SUNDAY, July 18 8 Pentecost

Colossians 1:15-28. All things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

An old man was asked the secret of his serenity. He replied, "Son, there's one thing you gotta know. There's only one center to this universe--and you ain't it."

It is hard for us to remember that, for each of us sees the world from his or her own point of view. In that sense each of us is a center of perception, the center of our own little world. And that is what leads to arrogance, misunderstanding, and conflict among us. Only God can be The Center of the universe, of our little worlds and of all the worlds that are. When we discover that Center, it changes profoundly our perception of ourselves, our environment, and other people.

What joy it was for Paul to discover in Jesus Christ a center, not only for his own life but for all life, for all time, and for all things--"the image of the invisible God"--one who reconciled (brought together in a new relationship) the differing and conflicting points of view of Jew and Gentile, man and woman, old and young, those near and those far off. This indeed was a gospel to preach "to every creature under heaven." It still is. (1982)

PRAY for The Episcopal Church in the Philippines and the Diocese of the Philippines

Ps 52 and Amos 8:1-12 –OR– Ps 15 and Genesis 18:1-10a; Luke 10:38-42

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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