July 6, 2008; Proper 9

Collect

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor:
Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole
heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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The Scriptures

Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 145: 8 - 15
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

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Zechariah 9:9-12

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.

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The prophet imagines the restoration of a Messianic reign.
What are the features of the Reign of God's Anointed?
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Psalm 145:8-15 Exaltabo te, Deus

You are gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.

You are loving to everyone, *and your compassion is over all your works.

All your works praise you, O God, *
and your faithful servants bless you.

They make known the glory of your realm *
and speak of your power,

That the peoples may know of your power *
and the glorious splendor of your dominion.

Yours, O God, is an everlasting reign; *
your dominion endures throughout all ages.

You are faithful in all your words *
and merciful in all your deeds.

You uphold all those who fall; *
you lift up those who are bowed down.

(St. Helena Psalter)

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How is this a psalm you can pray during the week of our Independence Day?
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Romans 7:15-25a

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do
the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that
the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin
that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me,
that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not
do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I
do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but
sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when
I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in
the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law
at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin
that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me
from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord!
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How does this passage connect with your own life? Do you ever find yourself in
a similar condition to what Paul describes? How do you resolve it?
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Matthew 11:16-19,25-30

Jesus said to the crowd, "To what will I compare this generation? It is like
children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
`We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon';
the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Look, a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is
vindicated by her deeds."

At that time Jesus said, "I thank you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things
from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;
yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been
handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the
Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom
the Son chooses to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you that are
weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light."

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Why do the crowds criticize both John the Baptist and Jesus?
What is it about the "wise and intelligent" that puts them at risk from knowing
what the infants know?
How do you find rest for your soul?

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For a way to Pray with these scriptures, go to the following link for instructions about how to use Lectio Divina with the Sunday readings:
http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id272.html