Faith Daily | 8 July 2021

PRAYER of the DAY - PENTECOST APBA p552

O God,

you have prepared for those who love you

such good things as pass our understanding:

pour into our hearts such love toward you,

that, loving you above all things,

we may obtain your promises

which exceed all that we can desire;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Matthew 10: 7-15

7As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”* 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,* cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. 11Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter the house, greet it. 13If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by: Glynn Holland-Leam

Go! Proclaim the Good News!

Our passage today contains the instructions Jesus gives to his twelve disciples as he sends them out into the wider lands of ancient Israel, to proclaim the Good News that is the Kingdom of God at hand. They are to heal, raise the dead, cast out evil, and - this is the tricky bit - they are to take nothing with them but the clothes on their backs and the sandals on their feet. I don’t know about you but I’d be feeling extremely insecure if I found myself in an unfamiliar community with nothing but my clothes and shoes, with such an extraordinary task to boot!

But this is a deep truth, that at the end of the day the extra things we would be eager to have with us are fundamentally useless were it not for the one thing we always have with us: our relationship with God. Our mission as Christians is much the same as Christ’s Apostles, we are to proclaim the Good News - and even when we may feel profoundly ill-equipped to live up to this task, our relationship with God in Jesus Christ is the shirt on our back and the shoes on our feet.

FINAL PRAYER: Jim Cotter "Unfolding the Living Word"

Living Presence of wisdom and discernment,

whose prophets recognise the inconvenient truths,

give them courage

to say what they know will disturb us,

and give us steady hearts and wills

to listen to what they say

and to act upon it.

We pray this after the pattern of Jesus

and in the power of the Spirit.

Amen.