A QUOTE, A TEXT AND A PRAYER…OR TWO. From September 8 − 12 the events of 9/11, 2001 shape these daily readings
A QUOTE
Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory. William Barclay
A TEXT
Habakkuk walked the land of Judah bemoaning the moral deterioration he witnessed. In Habakkuk 1:2-4, he calls on God to judge his people:
How long, Lord, must I cry for help?
But you do not listen!
I call out to you, `Violence!’
But you do not intervene!
Why do you force me to experience injustice?
Why do you put up with wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence confront me;
conflict is present and one must endure strife.
For this reason the law lacks power,
and justice is never carried out.
Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent.
For this reason justice is perverted.
AND A PRAYER…OR TWO
Loving God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, and no strength known but the strength of love: so guide and inspire, we pray, the labours of those who seek to establish righteousness and peace in the world, that all people may find their security, not in force of arms, but in that perfect love which casts out fear, and in the fellowship revealed to us in your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
O Almighty God you have called us to dream that people of all races will join hands together as sisters and brothers and transform the jangling discords of the nations into a beautiful symphony of love and brotherhood: grant us to strive for that day when freedom will ring from every hill and mountainside, and all God’s children shall see the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.
After a speech of Martin Luther King