What Makes People Grateful?
Preparing for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Two Days before Sunday (Year B)
Scripture
Semi-continuous: Psalm 130; 1 Samuel 20:1-25; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Complementary: Psalm 30; Lamentations 2:1-12; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
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Prayer
Life-giving God, heal our lives, that we may acknowledge your wonderful deeds and offer you thanks from generation to generation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)
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Reflection
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia, for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the favor of partnering in this ministry to the saints, and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking (2 Corinthians 8:1-7).
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. – Marcus Aurelius
I have this quote on a card in my office at home where I can see it from my desk. It is one of my favorites.
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