Reflecting on the Seventeenth
Sunday after Pentecost

Year B

Prayer

Psalm 73:21-28

You guide me with your counsel

 

When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

I was stupid and ignorant;

I was like a brute beast toward you.

Nevertheless I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me with honor.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;

you put an end to those who are false to you.

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

to tell of all your works.

 

Proverbs 25:1-28

More wise sayings

 

These are other proverbs of Solomon that the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.

 

It is the glory of God to conceal things,

but the glory of kings is to search things out.

Like the heavens for height, like the earth for depth,

so the mind of kings is unsearchable.

Take away the dross from the silver,

and the smith has material for a vessel;

take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

and his throne will be established in righteousness.

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

or stand in the place of the great;

for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”

than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen

do not hastily bring into court;

for what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Argue your case with your neighbor directly,

and do not disclose another’s secret;

or else someone who hears you will bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute will have no end.

A word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

are faithful messengers to those who send them;

they refresh the spirit of their masters.

Like clouds and wind without rain

is one who boasts of a gift never given.

With patience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue can break bones.

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

or else, having too much, you will vomit it.

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

otherwise the neighbor will become weary of you and hate you.

Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow

is one who bears false witness against a neighbor.

Like a bad tooth or a lame foot

is trust in a faithless person in time of trouble.

Like vinegar on a wound

is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,

sorrow gnaws at the human heart.

If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;

and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;

for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,

and the Lord will reward you.

The north wind produces rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a contentious wife.

Like cold water to a thirsty soul,

so is good news from a far country.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain

are the righteous who give way before the wicked.

It is not good to eat much honey,

or to seek honor on top of honor.

Like a city breached, without walls,

is one who lacks self-control.

 

Colossians 3:1-11

Rid your mouth of abusive language

 

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

 

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!