Status given versus status gained
Prayer
Contemporary Lectionary Prayers
Based Upon Cycle C Lectionary Gospels
Gospel Theme:
Status given versus status gained
Gospel Note:
The parable and the exhortation in this selection share not only the setting of a meal, but also the allusion to the messianic feast that is almost always implied by banquet imagery in Jesus' teachings. Further tying the two together is the implicit notion of status given by grace rather than gained by effort. For, in the case of the parable, it is the host who assigns the more honorable place at the table to the one who humbly has chosen the lower; and, in the exhortation, it is the host's invitation that brings the ''undeserving'' to the table at all.
Liturgical Color:
Green
Suggested Hymns:
Son Of God, Eternal Savior
If God Himself Be For Me
To You, Omniscient Lord Of All
We Give Thee But Thine Own
Lord Of All Nations, Grant Me Grace
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life
108
Proper 17 -- Pentecost 15 -- OT 22
Life often appears to be a race, Lord.
We want to be first at everything.
We run here and we run there,
searching for meaning and often finding ourselves
out-of-breath.
Our sense of self-importance can distort our
thinking.
Are we pursuing the things which finally matter
or the things which are of no consequence?
Are we chasing the wrong things and finding
ourselves exhausted?
We need to slow down enough to rediscover
meaning in life.
Restore a sense of humility in our hearts.
Breathe into us the strength we need to serve.
This is what matters.
Amen.
109
Status given versus status gained
Gospel Note:
The parable and the exhortation in this selection share not only the setting of a meal, but also the allusion to the messianic feast that is almost always implied by banquet imagery in Jesus' teachings. Further tying the two together is the implicit notion of status given by grace rather than gained by effort. For, in the case of the parable, it is the host who assigns the more honorable place at the table to the one who humbly has chosen the lower; and, in the exhortation, it is the host's invitation that brings the ''undeserving'' to the table at all.
Liturgical Color:
Green
Suggested Hymns:
Son Of God, Eternal Savior
If God Himself Be For Me
To You, Omniscient Lord Of All
We Give Thee But Thine Own
Lord Of All Nations, Grant Me Grace
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life
108
Proper 17 -- Pentecost 15 -- OT 22
Life often appears to be a race, Lord.
We want to be first at everything.
We run here and we run there,
searching for meaning and often finding ourselves
out-of-breath.
Our sense of self-importance can distort our
thinking.
Are we pursuing the things which finally matter
or the things which are of no consequence?
Are we chasing the wrong things and finding
ourselves exhausted?
We need to slow down enough to rediscover
meaning in life.
Restore a sense of humility in our hearts.
Breathe into us the strength we need to serve.
This is what matters.
Amen.
109
