Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

Proper 8 (13) - Year A

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Ah, King David. The throne of all generations. We take that as a good thing, thinking nothing is beyond the generations.

Before the Kings, Samuel had warned, "You will become the king's slaves, and you will finally cry out for the Lord to save you from the king you wanted." But the people refused to listen to Samuel and demanded, "We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us into battle."

And so the kings ruled and battled and it came to pass that the kings passed. The Monarchy passes into Israel and Judah. Israel passes. Judah passes.

We are back to where we started with Samuel imploring the folks to trust G*D, not political/military/economic leaders. "All we are and have we owe to G*D, Holy G*D of Israel, our King!" [ The Message ]

The test of kings, and even of majority democracies, is found in the illusion that in such we will find guaranteed life, solid and lasting as rock.

Providence, G*D's beauty, is beyond such illusion. May we dance in the beauty beyond kings and congresses. The issue is not whether a king is good or bad. Either way they block the beauty of life, the test of trust.

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2002/june2002.html

 

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Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 or Psalm 13

There seems to be a gap between our frailty and misery and our dream of steadfast love, sometime, somewhere, putting an end to our sense of forsakenness.

Through our lifetime we entrust a whole series of idols to keep this dream alive. It's a wonderful picture, being rescued in the nick of time. It has a long heritage.

And yet our experience is that of angels with flaming swords, no rescue by going back. Exile transforms our insight and energy into rigid rules and survivalism. Even an exodus paradigm separates the tribes and the tribes from the indigenous. Internal betrayals are rife. Crucifixions keep cropping up to lay us low.

It would be helpful to practice experiencing steadfast love in the midst of all this, as our ground of being, rather than it being separated from our present, only coming later to set everything right that can't be set right without destroying its character. 

If the hospitality of steadfast love is not present right now to show mercy to every experience, helpful and unhelpful, then it is very close to simply being a figment of our imagination, a bite of pickle at bedtime, a spot of spoiled cabbage only good for haunting.

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2005/june2005.html

 

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Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 or Psalm 13
Genesis 22:1-14 or Jeremiah 28:5-9
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42

Welcoming is bedrock evangelism. A first rule of thumb of expressing our discipleship is to love one another and, presuming we are expanding our "one another", its logical extension is that of hospitality.

So we need to welcome the unexpected goat or exile. It saves us from inbred craziness (slaughter of our own) and denial of our common family (if they have been away).

In so doing we will find G*D's absent face wasn't so absent after all and we are part of the generations who experience steadfast love in the midst of every wavering.

Thanks be that we are not limited to the sin of self-assurance and closed doors. Our escape from such sin is a participation in welcoming.

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sit in a new house
experience its idiosyncrasies
wonder where its secrets lie
where children were hurt
what kept blessings from flowing
who was exiled here
or escaped exile
if walls talked
what shame and glory
would come forth
were its doors ever opened wide
or barricaded even more tightly
how will we interact

enough of sitting
though not enough
a start is a cup of cold water
taken through the house
sprinkled here
there and everywhere
that more cups
will be ready
when family and strangers
call
and beckon them in
before they know
their need

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html