Proper 11B.  July 18, 2021

2 Samuel 7:1-14a.  I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day.
Ephesians 2:11-22.  He came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56. You give them something to eat.

Precious Lord, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

I hope that some of you noticed that our Gospel portion for this morning is quite long for a reading from Mark. Our lectionary assignment leaves out nineteen verses and acts like nothing happened, but I’ve added them back in. These verses, in my view, are essential to the story, so I’m chagrined that they never get read in church, not next week or any week. Next week we will begin a series of five readings from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John and hear a different version of a feeding story! 
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