Proper 6 (11)
1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a or 2 Sam. 11:26-12:10, 13-15
Psalm 5:1-8 or Psalm 32
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3

O holy one, we bow today so aware of our tendencies and efforts to diminish the gospel of Jesus. We get occasional glimpses of your grace but we so often fail to grasp its wideness and we fall back into a religion of law.

• Jesus proclaimed the possibility of a radical faith and trust while we try to make faith more certain and controllable.
• Jesus proclaimed freedom of the spirit while we find it easier to live by surface rules which serve as a flight from anxiety and ambiguity.
• Jesus summed up all law in the word love but we put limits on whom we will love and we cast a long shadow of judgment over many people we meet.

O God, from the time of the Galatians your church has often been losing its way. Your grace is so abundant; yet we retreat into the world of law. We build systems and rules which are intended to rule out people who do not live as we think they ought. Grant us your healing touch. Remind us, O God, that we are justified and made yours only through your grace and graciousness.

• Help us to remember that we cannot buy or bargain or bully our way to righteousness by our own efforts.
• Help us to remember that it is only through faith that we are made whole.
• Help us to remember that your grace is granted to all people and that we are called to have generous and receiving spirits as we encounter others of your children on our journeys.
• Help us to put aside the old calculating self and walk with freedom and faith and renewed joy.  Amen