Faith
26When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made
lamentation for him. 27When the mourning was over,
David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him
a son.
1But the thing that David had
done displeased the LORD, and the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him,
and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the
other poor. 2The rich man had very many
flocks and herds; 3but the poor man had nothing
but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up
with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink
from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to
take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to
him, but he took the poor man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had
come to him." 5Then David's anger was
greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives,
the man who has done this deserves to die; 6he shall restore the lamb
fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7Nathan said to David,
"You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I anointed you
king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; 8I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into
your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been
too little, I would have added as much more. 9Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil
in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have
taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the
Ammonites. 10Now therefore the sword shall
never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 11Thus says the LORD: I will
raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your
wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with
your wives in the sight of this very sun. 12For you did it secretly; but
I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." 13David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the
LORD."
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
The Lamb
KLEE,
Paul
1920
Städel
Museum
Frankfurt
Germany
The lamb is walking through the colourful stripy cosmos
as if it were a lost child. The cross above its head evokes God’s Lamb, which
traditionally symbolises Christ’s sacrificial death. However, the religious
content in Klee’s work is controversial as the painter did not express a
particular religious standpoint. The comparison of the artist and God, on the
other hand, plays a central role in his writings. Creating worlds from the
divine being is inextricably linked with sacrifice. The lamb may be an allusion
to this.
https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/the-lamb
The thing about light is that it really isn’t yours;
it’s what you gather and shine back.
And it gets more power from reflectiveness;
if you sit still and take it in,
it fills your cup,
and then you can give it off yourself.
~
Anne Lamott
Faith walks simply, childlike,
between the darkness of human life
and the hope of what is to come.
~
Catherine de Hueck Doherty
Birthday
lunch at Fire and Vine in Applewood
Kimra
Perkins, Carolyn Alexander
(Photo
by Sondra)
Sondra
Kellogg, Carolyn Alexander, Kimra Perkins
Rowdy Rotarians
at Gail Sharp's
Lucky Penny Ranch
Thursday,
July 29, 2021
Two of Gail’s goats. She takes all eight of them and her two dogs
for
a walk along the road every day. No leashes.
The
kids always enjoy the rope swing inside the old barn.
(Replaced
often.)
Holly
Brekke, Bob and Carol Rose
The
new barn with an indoor arena is in the background.
Carolyn
Alexander, Sondra Kellogg, Jim Fay
Lunch at Manning’s Steakhouse in Lakewood
Sondra
Kellogg, Carolyn Alexander, Karla Byrd
Karla
and I both celebrate being born on August 1st … but in very different
years!!!
Time is a dressmaker
specializing in alterations.
~
Faith Baldwin
August 1, 2021 Third Sunday after Pentecost Year B
Previous OPQs may be found at:
1I
therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the
calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. 4There is one body and one
Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and
in all.
7But each of us was given
grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he made
captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people." 9(When it says, "He ascended", what does it mean but
that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the
heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that
some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and
teachers, 12to equip the saints for the
work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of
Christ. 14We must no longer be
children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by
people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way
into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body,
joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as
each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up
in love.
Ephesians 4:1-16
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a and Psalm 51:1-12
OR
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 and Psalm 78:23-29
Ephesians 4:1-16
John 6:24-35
First Reading 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
26When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made
lamentation for him. 27When the
mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his
wife, and bore him a son.
1But the
thing that David had done displeased the LORD, and the LORD sent Nathan to
David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in a certain
city, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man
had very many flocks and herds; 3but the poor
man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up,
and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre
fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter
to him. 4Now there
came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock
or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor
man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him." 5Then David's anger was greatly
kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man
who has done this deserves to die; 6he shall
restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7Nathan said
to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I
anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; 8I gave you your master's house, and
your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of
Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9Why have you despised the word of
the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the
Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have
killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10Now
therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised
me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 11Thus says the LORD: I will raise up
trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives
before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your
wives in the sight of this very sun. 12For you did
it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the
sun." 13David said
to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
1Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant
mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in
your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Second Reading Ephesians 4:1-16
1I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life
worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with
one another in love, 3making every effort to
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the
one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, 6one God and Father of all,
who is above all and through all and in all.
7But each of us was given
grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8Therefore it is said,
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave
gifts to his people." 9(When it says, "He
ascended", what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower
parts of the earth?10He who descended is the same
one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up
the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the
measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be
children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by
people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way
into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body,
joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as
each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up
in love.
24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were
there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for
Jesus.
25When they
found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, when
did you come here?" 26Jesus
answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not
because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that
perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." 28Then they said to him, "What
must we do to perform the works of God?" 29Jesus
answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he
has sent." 30So they said
to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it
and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our
ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them
bread from heaven to eat.'" 32Then Jesus
said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the
bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from
heaven. 33For the
bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world." 34They said to
him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
35Jesus said
to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be
hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."