My Blog

Countercultural.  The Book is full of these episodes and wise sayings which turn the world upside down.  From the beginning, faith-life is seen as expressing Something Different than the rest of the world usually dishes out.  Joseph, the poor kid from the desert, gets to run all of Egypt.  Gideon the timorous overcomes oppression.  Mary foretells that the poor will be filled with good things, while the rich will have had their day.  The readings many of you will hear this Sunday continue this theme of unexpected notice.

The Book of Proverbs rambles on and on, but closes with an almost surprising paen to The Ideal Woman –or any woman (31:10ff)  This ancient Martha Stewart does everything right, making her husband the envy of all the other guys!   Is this a check-list for the Perfect Wife, or a fella shopping for one?  What’s surprising is that this unsolicited testimonial comes from within a male-centered culture, and is considered Holy.   Telford Work, a professor at Westmont  College in California, says that “preaching (this passage) in the midst of the pitched gender politics of our age is like stomping through a minefield.”

Psalm 1 offers happiness/blessedness to those who delight in the law of the Lord, who don’t follow the crowd.  But as Kermit the Frog says, “It’s not easy being green”.

Ah, James!   More Wisdom decrying envy & selfish ambition, materialism & conflict over turf.  Written to the early Church, perhaps in underground congregations, James urges a unique ethic of gentleness, “full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy” (3:17)  What a change fro the daily business of those times!  Between the lines, he writes that this is a by-product of our faith, and concludes, “Draw near to God, and (God) will draw near to you.” (4:8)
Mark’s Gospel remembers the time when the Jesus Gang  argued among themselves as to who was the Number One Disciple.  (9:33-37)  “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”  Whoever takes care of the helpless and the innocent gives true service to the Lord  What could be more expendable than a street urchin?

In these days of power and calling corporations people, this alternative word must be heard.  My Yahoo homepage exalts the famous, the expensive and the arrogant.  But the Church resonates with women, children and gentle creatures who’re submerged in a swamp of selfishness!   A  guy I knew in college told me, “Nice guys finish last”.   But that’s not what it says here.

God Bless Us, Every One

Horace Brown King, Binghamton NY

Helen Street turned busy, this week:  school busses and impatient parents made steady pilgrimage to West Middle School, just up the street.  A few walkers, resigned to a new school year, trudged by with clean but downcast faces.  Everyone’s a year older!  And the search for Wisdom continues……

The Book of Proverbs begins with a reproach to the foolish from Wisdom (1:20-33).  She’s EVERYwhere — on the streetcorner, in the market, at the gates of the city.  “You have ignored all my counsel….I will laugh at your calamity.”   Remember the stuff our parents used to tell us?   “You’ll shoot your eye out!”   “Just shut your mouth and eat!”   And the ever-popular, “When you chop your foot off with that axe, don’t come running to ME!”   And now we hear, “the complacency of fools destroys them, but those who listen to me will be secure.”

James tells those who would teach to be very careful with their words (3:12).   He notes that the tongue is difficult to tame, and is the little rudder by which the entire ship sets its course.   “No one can tame the tongue, a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”   If you’re going to praise God, he says, be careful not to pollute your words with unkindness and gossip.

The Gospel continues from St. Mark (8:27-38).  Jesus asks, “Who does society say that I am?  And who do YOU say that I am?”   Gotta be careful with this: St. Peter answers rightly that Jesus is Messiah — then blows it by denying that the Messiah must suffer & die!   Jesus’ wisdom is that that’s a selfish escape, and that to be whole with God we’re all to take a counter-cultural risk….

How do these tie together, and is there a common link?   Seems to me that if there’s a common denominator, it’s a verbal one: what’s said.   God must often feel as though there’s only an echo coming back, that messages of Wisdom and Christ-like suffering fall on non-hearing ears.   As a Preacher, as one given to Disciple-speak, I often think I may be conversing in Martian!

Last Saturday, I had a high-school class reunion  — number 51 (sheesh, am I a geezer!)  Not surprised, but tickled that so many there spoke of their involvement in church, and what their faith had led them to do!   My old classmates, with whom I laughed & tussled, took tests, squabbled over basketballs, danced and disrupted study-halls!  And we came out (eventually) with a taste of Godly Wisdom….

I guess all those First Days of School were worth it after all.

God Bless Us, Every One

           Horace Brown KIng

Welcome to WordPress.com! This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!