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The Forward Day by Day Meditation for August 17, 2021

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TUESDAY, August 17

Psalm 125:3 The scepter of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.

This year our diocese is participating in the church’s Sacred Ground program. This process helps Episcopalians look at the legacy of slavery and racism and our role in those systems. I have learned how ubiquitous slavery and its profits were, even in northern communities. Most regular people, whether they wanted to or not, were involved in some aspect of the slave economy.

We also know that today even a modest lifestyle can have an enormous environmental impact. The fossil fuels burned on our drives and the plastics buried in our landfills add up even as we try to reduce them.

Psalm 125 recognizes the tragic consequences of sinful systems. One aspect of God’s promise is that, in the end, the actions of the just will not lead to unintended negative consequences. We struggle today to do the right thing, but in God’s order, the just will not put their hands to evil, and that is very good news.

MOVING FORWARD: Learn more about the Sacred Ground program at episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground.

PRAY for the Diocese of Eau Claire (USA)

Ps [120], 121, 122, 123 * 124, 125, 126, [127] | 2 Samuel 18:9-18 | Acts 23:12-24 | Mark 11:27—12:12