Ordinary Time

Pause

All eyes look to you, hoping,
and you give them their food right on time,
opening your hand
and satisfying the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16

Listen

A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another. All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person.

1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Think

My Hebrew Bible professor in seminary always said, “The Bible itself teaches us how to read it.” He argued that by choosing to preserve every scrap of story about God and God’s chosen people Israel rather than prune out the contradictory bits to create one cohesive narrative the Bible itself demonstrates that what God values is inclusion of many viewpoints.

Indeed, we can see this as we look at the world around us. The existence of something like 8.7 million different species. 90 different species of frogs alone. 10 different types of cloud! God rejoices in all kinds of perspectives and ways of being, and trying to crush down what God has made in order to blend in does violence to the extraordinary mosaic God is assembling.

Consider music. While one melody and one singer on their own can offer something lovely, music is enriched with harmony when we add other notes to the chord. Rejoice in the gifts God has given you to add to God’s perfect harmony.

Jordan Haynie Ware

Pray

Creator of the stars of night, I rejoice in the beautiful diversity of your creation: Grant that I may celebrate what others bring to our common life and never insist that all look or act or believe exactly the same as another, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Go

My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,
and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
forever and always.

Psalm 145:21