Independence Day ~ God's Ideas For A Nation

Thus says the Lord:

This is the fasting that I wish:

Sharing your bread with the hungry,

   sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;

Clothing  the naked when you see them,

   and not turning your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

   and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you,

   and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer

   you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

If you remove from your midst oppression,

   false accusation and malicious speech;

If you bestow your bread on the hungry

   and satisfy the afflicted;

Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,

   and the gloom shall become for you like midday;

Then the Lord will guide you always

   and give you plenty even on the parched land.

He will renew your strength,

   and you shall be like a watered garden,

   like a spring whose water never fails.

Isaiah 58: 7-11

Intercessions ~ Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The liturgy returns to the Green Time - the color of hope./ Lead us Lord, to trust that You will act in this world of stress,/ disappointment and uncertainty./ We pray to the Lord.

The World Cup games continue./ Let hearts be changed to love peace/ born of a belief in our commonality:/ that we are all God's beloved children./ We pray to the Lord.

Make security,/ safety,/ nourishment and happiness happen for the children/ where they are deprived,/ threatened and afraid./ We pray to the Lord.

Give your Church the new direction of the Holy Spirit;/ make it clean and true to Christ's Gospel./ We pray to the Lord.

Give gifts of new growth to families where there is trouble,/ sorrow,/ violence and sickness of any kind./ We pray to the Lord.

May the Lord protect us from foolish ignorance which spawns hatred,/ waste and death./ We pray to the Lord.

Bless and keep the lands and peoples of Libya,/ Liechtenstein,/ Lithuania,/ Luxembourg and Macau./ We pray to the Lord.

And give the gift of light and life to those who have died this week/ aware as we are/that so many places around the world have become fields of terror,/ ruin and death./ And for those who mourn the dead in tremendous sorrow./ We pray to the Lord.

Jesus Heals Where We Are Fevered

It takes Mark only three verses to give us an account of this miracle of Jesus (Mark 1:29-31) It is very beautiful.

On leaving the synagogue they went straight to the house of Simon and Andrew; and James and John went with them. Simon's mother-in-law was ill in bed with fever. They told him about her at once. He came forward, took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. The fever left her and she waited upon them.

"they went straight to the house..." Sounds urgent. Does Jesus already know in his heart that the woman is ill? It seems he isn't told of her sickness until after he arrives. 

"They told Jesus about her at once" I like this line. Why do we delay in telling Jesus in our prayer what's of urgent concern in our lives. We tell others right away phoning or texting or emailing, but we delay in our prayer, perhaps waiting until things become a crisis.

Notice, "He came forward..." Jesus is advancing on what ails us, what's weighing us down - no sin, illness or evil can stand against Jesus. He's in charge!

Jesus, "took her by the hand and helped her to her feet." Isn't this marvelous - Jesus heals her with tender love. Oh, to heal the world with love! In Mark's gospel Jesus often takes the sick person by the hand. In addition, Jesus lifts her up. Sounds already like a little resurrection. Don't we all need a hand being lifted up? Name it!

"The fever left her and she waited upon them." Jesus wants to heal us of anything that keeps us from serving others in love. And what might that be - what needs healing? Resentment, untreated addiction, pride, pettiness, old wounds, that I lie to myself, justifications, ignorance, stubbornness. This is how we're down for the count and burning up with fever. Jesus, who heals fevered imaginations, have mercy!

Now we can make our prayer!