Trust the Author

You should know, gentle reader, that there are days when I–even I–question the reality of daily statements.  “No Parking”?  Who says so?   “65% less cholesterol”?  Who says so?  “End of the world tomorrow”?  Who says so?  Scripture lessons to be heard this weekend are evidently aimed at me and my cynic friends who harbor these nagging fears that there’s really no one in charge, that the chaos-monster is nipping at our heels and there’s no safe haven…

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 remembers how Moses led Yahweh’s People through the wilderness until they’d formed a social & religious community.  But Moses is aging, and there’ll have to be a new leader to present the Law and to call the people from where they may scatter.  He assures them, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people….I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command”.   In effect, don’t follow just ANYone, but realize that we can trust God’s providence alone.

The diverse backgrounds of the Corinthian Christians spawned many superstitions, a lot of them counter to Christian doctrine.  Paul scoffs at them, “Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge”  (I 8:2).  Then comes a small dissertation on the invalidity of idols, and the futility of debating the worthiness of eating what has been sacrificed to them.  BUT, although we “know” this, we need to be respectful of the scruples of other believers, whose personal journey may be derailed by observing our freedom.

Don’t get lost in this Gospel reading (Mark 1:21-28) in debating about demons and unclean spirits:  this is how Mark describes the ugly spots in the world’s collective conscience which run over and against Jesus.  The key for us today is to observe that by general teaching and personal conversation Jesus presented Wholeness as an antidote to the life-scarred cynicism of the world around him.  Witnesses took the opportunity to ascribe Divine Authority to Jesus:  “He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

In this Information Age, I get ‘way too many factoids and half-baked sound bytes, most of which contradict each other.  I’m a bit weary of this extensive menu of expertise, and I cry loudly, “Who says so?”  I yearn for someone I trust to tell me, “This is for real!”  This weekend, I intend to sit deep and let reliable Divinity immerse me in that which I must believe, that God is able to be Sole Authority for me.  Thanks be to God!

PS–my mother’s birth-name was Helen Fry.  During her school years, she was often invoked to verify facts: “If you don’t believe me, go to Helen Fry!”

God Help Us, Every One                        Horace Brown King

My ruminations on Scripture for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com