A love story. (Proper A9)

A tryst, a lover's rendezvous, what a beautiful image for the intimacy of our spiritual reality. The lover is called away from her people, her family. Immediately she sets out under starry sky. He comes to her, love worn as wings on his feet, carrying him to her side.

How often we do not hear or care for our lover's voice. Jesus thanked God that so many people didn't get it, because it was God's plan. Jesus as jilted lover stands lamenting his loss and saying,

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Paul answers the lovers woeful cry,

"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."

I want to Lord, my king, my lover. I want to come to you. I want to follow you. Thank you for your grace that even when I don't hear, even when my members don't agree. You, in your grace come and steal me away from my father's home. Ravish me.

Starting with Genesis: Bound to God. (Proper A8)

Keywords: Present, Bound

In Jewish tradition the story of Abraham and Isaac is called simply the binding. It is the story of God's provision even in the face of death, defeat and a silent God that is echoed by the psalm.

Remembering the image of Isaac bound in ropes, presented before God as an offering, let us hear Paul.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

I hear the idea of presenting your self in Abraham's language. Three times he presents himself with the word Hinneh which translates "here am I." The richness of this word captured my imagination ever since my college roommate told me about it. He was taking Hebrew. It caries with it connotations of, behold I am here! You have my attention! Perhaps even, "I'm Yours." Hinneh!

Starting with Jeremiah: Proclamation (Proper A8)

Jeremiah faces the prophesy of Hananiah, a prophesy that runs counter to what God has told him. Who is the true prophet? Jeremiah points out that it is unusual to prophesy peace. The true prophet is the one whose words come true.

The psalm sings praises to Yahweh for giving the people strength and protection through the king. The blessed people are those who declare the righteousness of the Lord, and glory in His strength. Their praise is tied to their true king who belongs to God.

Isn't Hananiah one of those people? He is proclaiming that God will prevail and the Davidic king, Jehoiachin will be returned to the throne along with the sacred objects. Jehoiachin didn't belong to God; his three-month reign was uneventful. "He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done." God dealt with the land. The proclamation of Jeremiah is the true one.

The psalmist proclaims peace and strength for the land. Could his proclamation be true? Have we ever seen shalom in a geopolitical setting?

The big question: Is Jesus a true prophet? Is he the king the psalmist extols?

He proclaimed the kingdom of God, peace in the cup of cold water and the warm welcome. We are to proclaim it and make it a reality in our world through our deeds. Do we? Do we make him out to be a liar? Or has peace come?

late posts

I apologize for the lateness of this post. The thread of concepts and themes in this week's readings was harder to recognize and follow than others. Some of the readings are short. I prefer to think of the editors of the RCL as master craftsmen expertly redacting pericopes to bring to light a theme or concept, even in ordinary time when it seems they don't.

BBC NEWS | In Depth | slavery

BBC NEWS | In Depth | slavery

This week is difficult in many ways. The hairs on their head are numbered too...


God is the deliverer in face of evidence to the contrary, in the face of turmoil even in our own families.

The Witness: The Father's Day Distraction

The Witness: The Father's Day Distraction Let us take care not to be distracted!

Do you hate your family? (Proper A7)

Another interesting text for Father's day, and interestingly enough the Gospel of Thomas shed some light on this for me.

Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot become a disciple to Me. And whoever does not love his father and his mother as I do cannot become a disciple to Me. For My mother gave me falsehood, but My true Mother gave me life." (italics mine)

OK, so the end sounds a little gnostic, but the beginning sounds like the synoptics, with the exception of "as I do." So I got thinking, how does Jesus hate his mother? Well, the road he's on will deprive her of a son. To those who love him, Jesus is going about hateful things. This makes sense in the context of taking up our cross. Unless we love him more than our families, who will hurt at our death, or our own lives, which we count as lost, we cannot follow in his footsteps.