mamabishop: Canterbury Tales 2.0 Final Day August 7, 2022

The Collect

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament Genesis 15:1-6

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Psalm 33:12-22

12 Happy is the nation

whose God is the LORD! *

happy the people

he has chosen to be his own!

13 The LORD looks

down from heaven, *

and beholds all

the people in the world.

14 From where he sits

enthroned he turns his gaze *

on all who dwell on the earth.

15 He fashions all the hearts of them *

and understands all their works.

16 There is no king that can

be saved by a mighty army; *

a strong man is not delivered

by his great strength.

17 The horse is a vain hope

for deliverance; *

for all its strength it cannot save.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD

is upon those who fear him, *

on those who wait upon his love,

19 To pluck their lives from death, *

and to feed them in time of famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD; *

he is our help and our shield.

21 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *

for in his holy Name we put our trust.

22 Let your loving-kindness,

O LORD, be upon us, *

as we have put our trust in you.

The Epistle Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old-- and Sarah herself was barren-- because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore." All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

The Gospel Luke 12:32-40

Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."

Sunday is our last day with one final scriptural reflection from the Archbishop of Canterbury and a closing service in the Cathedral. In between we will have lots of packing and final goodbyes to be said. Repeated over and over these past two weeks were calls to humility, sacrificial love and always preparing ourselves to be ready to go where God calls us. Saturday was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. We prayed for the bishops of Japan, and also all those bishops returning home to conflicts, war and dangerous places. I have come away with a renewed sense of service. The only thing we are truly called to do is be servant leaders, with the people, loving and serving the least among us. Our best selves are not the proud and the pompous but the humble servants ready at all times to carry love.

A Sunday Litany

Holy Creator, we live in a conflicted world

we are overwhelmed by the crisis around us

we fell helpless in facing all of the challenges

yet you said, "do not be afraid, little flock."