A graduate of Georgetown University, he was a Rhodes Scholar before becoming the Governor of Arkansas and then America’s 42nd President. In 1998, he became the 2nd president ever to be impeached. His original name was William Jefferson Blythe IV, born this day, August 19, 1946. At age 15, he took his stepfather’s name Clinton. Also on this day, August 19, 1785, Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend: “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual… This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart.”

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

A carefully cultivated heart will,
assisted by the grace of God,
foresee, forestall,
or transform most of the painful situations
before which others stand
like helpless children saying “Why?"
--- Dallas Willard
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ

... from here, there and everywhere

9 Don’t speak in the ears of a fool,
     for he will only despise the common sense in your words.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

                         
Self-consciousness

     Come unto Me. --- Matthew 11:28.

     God means us to live a fully-orbed life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside, and we tumble into a way of introspection which we thought had gone. Self-consciousness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of the life in God, and self-consciousness continually produces wrestling. Self-consciousness is not sin; it may be produced by a nervous temperament or by a sudden dumping down into new circumstances. It is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs rest in Him must be cured at once, and it is not cured by being ignored, but by coming to Jesus Christ. If we come to Him and ask Him to produce Christ-consciousness, He will always do it until we learn to abide in Him.

     Never allow the dividing up of your life in Christ to remain without facing it. Beware of leakage, of the dividing up of your life by the influence of friends or of circumstances; beware of anything that is going to split up your oneness with Him and make you see yourself separately. Nothing is so important as to keep right spiritually. The great solution is the simple one—“Come unto Me.” The depth of our reality, intellectually, morally and spiritually, is tested by these words. In every degree in which we are not real, we will dispute rather than come.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

I look. You look
Away. No colour,
No ruffling of the brow's
Surface betrays
Your feeling. As though I
Were not here; as
Though you were your own
Mirror, you arrange yourself
For the play. My eyes'
Adjectives; the way that
I scan you; the
Conjunction the flesh
Needs -- all these
Are as nothing
To you. Serene, cool,
Motionless, no statue
Could show less
The impression of
My regard. Madam, I
Grant the artistry
Of your part. Let us
Consider it, then,
A finished performance.

H'm: Poems by R. S. Thomas

     God both guides and provides. He leads and feeds his people, and sometimes in ways unusual—as John Craig once learned. Craig was born in Scotland in 1512, studied at the University of St. Andrews, and entered the ministry. While living on the Continent, he found a copy of Calvin’s Institutes and in reading them found himself becoming a Protestant. As a result, he was arrested by agents of the Inquisition, taken prisoner to Rome, and condemned to death at the stake. On the evening of August 19, 1559, while awaiting execution the next day, dramatic news arrived that Pope Paul IV had died. According to custom, the prisons in Rome were thrown open, the prisoners temporarily released.

     Craig took advantage of the opportunity, escaping to an inn on the city’s outskirts. A band of soldiers tracked him down, but as the captain of the guard arrested him, he paused, looking at him intently. Finally he asked Craig if he remembered helping a wounded soldier some years before in Bologna. “I am the man you relieved,” said the captain, “and providence has now put it into my power to return the kindness—you are at liberty.” The soldier gave Craig the money in his pockets and marked out an escape route for him.

     As he made his way through Italy, Craig avoided public roads, taking the circuitous route suggested by the captain and using the money for food. But at length Craig’s money was exhausted, and so were his spirits. He lay down in the woods and gloomily considered his plight. Suddenly the sound of steps was heard, and Craig tensed. It was a dog, and in its mouth, a purse. Craig waved the animal away, fearing a trick. But the dog persisted, fawned on him, and left the purse in his lap.

     Using money from the purse, Craig reached Austria where Emperor Maximilian listened to his sermon and gave him safe conduct. He thus returned to his native Scotland where he preached Christ and abetted the Reformation until his death many years later at age 88.

     Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead. The LORD said to Elijah, “Leave and go across the Jordan River so you can hide near Cherith Creek. You can drink water from the creek, and eat the food I’ve told the ravens to bring you.” Elijah obeyed the LORD and went to live near Cherith Creek. Ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, and he drank water from the creek.
--- 1 Kings 17:1a,2–6.

Morgan, R. J. On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

     BIBLE TEXT / Exodus 31:1–5 / The Lord spoke to Moses; See, I have singled out by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft; to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of craft.

     MIDRASH TEXT / Exodus Rabbah 40, 1 / The Lord spoke to Moses: See, I have singled out by name Bezalel.… Rabbi Tanḥuma bar Abba began this way, “Then He saw it and recounted it; He prepared it and searched it” (Job 28:27, authors’ translation). The Rabbis said: A person should learn by [God’s] example, saying his chapter or his aggadah or his Midrash [privately] before he plans to say it in public. He shouldn’t say: Since I know it so well, when I go to teach, I’ll just say it.

     Rabbi Aḥa said, “You can learn this from God, for when He sought to say the Torah to Israel, He said it four times to Himself before He ever said it to Israel, as it says, ‘Then He saw it and recounted it; He prepared it and searched it.’ Only afterward, ‘He said to the man’ (Job 28:28, authors’ translation). So too ‘God spoke all these words’ (Exodus 20:1) and only afterwards, ‘saying’—to Israel.”

     The Rabbis said: Once, Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Torta came before Rabbi Akiva. He said to him, “Come up and read from the Torah.” He said to them, “I haven’t gone over the portion,” and the Sages praised him. This is “then he saw it, and recounted it.”

     Rabbi Hoshaya said, “A person who has knowledge but doesn’t possess fear of sin has nothing. A carpenter who doesn’t have a tool isn’t a carpenter. Why? For the mantle of Torah is the fear of sin, as it says, ‘Fear of God is his treasure chest’ ” (Isaiah 33:6, authors’ translation).

     CONTEXT / In this Midrash, the Rabbis teach a very practical lesson: A person should learn by [God’s] example, saying his chapter or his aggadah or his Midrash in private, practicing it before he plans to say it in public. He shouldn’t say: Since I know it, the teaching, so well, when I go to teach, I’ll just say it, without first reviewing it. The Rabbis find their proof in God’s actions, reading the verse from Job—“Then He saw it and recounted it; He prepared it and searched it”—as referring to the giving of the Torah, where even God reviewed the Torah before presenting it. The Rabbis read the four verbs in one verse (“saw,” “recounted,” “prepared,” “searched”) as meaning that God (the teacher) reviewed the material (the Torah) four times before presenting it to the students (the Israelites on Mount Sinai): “God spoke all these words”—going over them mentally—before “saying” them—out loud—to the people. Only afterward, after reviewing it, “He, God, said the Torah to the man,” whom the Rabbis interpret to mean the man, Moses.

     The Rabbis now bring a human example of the same principle: Once, Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Torta came before Rabbi Akiva. He, Rabbi Akiva, said to him: “Come up and read from the Torah.” He, Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Torta, said to them, those present, “I haven’t gone over the portion,” and the Sages praised him because he would not repeat in public words of Torah that he had not first reviewed in private. This is another proof of the verse “then he saw it, and recounted it.”

     Our final verse, from Isaiah, emphasizes the importance of the fear of God. Rabbi Hoshaya said, “A person who has knowledge but doesn’t possess fear of sin has nothing.” In bringing the image of the carpenter—A carpenter who doesn’t have a tool isn’t a carpenter—we connect the Midrash back to the Torah verse and Bezalel. He was the artisan chosen by God to oversee the building of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that the Israelites carried with them in the wilderness. The word used for the skill that God gave to Bezalel (“I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill”) is the same word as for “wisdom,” חָכְמָה/ḥokhmah, used in Job. The Rabbis understood חָכְמָה/ḥokhmah in both instances to mean the Torah.

     Why is a carpenter without a tool not a carpenter? For the mantle of Torah is the fear of sin, as it says, “Fear of God is his treasure chest.” The word אוֹצָר/otzar can mean “a treasure,” but is probably understood by Rabbi Hoshaya in a very concrete way, as a treasure chest, and is thus analogous to the carpenter’s tool box. Knowledge of Torah alone is not enough; one must also posses a fear of, or reverence for, God. This is the Rabbi’s “set of tools” that enable him to build and fashion a world based on Torah.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. --- Matthew 6:19

     At the end of the world, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge, he will gather all nations before him. (C.H. Spurgeon's Sermons On Men of the New Testament ) To those on his right he will say, “Come,… take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). But to those on the left, “Depart from me… into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v. 41).

     Why so great a reward or so great a punishment? Why will the first receive the kingdom? “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat” (v. 35). Why will the others depart into eternal fire? “For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat” (v. 42). Those who receive the kingdom gave as good and faithful Christians. Had they not done so, this barrenness would surely not have accorded with their good lives. Maybe they were chaste, not drunkards, and kept themselves from evil works. Yet if they had not added good works, they would have remained barren. For they would have kept, “Turn from evil,” but they would not have kept, “and do good” (Ps. 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11).

     Give away your earthly bread and knock for the heavenly! How will the Lord give to you who do not give to those in need? [Others] are in need before you, and you are in need before Another. Do then to others as you would have done to you. Though he is the Lord and doesn’t need our goods, yet that we might do something for him, he has submitted to be hungry in his poor.

     John said to those who came to him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:7–8). The crowd asked him, “What should we do then?” (v. 10). That is, what are these fruits that you exhort us to bring forth? He said, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same” (v. 11). What other meaning then can it have when he said, “Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (v. 9), but the same that they on the left will hear, “Depart from me.… For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat.” It is only a small matter to depart from sins, if you neglect to cure what is past. If then you will be heard when you pray for pardon of your sins, forgive, and it will be forgiven you; give, and it will be given you.
---Augustine of Hippo

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

PROPER 15, FRIDAY
YEAR 1

Psalms (Morning) Psalm 140, 142
Psalms (Evening) Psalm 141, 143:1–11 (12)
Old Testament 2 Samuel 19:24–43
New Testament Acts 24:24–25:12
Gospel Mark 12:35–44

Index of Readings

PSALMS (MORNING)
Psalm 140, 142

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers;
protect me from those who are violent,
2 who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent
who have planned my downfall.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net,
along the road they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God;
give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
7 O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot. Selah

9 Those who surround me lift up their heads;
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy,
and executes justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1 With my voice I cry to the LORD;
with my voice I make supplication to the LORD.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.

In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see—
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.

5 I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.

Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.

PSALMS (EVENING)
Psalm 141, 143:1–11 (12)

A Psalm of David.

1 I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me;
give ear to my voice when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.
Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I alone escape.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.

11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
[

12 In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am your servant.
]

OLD TESTAMENT
2 Samuel 19:24–43

24 Mephibosheth grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet, or trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes, from the day the king left until the day he came back in safety. 25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said to him, ‘Saddle a donkey for me, so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. 28 For all my father’s house were doomed to death before my lord the king; but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to appeal to the king?” 29 The king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” 30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take it all, since my lord the king has arrived home safely.”

31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; he went on with the king to the Jordan, to escort him over the Jordan. 32 Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you in Jerusalem at my side.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 Today I am eighty years old; can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king recompense me with such a reward? 37 Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own town, near the graves of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do for him whatever seems good to you.” 38 The king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you; and all that you desire of me I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed over; the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home. 40 The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; all the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way.

41 Then all the people of Israel came to the king, and said to him, “Why have our kindred the people of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?” 42 All the people of Judah answered the people of Israel, “Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?” 43 But the people of Israel answered the people of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the people of Judah were fiercer than the words of the people of Israel.

NEW TESTAMENT
Acts 24:24–25:12

24 Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.

27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

25 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem 2 where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him 3 and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.” 6 After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?” 10 Paul said, “I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. 11 Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.” 12 Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, “You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.”

GOSPEL
Mark 12:35–44

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’

37 David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight. 38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary