Tuesday

Psalm 17
Zechariah 3:1-10
2 Peter 2:4-21
Psalm 17:8 –“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings”.

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.
"Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him.

We are all precious in God's sight and each of us held mercifully in His sacred heart. That's really what we need to know; that's really what each of us needs to hear. Sometimes, we can feel utterly alone or lost in this world, struggling to find where we belong. But when we place our faith in the God who is Love, He tells us in many ways, through Scripture and prayer and most especially in the gift of Holy Communion that we are cherished, embraced, loved and strengthened by Him. Every time we kneel at the altar to receive Him in, with and under the elements of bread and wine, Christ comes to us in holy mystery to comfort and sustain us with the bread of heaven and the cup of blessing.
Prayer: Eternal God, there are days when we all feel like children who need to know Your all-embracing love. Sometimes, we struggle with life and feel oppressed by our responsibilities, hurts and sufferings. During these moments, we need to be held in your arms and declared precious in your sight. Today let each of us receive the truth of who you say we really are; that we are indeed the apple of your eye and your cross reveals the depths of your love for us. In the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.