Prayer was once described to me as ‘wasting time with God’. It is an activity that doesn’t have to achieve a particular outcome, or be marked according to words spoken or topics covered. It can simply be time spent in one another’s company.
Perversely while there may be not clear purpose or outcome, such prayer calms our anxiety and strengthens our relationship with God.
This thought relates well to yesterday’s Gospel, when Jesus honours the value of what Mary does by sitting at his feet, whilst Martha allows herself to be overwhelmed by domestic tasks – Martha doesn’t appreciate the value of wasting time with God. (Luke 10: 38-42)
In today’s reading from the prophet Amos, we hear of God’s warning to the people of the consequences of pursuing profit whilst ignoring God’s ways: vis suffering and calamity
Do not the same threats hang over our world, over our economic and social systems today?
Here in the UK, we do “trample on the poor” – think of the two child benefit cap, the reduction of benefits for the disabled, the practices that favour landlords over tenants such that rents become unaffordable, those tax breaks that benefit the rich but not the poor, the low wages that benefit the employer not the employee, those subsides that benefit fossil fuels companies not energy consumers etc. And more widely we bring ruin to the poor with international policies that place heavy debt burdens on poor nations from which we benefit, with policies that do not meet the needs of those countries suffering the impact of climate change which we have caused at their expense, with trade policies that are stacked against the smaller nations and smaller companies. Truly the rich and powerful in our world use “false balances” – ie weighing scales – that favour us and not the poor.
(NB an Ephah is a measure of weight, shekel a unit of currency).
It is not just people but the environment that we wilfully damage and we are already seeing the initial consequences of this with heatwaves and droughts, flash floods and wild fires. The Earth is a delicate ecosystem – a life support system – which is being damaged by our greed and misuse. July 24th will be 2025’s Earth Overshoot Day (last year it was 1st August). That is the day when globally we will have used up a year’s supply of the Earth’s resources. Our extraction of water will exceed the rate of renewal. Our use of the atmosphere to absorb carbon dioxide will exceed capacity (without causing further global temperature rises). Our use of the soil’s capacity to produce food will exceed the rate at which its fertility can be maintained – leading to reduced crops yields in the future. Etc etc. Do check out the Earth Overshoot website to understand more about this situation. Here in the UK, we had used up our share of the Earth’s resources by 20th May, so already our lifestyle choices are being made at the expense of poorer people across the world and future generations.
The Earth Overshoot website has one section entitled solutions. Here it says “While our planet is finite, human possibilities are not. The transformation to a sustainable, carbon-neutral world will succeed if we apply humanity’s greatest strengths: foresight, innovation, and care for each other.” (1) Here is the invitation to live differently – and for those of us who are Christians, that surely means living according to God’s commands, living according to the values of God’s kingdom. The phrase ‘care for each other’ sharply echoes last week’s gospel story of the Good Samaritan.
Today’s Gospel reminds us of the importance of spending time and attention on Jesus’s teachings. We can rush around being busy, thinking that being busy will solve the world’s problems, but unless we are following Jesus – doing God’s will – our efforts may prove fruitless. We also run the risk of burnout. Burnout diminishes our ability to love our neighbours. Jesus set us the example in his own daily life of taking time out to be be in nature, to spend time with God, to be refocus and re-energised. In today’s gospel that is Jesus’s advice for Martha – and it is good advise for us too.
Maybe the extract from the Letter to the Colossians should be a reminder to us that we are not solely responsible for saving the world (a deceit I can be guilty of). Rather it is in and through Christ that salvation is being effected. Our contribution will only ever be but a small part within the the greater whole which is the body of Christ – a fellowship that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. It will be together in Christ that we will see the salvation of life in Earth being as it is in Heaven.
This is what the Lord God showed me– a basket of summer fruit. He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,
“The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.
The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the Lord God;
“the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!”
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
Psalm 52
1 You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness * against the godly all day long?
2 You plot ruin; your tongue is like a sharpened razor, * O worker of deception.
3 You love evil more than good * and lying more than speaking the truth.
4 You love all words that hurt, * O you deceitful tongue.
5 Oh, that God would demolish you utterly, * topple you, and snatch you from your dwelling, and root you out of the land of the living!
6 The righteous shall see and tremble, * and they shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “This is the one who did not take God for a refuge, * but trusted in great wealth and relied upon wickedness.”
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; * I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will give you thanks for what you have done * and declare the goodness of your Name in the presence of the godly.
Colossians 1:15-28
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers– all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him– provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth. Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire. Psalm 37:3-4
You Lord are the bread of life;
feed us with your wisdom.
Our nourishment is to do God’s will;
guide us in all we do
Whenever we eat or drink
Let it be to the glory of the kingdom of God.
A reading from Matthew 25: 34-36 (The Message)
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’”
A canticle reimagining the Magnificat: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
Praise to you O God, for the rich creation of this world
for which you have created humans to be under-gardeners.
From this day all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.
You have blessed Earth with fruit bearing trees and plants,
ensuring food throughout the seasons.
God has mercy on those who fear him, from generation to generation.
Your wisdom guides those who, in each generation,
have the honesty and humility to seek it.
God has shown strength with her arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit,
May each generation see the damage
they cause when they disdain your will.
Casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly.
Raise the spirits of those who work at the grassroots,
give them strength to overcome the deceits of big business.
God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
Bless the work of food banks and charities that feed the hunger,
and teach those with wealth to be sacrificial in their giving.
God came to the aid of his servant Jacob to remember his promise of mercy,
Help nations and communities to work together
for justice and for peace.
God’s promise is made to our ancestors, from Abraham and his children and for all generations to come.
May every generation to come, reap the harvest,
not of our greed, but of God’s grace .
Amen.
Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth. Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire. Psalm 37:3-4
Is wasting time a waste of time? Not so according to the poet W H Davies:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
It can be all to easy to be drawn into thinking that unless we are working flat out, or filling our days with ‘useful’ activities, we are not living life to the full. This feels like a 21st century problem or maybe it’s a problem of the western world. Having spare time, time that we can ‘waste’ do anything we want or nothing of any importance, is highly rewarding, good for our wellbeing and good for our communities. It can be those spare time moments when we can notice the world around us, chat to a neighbour or shop assistant or passer-by, take time to think, read a notice, pick up a piece of litter, watch a bee, enjoy the warmth of the sun or the cool of a tree, that make us who we are, give us a sense of our true identity. They are also moments that can strengthen the glue that makes a community a community. They are also those moments that bring us joy.
Over the centuries the British landscape has changed and changed again as farming practices have changed. In recent decades one of the big changes has been the removal of hedgerows to create ever larger fields and the use of ever larger (and heavier) farm vehicles. The Woodlands Trust reports that ‘118,000 miles of hedgerows have disappeared since 1950.’ (1) The hedge was seen as a waste of space. Yet that linear strip of land can serve as a valuable green corridor for wild life and a unique ecosystem supporting a rich biodiversity of plants, animals, birds and insects. Thankfully about 500, 000 miles of hedgerow remain in place but that resource still needs care and protection.
Farm land shouldn’t be seen as solely a place to grow food but as land that provides clean air, fertile soils, pollinators, relief for mental wellbeing, water stewardship, and life-giving biodiversity. Farming needs to include both the production of food and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems, with space for nature to thrive.
Hedgerows are not a waste of space; rather their absence is a waste of ecological benefit.
On Sunday I reflected on the day’s gospel story of the Good Samaritan and the principle of integrity. Jesus and the lawyer are both in agreement that to love God with all your being and to love your neighbour is to fulfil the Law. The lawyer however wanted clarity so asks, Who is my neighbour? Jesus, rather than give an answer that would define ‘neighbour’ to a certain group of people or to a certain set of relationships, tells the story of the Good Samaritan and then asks who was a neighbour to the one who fell among thieves – to which the answer was the Samaritan. Jesus is telling the lawyer don’t worry about who your neighbour is, but rather think about what it is to be a neighbour. To be a neighbour is to show mercy – loving kindness – to the one in need. And that is clearly our calling as Christians. But does it still beg the question, which neighbours? Some or all of them?
Does Jesus really expect us to show loving kindness to everyone in need?
I guess there is the limitation that the commandment says to love your neighbour as yourself – which might mean love your neighbour with all your capacity but when your capacity runs out, then take a break and pass the loving responsibility onto a fellow neighbour.
And I guess another limitation would be the extent of your knowledge: it would be hard to specifically show loving kindness to the person one hasn’t heard of or whose situation remains unknown to you. But clearly from the parable, just ignoring someone in need does not put that person outside the relationship of neighbour.
So yes, I think Jesus does expect us to show loving kindness to anyone in need as far as we have teh capacity to act.
For decades, there have been individuals and groups who have been concerned for the plight of Palestinians in the former Holy Land. People who have been concerned for the lack of justice experienced by and shown to the Palestinians. For many of us, our understanding has been minimal. The issue had not been in the forefront of the news or in lessons at school or in the word on the street. Maybe we choose not to know. But since the terror attack in October 2023, the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza has been clearly visible – splashed across newsreel and newspapers. And increasingly so – but not as prominently – there has been some focus on the injustices being faced by Palestinians living in the West Bank.
These persecuted people – as much as the hostages held by Hamas – are our neighbours, all of whom we are called to love. There are clearly practical limits to helping people who live thousands of miles away, within national borders through which we would struggle to gain access. And our lack of knowledge of what help is needed would be an issue. Too often we in the West assume we know all the answers.
Nevertheless there are clearly things we can do. Prayer may seem an easy option out, but regular committed prayer Sunday by Sunday in our churches, day by day in our homes is an act of love. Donating to appeals organised by organisations such as Christian Aid and Oxfam is an act of love. Joining marches to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause is an act of love. Boycotting products produced by companies and organisations that support the persecution of Palestinians is an act of love. Writing to our MPs and government officials asking that our nation intervene to stop the fighting; asking that UK businesses should not continue to supply arms and infrastructure to support the aggression; asking that our government intervenes when international law is broken and when aid is withheld; asking our government to show support when international law is invoked – these are acts of love.
What if prayer led to a proposal that the Church of England should take action?
In 2021, “On Saturday 9th of October 60 members of the Church of England gathered together under the leadership of the Bishop of Carlisle, The Rt Revd James Newcome for their autumn Diocesan Synod meeting. Members included clergy and lay people. On their agenda was a motion passed by Solway Deanery, calling on the Church of England to be more proactive in its support and solidarity with Palestinian Christians.” (1) (For the full text of the motion see below).
The motion was passed unopposed.
Four years later the Kairos Palestine motion finally made its way onto the agenda of General Synod. In response to the change in circumstances between 2021 and 2025, a revised motion was put before the Carlisle Diocesan Synod. It was debated and was passed with a 59/7 majority. It was then also endorsed by Sheffield Diocese.
Subsequent to that vote by the Carlisle Diocesan Synod, the motion was dropped from the agenda for July’s General Synod, meeting in York. For those who knew this – and I’m guessing it wasn’t known of by the majority of church-goers – this was shocking and pointed to a lack of integrity by an organisation that seeks to follow the teachings of Jesus, and in particular the command to love our neighbour.
I joined a number of fellow Christians outside York University’s Senate House where the General Synod debates were taking place. We held a large banner “Love calls you to be in solidarity with the crucified Palestinian people.” We laid out on the pavement a series of photographs of Palestinians with brief comments and quotes. We arranged a keffiyeh on which we placed a candle and a cross, bread rolls, a dish of dates and a cup of water. We listened to readings and prayers. heard a recording of voices reading out some of the names of the dead. We observed a half hour silence under the midday sun. We handed out leaflets and spoke to passers-by.
Why was this happening? Why would the Church not even discuss this issue, let alone take action? Or was this just what people expected of the Church of England is? Aloof, unconcerned, focused on ritual and convention?
On the Sunday – again with banner and placards and leaflets – we gathered outside York Minster where members of the General Synod were arriving for the main Sunday’s Eucharist. Some acknowledged our presence, said thank you and even stood with us. Some took a leaflet en passant. Most smiled or looked away as they carried on passing by on the other side. A few openly challenged the validity of the protest.
When the service began we did go inside, wanting to pray and be part of this corporate act of worship. The preacher – Bishop Andrew from Hong Hong – took as the gospel as his theme, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, emphasising that our neighbour may even be our enemy. Did those who listened find this message prophetic or ironic?
Is it that the Church of England has reached the limit of its capacity? Is it trying to do too much? Or is focusing to much on things that are not important? Do its church members need to do more?
Appendix
The motion, presented by Solway Deanery member Valerie Hallard, read as follows:
That This Synod
Endorses the “Cry for Hope”[1] expressed by Palestinian Christians and the ‘Global Kairos for Justice’ coalition[2] (GKfJ);
Requests that the Faith and Order Commission produce a report which analyses and refutes any theological justifications, for example, those promoted by some Christian Zionists, for the oppression of Palestinians.
Instructs the Ethical Investment Advisory Group to provide guidance to the National Investing Bodies (NIBs) and Dioceses that will enable them to screen their investments and thereby make decisions regarding engagement with, and divestment from, companies which profit from the occupation.
The revised motion read:
“That this Synod responds to the call of Palestinian Christians to stand in solidarity with them and their fellow Palestinians in non-violent resistance to the ongoing occupation. We lament the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and the violations of human dignity and rights on both sides, as well as the displacement of population. We commit to a better understanding of the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, seeking peace and security for all the peoples of those lands and pursuing that which leads to the establishment of a just and lasting peace.
In particular, we:
1.Reject anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim sentiment and all forms of prejudice based on religious affiliation and ethnicity.
2. Pray for all victims of the current conflicts in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory and for a lasting peace;
a) Encourage the Church of England at all levels to engage with those documents as part of a quest for greater understanding of the situation;
b) Ask the the Faith and Public Life Division to commend resources that enable Dioceses and local churches to promote a full understanding of the situation and to respond through prayer, theological study, advocacy and practical support for the work undertaken by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and other Churches in the service of the people of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory;
4. Call on the National Investing Bodies to review their investment policies in the light of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 on the illegality of the occupation of Palestinian territory, and to:
i) disinvest from any entity or corporation with a persistent, on-going, and direct business involvement in severe human rights violations or violations of international law as part of Israel’s military occupation;
ii) provide advice and guidance to the Dioceses to review their investments; and
iii) report back to General Synod accordingly.
5. Ask His Majesty’s Government to work urgently for a lasting peace in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, that will ensure safety and security for all parties and the upholding of the rights and inherent dignity of all people.” (2)
Might one think that a ditch is just a wasted bit of land that collects water as and when it rains? Or might it, like the verge, be a potential green corridor benefitting wild life? Here is an example from Bedfordshire where a ditch was turned “into a complex wetland habitat.” (1) Or in southwest London where the work of previous generation, who canalised a local stream with the consequence that rainwater quickly flowed through causing downstream flooding, was overturned to create a vibrant biodiverse rich habitat. (2)
Rewilding ditches, streams and ponds not only improve biodiversity but help with flood prevention. (3)
The strip of land that separates road from hedge/ fence/ wall of other boundary might be termed waste land – but that waste land has the capacity to be a thriving green corridor. Warwickshire County Council has developed a successful strategy for planting verges with wild flowers. (1) In York the banks abutting the city walls have also been successfully planted with wild flowers -but not without some opposition! (2)
Green corridors are important allowing plants, insects, and other creatures to migrate, forage and breed across a wider territory that improves the viability of the different species. Plant Life reports “Our road verges and green spaces have the potential to act as a sanctuary for wildflowers and a network of connective corridors across Great Britain’s 400,000 km of public road verges and almost 85,000 hectares of public green spaces.” (3)
The UK has committed to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 (30by30), to support the global 30by30 target agreed at the UN Biodiversity Summit (COP15) in 2022. (1) Currently just over 14% of land in England meets this target so achieving this goal will require significant change and input from landowners and government.
Gardens can make a small contribution. Rewilding part of a garden is not to waste one’s garden but to create a space where wildlife – be that insects, beetles, birds etc or wild plants (often discarded for being weeds) can thrive. Collectively wild spaces in gardens can provide green corridors for wild life.
“As we seek to… be faithful to our baptism, let us reflect on what challenges to our faithfulness and integrity the coming hours may bring, and pause respectfully before the many unknowns of our future.” – from the book of Uncommon Prayer.
Today’s gospel has the famous story of the Good Samaritan but the story begins not with the Samaritan but with a lawyer who wants to a) outwit Jesus, and b) to demonstrate his own righteousness. The conversation proceeds – and in this Gospel’s telling of the story, it is Jesus’s protagonist who declares that the Law – the means to eternal life – is summed up in the two commandments that you should love God with all your being and love your neighbour as yourself. The lawyer (perhaps because he is a lawyer) wants to tease out the scope of these commands and so asks ‘Who is my neighbour?’
But Jesus, rather than answering the question, invites the young man to consider what it is to be a good neighbour. For what the lawyer must do to be a good neighbour is of more importance that who or who not should merit his love. In the Kingdom of God, ‘everyone is my neighbour’.
To be a good neighbour is to show mercy – ie loving kindness – to those in need.
This brings is to the questions raised by the above prayer: how might our faithfulness and integrity be challenged by the coming hours?
The first reading from Amos is all about measuring faithfulness and integrity. A plumb line is a length of string to which twine end is attached a weight. By holding the top and letting the string hang, weighed down by the weight, you have a perfectly vertical line with which you can judge whether a wall has been built true to the vertical. And if it hasn’t, then like the house built on sand in Jesus’s parable, it is going to fall down! In this passage, Amos is being asked by God to challenge the northern kingdom of Israel as to their faithfulness and integrity in building their nation in accordance with God’s ways, for God has found them to have fallen short. This failure to build properly will lead to the terminal breakdown of the nation with destruction and loss of land and buildings, and death and exile of its people.
As many protesters (modern prophets calling out the lack on integrity and action re the genocide in Gaza, the illegal settlement of Palestinian lands, climate crisis and the injustice which it highlights, biodiversity loss and the misuse of the Earth’s resources…) today know, their’s are voices that those in authority wish to silence, their’s are the causes people want to ignore, they are the individuals wrongly imprisoned, and in some countries, the ones who will be brutally murdered.
So let us pause and reflect whether we will be good neighbours today. And if we feel timid or ill-prepared, let us pray for the empowerment of God’s Spirit and the guidance of Jesus’s example.
Let us pause and reflect whether the institutions we belong to – including the church – will act with integrity. Let us pause and reflect whether our government, our nation, will act with integrity. Let us pause and reflect whether international companies and organisations will act with integrity.
And if not let us be prophet and call out the injustices we see.
Postscript
Practical ways of expressing our faith and integrity re the awful crisis affecting Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank
Pray
Become better informed about the history of Palestine
Fast in solidarity with Palestinians
Support campaign groups such as Sabeel-Kairos, Christians for Palestine, Christian Aid etc
Writing to your MP, ask for action such as banning the export of any arms to Israel, and the recognition of the Palestinian State
Boycott companies linked to the Israeli state and human rights abuses.
Donate to one of the many organisations providing aid for Palestinians, including planting olive trees
This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,
`Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'”
And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, `Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
“Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, `Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
Therefore thus says the Lord:
`Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parcelled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'”
Psalm 82
1 God takes his stand in the council of heaven; * he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly, * and show favour to the wicked?
3 Save the weak and the orphan; * defend the humble and needy;
4 Rescue the weak and the poor; * deliver them from the power of the wicked.
5 They do not know, neither do they understand; they go about in darkness; * all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 Now I say to you, ‘You are gods, * and all of you children of the Most High;
7 Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, * and fall like any prince.'”
8 Arise, O God, and rule the earth, * for you shall take all nations for your own.
Colossians 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Green Tau 