Come now,
those who say
‘Today or tomorrow
we will go to this or that town, 
and we will spend the year there, 
and we will do business 
and we will make money.’

-whoever you are
you do not know about tomorrow’s things.

What will your life be?

For you are just  a mist
that appears for a little while
and disappears. 

Instead of your saying
‘If the Lord is willing
then both we will  live
and we will do this or that.’

But now you boast in your arrogant (schemes);
all such boasting is evil. 

So “anyone who knows
the right thing to do
and does not do it
to them it is sin.” 

Thank you, dear Jesus, for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me, 
for all you have left me. 
Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

Do not speak against one another,
brothers/ sisters.

The one who speaks against a brother/sister
or judges their brother /sister
speaks against the law and 
judges the law. 

But if you judge the law,
you are not a lawkeeper
but you are a judge.

There is one lawgiver
and judge 
who can save and destroy.

But you – who are you to  judge (your) neighbour?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

(therefore it says
‘God opposes the proud
but to the humble gives grace.’

So be submitted to God, 
and resist the Devil
        then he will flee away from you all, 

Draw near to God
   and then he will draw near to you, 
wash your hands, sinners,
purify your hearts, double minded.

Grieve and 
mourn and 
weep.

Let your laughter be turned
to mourning
and (your) joy
to gloom.

Be humble before the Lord
and then he will exalt you.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

Unfaithful people, 
do you know not know
that friendship with the world
is hostility with God?

Whoever chooses to be a friend of the world,
makes themselves an enemy of God. 

Or do you think that
in vain
the scripture says:
he yearns jealously over the spirit
which he has caused to dwell in us.

But he gives greater grace:
therefore it says
‘God opposes the proud
but to the humble gives grace.’
(Prov 3:34)

God be in head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.

From where are fights
and
from where are quarrels among you? 

Do they not come from your desires,
waging war
among parts of your body.

You want, and you do not have,
so you murder
and you covet and you cannot obtain
  so you quarrel and fight.

You do not have,
        because you do not ask.
    You ask and
you do not  receive
        because
      you ask with wrong motives
in order that you spend it on your desires. 

Lord God,
your feed us with the living bread from heaven.
You renew our faith
increase our hope
and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ
who is the true and living bread
and live by every word that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let them show
by their good way of  life
their works
             in humble wisdom. 

But if you have bitter envy
                     and selfish ambition
in your hearts,
do not boast
and lie
against the truth. 

This is not the wisdom coming from above, 
but is earthly, 
natural, 
demonic. 

For where zeal and selfish ambition are, 
there will be disorder
and every evil deed. 

But the wisdom from above is
first pure,
then peaceable, 
gentle, 
open to reason, 

Full of mercy and good fruit. 

Unwavering, 
sincere.

And the fruit of righteousness
is being sown in peace
for those who make peace. 

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

And the tongue is a fire. 

The tongue appoints itself
to be a world of unrighteousness 
amongst parts of our body,
that pollutes the whole body

and sets on fire the circle of life
and is set on fire by Gehenna.

For every kind of both beasts and birds,
both reptiles and sea creatures
is tamed,
and has been tamed
by human kind.

But the tongue , no one from humanity can tame ,
a restless evil, 
full of deadly poison. 

With it, we bless the Lord and Father,
and with it, we curse curse humans,
who have been made in the likeness of God. 

From the same mouth comes blessings and curses.

This is not right, my brothers/sisters, these things should not be. 

Does a spring, from the same opening, pour out fresh and bitter (water)?

My brothers/sisters, a fig tree cannot bear olives, can it?
Or a grapevine figs?

A salty (spring) does not make fresh water!

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Now if we place bits into the mouths of horses
so that they obey us
then we guide the whole of their bodies. 

Look–
also ships being so large,
      and driven by strong winds,
are guided by the smallest rudder
      where the will of the pilot wishes.

So too the tongue is a small part of the body
but boasts of great things. 

Look , how small a fire ignites so large a forest. 

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba

Let not many of you become teachers, 
my sisters / brothers
knowing
that we will receive a greater danger of judgement. 

For we all stumble in many ways.

If somebody does not stumble in their speech
this would be the perfect person
able to ‘bridle’ the whole body too.

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba

But someone will say
‘You have faith,
   but I have works.’

Prove to me your faith,
without works, [DW: which can’t be done]
and I will prove to you (my) faith
by means of my works.’ [DW: the only way]

You believe that
God is one
You do well!
Even the demons believe
and tremble.
But do you want to know,
O foolish one
if such faith,
without works,
is broken?

Was not, our father, Abraham,
declared righteous
by means of works
having offered Isaac, his son,
on the altar?

You see
that faith was working together
with his works,
and
by his works
his faith was completed.

And the Scripture has been fulfilled that says:
And Abraham believed in God
and it was reckoned to him
as righteousness
even he was called a friend of God. 

You see that 
a person is declared righteous by means of works
and not by means of faith only. 

Also was not Rahab, the prostitute,
likewise declared righteous
by means of works
having welcomed the messengers,
and sent them off another way?

For just as
the body without the spirit is dead
so also faith without works is dead. 

O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
O Love, who redeemed me,
fill up in me whatever part of your love
has fallen into neglect within me.
O Love, O God, who first loved me,
grant that with my whole heart,
and with my whole soul,
and with my whole strength,
I may love you.

Gertrude the Great