Ordinary Time

Pause

Breath of Heaven, comfort us with new life and hope.

Breath of Life, empower us to act creatively and compassionately.

Breath of Peace, guide us in the way of love and truth.

Listen

Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.

Psalm 23:6

Think

I wonder if you have a dream house. You envision it and even know the paint colors you’ll use and what the backyard will look like… perhaps even complete with a pool or a path through the woods. Whatever your dream house may be: it is yours to enjoy, a place of solace, rest, and respite at the end of a long school day.

Some of us may think the Lord’s house in today’s passage is a physical location, a holy brick-and-mortar. While we may sure miss the gathering spaces of our church buildings, the Lord’s house is beyond what we can see and touch. The Lord’s house is the intangible holy space of undeniable truths: truths like goodness and faithful love, everlasting grace and mercies new every morning, unmatchable peace and deep loyalty.

The Psalmist cries out with conviction in today’s passage. Whatever we may experience along this journey of unchartered COVID-19 territory, may we live into the truth that, “goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.”

Aram Bae

Pray

God our Shepherd, thank you for pursuing me with goodness and faithful love. Help me to express my gratitude by sharing what I have with others, living by an ethic of abundance, offering even small but significant gifts, such as hand sanitizers or a roll of toilet paper for delivery drivers, tipping GrubHub drivers more than usual, and supporting local businesses as much as my family can. All in the name of your holy love, so all may know that your goodness and faithful love follow them, too. In Jesus name, amen.

Go

God the Shepherd, bless us and keep us.

God the Redeemer, smile upon us and be gracious towards us.

God the Spirit, lead us in the path of wisdom and peace.

And all of God’s people say: Amen.