THURSDAY, July 1 Canada Day (Canada)

Matthew 22:1-14. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet.

One Sunday a month our parish serves a meal to homeless women. Last Sunday, my nine-year-old daughter came along. She jumped at the chance--anything to get away from her little brother. As we drove into the "badlands" of our city, I thought she might be a little young for this kind of thing. But at the homeless shelter, she found her place in the serving line and poured juice for a few hundred guests. I glanced at her now and again, and she seemed fine. We didn't say much on the way home. My thoughts were already elsewhere.

The next day was her birthday, and birthdays are always a big deal at our house--presents and singing, friends and family, a real feast. When I put my daughter to bed, I asked her what had been the most special part of the celebration. "The meal," she said. We had ordered pizza. "But we have pizza all the time," I said.

"Not that meal," she said. "The meal for the ladies, the meal where I poured the juice. That was my favorite part."

She had not missed the feast that God had put before her. Maybe the next time, I won't either. (2004)

PRAY for the Diocese of East Carolina (Province IV, USA)

Ps 131, 132, [133] * 134, 135; Numbers 23:11-26; Romans 8:1-11

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

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