Exodus 22:21-23
"Go and learn the meaning of the word, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'"
Matthew 9:13
"Then they will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ And He will say to them, ‘Truly, what you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ And the heartless will go to everlasting desolation.”
Matthew 25:44-46
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
James 2:26
"Your fasting only leads to quarrels and fights and lashing out with vicious blows. Such fasting as you currently practice will not make your voice heard on high. Is this the type of fast that pleases me, a day for a man to humble himself, to bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking off every yoke? Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed. Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: 'Here I am!' If you remove the yoke from among you, the accusing finger, and malicious speech; if you lavish your food on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom shall become like midday."
Isaiah 58:4-10
“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory, or one of unthinkable horror.”
C. S. Lewis
And so we had another Non-Farm Payrolls event.
The Dollar continued its decline, slipping off the 104 handle.
Gold and silver rallied sharply.
And were then stepped on and pushed back to unchanged after the European close of trading.
Stocks declined quite a bit on the news, but were taken back up to nearly unchanged, again as the rest of the world went home for the weekend.
The mispricing of risk will be difficult to sustain.
The inventory of physical gold bullion in Hong Kong remains razor thin.
We are only beginning to see the consequences of our lawlessness and casual disregard for virtue.
Lord, help us to understand that it is not only the afflicted who are in danger, but those of us who comfortably look on and at best do nothing, and at worst spread controversy, fear, mistrust and hatred.
Pierce our hardened hearts, enlighten our blindness, and break the chains of our pride and self-deception, so that we may choose to have life with you.
Have a pleasant weekend.
