generations.” We must join our Lord to care for the strangers,
orphans, widows, prisoners, hungry, and oppressed who are all
around us.
Friday 9.13 “The poor in the world.”
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
“Do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing
partiality. For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes
into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes
in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say,
‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say,
‘Stand there,’ or, ‘Sit at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions
among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen,
my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the
world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has
promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor.
Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who blaspheme the
excellent name that was invoked over you? You do well if you really
fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and
are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the
whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it…
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but
do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is
naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in
peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their
bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no
works, is dead.” We must be ready to let go of our traditions and
careful planning to make room for the poor and oppressed in our
midst; they are heirs of God’s kingdom.
Saturday 9.14 “Their hearts are far from me.”
Mark 7:24-37
“He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there.
Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter
had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came
and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of
Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her
daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair
to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she
answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s
crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go-the
demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child
lying on the bed, and the demon gone… They brought to him a deaf
man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to
lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the
crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his
tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him,
‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were
opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus
ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more
zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure,
saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear
and the mute to speak’.” They begged for healing; Jesus sent the
demon away and opened ears and tongue. This is our Lord of life.