For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.~ Matthew 24:24 (NRSV)

I will call upon the Lord, and so shall I be saved from my enemies. ~ Psalm 18:3

Image: Albrech Dührer, Hands of an Apostle

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ~ Matthew 23:37

Image: David Roberts, The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, Hand-colored Print, Collection of the Yeshiva University Museum. 2003.003

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! ~ Matthew 23:24

Image: Pharisees, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff, 1912

All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:12 (NRSV)

Image: Albrech Dührer, Hands of an Apostle

And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ~ Mark 1:18

Teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name. ~ Book of Common Prayer, p 822

Image: Washington National Cathedral, photo by Soomness on Flicker, 2017

Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s." ~ Matthew 22:21b

Image: Dinar with image of Tiberius, Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24821148

For many are called, but few are chosen. ~ Matthew 22:14

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. ~ A prayer attributed to St Francis

Image: Albrecht Dürer, Hands of an Apostle, 1508