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Third Sunday after Pentecost • Year B
June 9, 2024 • Proper 5
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Historical Collect
O God, you are the protector of all who trust in you, and beside you, nothing is strong or holy. Multiply your mercy and guide us, that while using the good things of this fleeting life, we do not lose hold of the things that endure forever. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thematic Collect
Holy God, renew in us the gifts of faith and hope so that joined to Christ’s death and resurrection, and knit together in the body of Christ, we may go forth into the world from this holy assembly to do your will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
The Common Thread
God wants our fellowship. When things cool down a bit, we see him there, new every morning, ready to walk with us. There is yet hope for we sinners, if we do not lose heart, waiting in the promises of his Word. God desires so much to love us that, even in death he brings us to life again so that we may again be the object of his great love. Even in sin, his forgiveness is ready to embrace us again.
First Reading • Genesis 3:8–15
Sin immediately separates us from God. It is we who draw away from God, not he from us. After Eve and Adam had disobeyed God, they withdrew from God. They hid. God however, did not withdraw from the couple. Indeed, he got “in their faces” about it so that they would admit their fault and repent. When the false hopes of deceitful sin disappoint and cause you to feel so ashamed that you try to withdraw from God, you may be sure that he is there “among the trees,” calling out to you.
Psalm • Psalm 130:1–8
When I was a boy, my dad and I would go to Crosley Field to watch the Cincinnati Reds. Dad always got a scorecard and recorded all of the statistics of the game. Imagine if God kept score as well as my dad. There would be no one on base, no score, no hits; there would be no statistics but error after error. It would be one sorry game. But with God there is abundant mercy and forgiveness; we stand securely because we are sustained by the promises of his word.
Second Reading • 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Here we are, after two thousand years of Christianity, with the same faith, driven by the Spirit of God to have a spirit of evangelism. We cannot help but spread the good news. Grace continues to extend because this is the spirit of the Church and the will of God. (2Pet 3:9) Though there are sometimes momentary obstacles, we do not give up. Though we are worn down on the outside, the inner person is revived daily. In fact, when things even seem hopeless, “we faint not.” (KJV) We do not look to the moment. We hope in for the things that are eternal though as yet unseen. This is why the Church remains driven to tell the good news of Christ.
Gospel • Mark 3:20-35
Recently, I saw a photo of a fire in my downtown from half a century ago. In the foreground were hundreds of gawking onlookers. Some things never change. Jesus also had his gawkers. He had drawn a crowd that wanted to see what he would do or say next. No doubt some laughed, some mocked, and some believed. His mother and brothers had come to take the embarrassing young man home. Some in the crowd informed him that his family had come to fetch him. At that point he said something many likely thought crazy. He looked around at the crowd he had drawn and pronounced that these people who had come to hear his words were his real family.
Resources
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