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SPIRIT MATTERS: A prayer to live ‘worthy of the call (we) have received’ · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Spirit Matters, a prayer to live worthy of the call we have
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  received, Written by Gerilyn Zavata Novak and Spirit Matters. This
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  article is being read by an automated voice, brought to you by
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  Everlet. Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you
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  to live in a manner worthy of the call; you have received,
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  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through
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  love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond
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  of peace, one body and one spirit, as you were also called
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  to the one hope of your call, one Lord, one faith. One
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  Baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and
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  through all and in all. Ephesians 4 1 6. Dear origin of
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  all. Thank you for sharing these words in.
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  The liturgy today. Friday. Thank you for this reminder of who we
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  are and who we are called to be. We are clearly a
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  fickle people. It seems we need to be hit over the head
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  multiple times, in a manner of speaking, of course, before the truth
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  of who we are and who we are destined to be can
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  finally sink in. Why is it so hard for us to stay
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  true to this path you have called us
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  to one of humility and gentleness, patience, fortitude, unity and peace? Why
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  are we so easily willing to throw this path to life away
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  for those things and leaders that pass us by like a vapor
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  in the wind, but lead us to destruction? Why do we put
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  our faith and trust in imperfect people and movements that generate anger,
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  distrust, greed, murder, resentment, lust, and division? This passage clearly states that
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  you call us to live as one body, in one spirit, as
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  those who are committed to you, the God who created us and
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  whose love has sustained us through every manner of storm in our
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  lives. And yet here we are, broken and battered, wounded and confused.
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  We are currently far from the ideal you have placed before us.
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  For some reason, anger, distrust, greed, resentment, lust, and division are more
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  attractive to some than humility, gentleness, patience, fortitude, unity, and the bond
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  of peace, which is love. And it is clear that these vices
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  have been perpetuated by mass media, beholden to special interest groups, as
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  they continually parade before us those people who thrive on attention, division
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  and war among nations and people. We can't seem to escape it,
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  and frankly I am exhausted. I am confident I speak for many
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  who are also exhausted in mind and spirit. So here I am,
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  coming to you with all the humility and gentleness I can muster
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  in this moment, asking for your loving attention and blessing upon our
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  nation and our world. I am asking you to heal us and
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  restore us to a civilized nation that values dialogue over division and
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  diatribes, collaboration among specialists in their fields over the demands and dictates
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  of the few, opportunities for all to develop and grow their lives,
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  and not just those who hoard money and resources. And educational standards
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  that produce men and women of keen intellect and moral character capable
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  of leading with reason and compassion. I am asking you to heal
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  and restore us as a nation that has imperfectly sought to live
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  according to its highest ideals for two hundred fifty years. Restore this
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  nation that has sought to welcome and encourage people of every nation,
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  age, and creed to live. Lives do them as your sons and
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  daughters. Restore this nation where people of different backgrounds and ideals can
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  come together and make the good of the country as a whole
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  their highest aspiration. I am asking you to restore us to a
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  nation where everyone is treated with dignity, honor, and respect, regardless of
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  how much or how little money or clout they happen to have.
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  I am asking you to restore us to a nation that respects
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  the freedoms and rights of her citizens, without using violence or intimidation
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  tactics that ostracize, belittle, dehumanize, and demean them. I am asking your
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  to restore the United States of America to the pursuit of whom
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  she has long dreamed she could be. I am asking you to
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  restore the broken bonds we once shared with our allies. I am
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  asking you to bring those who have violated the dignity of any
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  human being in any way to justice, no matter who they are
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  or who they know. I am asking you to disperse the arrogant
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  of mind and heart, to throw down the rulers from their thrones,
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  and lift up the lowly, to fill the hungry with good things
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  and send the rich away empty, to remember your mercy, according to
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  your promise to our ancestors. LUCE one fifty one fifty four. Give
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  us the grace to live in a manner worthy of the call
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  we have received, as individuals and as inhabitants of this planet. Remind
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  us again of who we are and who we can be in
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  one body and one spirit. Spirit Matters is a weekly column by
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  Gerilyn Zavada Novak that examines experiences common to the human spirit. Contact
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  her at jzblue33 at yahoo.com.