Words 6.24

 Words Twice a Week        6.24  

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As "inconceivable" (if we understand the meaning of that word) as it seems, according to the counters on the right hand side of the page, this is apparently the 100th of these posts. Ok - some of them have just been "nothing this week", but still. Thanks for checking in now and then.

Some thoughts on some of the lectionary for this week – Proper 8

2 Samuel 1.1, 17-27

+ this follows on after the death of Saul and sons at the hands of the Philistines.  Note that curiously, David and his men have actually been living among the Philistines and fighting against the Amalekites.

+ 1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 give slightly different versions.  Is the Amalekite telling the truth or thinking he is making himself look good?  In any case, David has him killed – for killing Saul, or for saying he did, or just for being an Amalekite?

+ so then David laments – note the powerful refrain “How the mighty have fallen” first by itself, second (vs25) “in the midst of battle” and third (vs 27) and the weapons of war perished.”  Is there a suggestion that the lament moves from the sadness of Saul’s death to the sadness of war itself?

+ David praises Saul and Jonathan – “swifter than eagles, stronger than lions”; “in life and in death they were not divided.”

+ Saul “clothed Israel in luxury” – actually Israel was rather poor during Saul’s rule.  But he did give them a dignity, a start on the way to becoming a unified people.

+ And Jonathan – “your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.”  They were “bros”.

+ Interesting that David praises Jonathan’s loyalty to Saul and to himself.  It’s a complicated situation – Jonathan was David’s friend, but Saul’s son.  We know that David has been anointed to be king, but in the normal run of things, Jonathan would succeed Saul.  (Well, this is monarchy in the Old Testament – “the normal run of things” is that the son does not succeed!)  We are looking at the death of David’s friend (Jonathan) and enemy (Saul), complicated by the fact that Saul is still the king, the anointed one.

+ “One of the remarkable things about David is the ability of his spirit to soar to great heights of creative expression at moments of profound meaning in his life or in that of the nation.”

+ a paragraph on Saul before we leave him – (and it might not be a bad idea to look back and skim over his story)  Saul is a tragic character because his fate is far worse than his actions. Does he really deserve divine indifference and then divine hostility?  Whatever happened to divine forgiveness?  There is an uneasiness is the story of Saul, because he is more a victim of divine sovereignty than an active opponent of it, and his story appears to have been constructed to underscore this point.  He is a character caught in a web of God’s choosing rather than his own, and the only apparent point in the story where he has any control after this is in his suicide.  In all of this Jonathan looms in the background as an even more innocent victim, who is destined to go down with the ship.  - Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary

Psalm 130

+ starts (vs1-4) with awareness of the human condition (the “depths”, distant from God and aware of it) and moves to trust in God’s steadfast love.  From “Help” to “Hope”!  But – is it a prayer of someone desperate for forgiveness, or someone who knows they are forgiven and is waiting quietly, confidently, hopefully for what God will do?  How does it strike you?   

+ “there is forgiveness” – except for Saul?  It’s pretty gutsy to read this Psalm after the OT lesson!

+ “my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning.”  A nice line.  The soldier waiting to be relieved?  Someone tossing and turning and looking at the alarm clock?  What does “watch for the morning” mean for you?

Lamentations 3.22-33

+ 3.1-19 detail a long list of ways the writer has suffered at God’s hands.  We read it on Holy Saturday.  Then comes vs 22 – “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

+ “Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, Morning by morning new mercies I see...”

+ “the educational value of divine judgment” – what do you think?

+ God causes grief, but not willingly?  vs32-33

2 Corinthians 8-9  

+ This is supposed to be Paul’s clearest explication of Christian stewardship, I suppose I should look into it more deeply.  One question the book raises – should the offering prayer/prayer of dedication occur before or after the actual offering is received.  I can argue both ways!

Mark 5.21-43

+ once again crossing the sea, this time into Jewish territory, getting away from those pig farmers on the other side!

+ and once again 2 stories – one interrupting the other.

+ and once again my thought that this works better in the hands and words of a dedicated storyteller than in a reader.  With the former we are drawn in and intrigued, with the latter we are simply waiting for the ending.

+ similarities in the two stories -

1) the girl is 12 years old (info tucked in at the end!) and the woman has been bleeding for all of those 12 years.

2) the two women are both called “Daughter”

3) there are crowds who don’t see or understand  (in the woman’s case, the disciples are so excited by the big crowd they can’t distinguish between a push and a touch!)

4) the girl is dead and a corpse defiles; the woman bleeds and is thus an outcast (dead!) to family, friends, community.  Jesus moves across social and religious boundaries to offer God’s healing and restoring grace.  Where might we be called to do that today?

+ Jesus says to the woman – Daughter, your faith has saved you – not just physical, medical healing, but a restoring of shalom/peace.

+ Jesus pauses on his way to Jairus’s emergency to encounter this unclean woman with no name.  She is no less important.  Do we sometimes have trouble with that?

+ While the healings are wonderful, the focus is on the faith.  Faith means recognition, trust, risk.  What do they each risk?  What do we risk?

+ finally vs 43 – the messianic secret, and “give her something to eat.”  Note that she, like Lazarus, is back to life and will one day die.  Faith leads to a new life, not just another one.  Oooh – that’s nice. Worth a prayer -

God of undying love and life-giving forgiveness,

we spend so much time and effort longing for just another chance with our sins forgiven.

Help us see instead the new life of grace you offer, 

trust in your power to make it happen,

and step out today into the Time of Your Peace.

Anyway, that’s what I got for now…..

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