Thanks For a Place to Live

The peripatetic life of a United Methodist minister!  Marie & I have lived in 9 different parsonages, and now in this pleasant double-house in our retirement.  Most of those places were very nice, although some needed attention.  For good or ill, weal or woe,  I’m grateful for these shelters from the storm and places to keep our never-shrinking pile of Stuff.  The weekend’s scriptures hopefully will be a reminder to the well-heeled that “Be it ever so humble, there’ no place like home”.  Or, as Bugs Bunny maintained, “Be it ever so crumbly, there’s no place like Rome”.  C’mon, Toto, I don’t think this is Kansas any more…

Isaiah 65:17-25 is aimed at those returning to Jerusalem from Babylonian Exile who gaze on the ruins of the Temple and say, “Nope; it’ll never be the same”.   To them God says, “For I am about to create NEW heavens and a NEW earth….Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating.”  Human short-sightedness is no match for God’s joyous re-creation!  However bleak things seem, a productive and holy treasure is waiting just below the frost line.  The Peaceable Kingdom is ready to blossom, and no longer shall be heard the cry of distress.  This is a good place after all!

What shall we do with II Thessalonians 3:6-13?  The reader needs to be very careful not to extol the value of “work” to the point of discomfort to the retired, the disabled or the unemployed.  Here the savvy speaker can offer  many congregational opportunities for service and aid, reminding worshipers that prayers and social-media contact can be seen as meaningful “work” in God’s Kingdom–and that these endeavors can be a thankful exercise in responding to this Kingdom as a good place to live.  The Pauline author leans on the believers’ obligation, and also on the obvious fact that appreciation and ownership come through involvement in the community.

Luke’s Gospel, 21:5-19, can be terrifying!  Oh my, is the sky really falling?  This reader likes to emphasize Jesus’ words in verse 12, “But before all this occurs…”  Of course there’ll be wars & earthquakes & famine & drought–even climate change–but our worries are more immediate.  They (?) are coming for ya:  don’t worry about what to say, God’s words will be sufficient.  It’s still a nice place to live.

Beauty, they say,  is in the eye of the beholder.  Of course there are glitches.  And missteps.  And the ravages of accumulated years.  I’m trying really hard–with mixed success–to look past these as “normal” and to thankfully play whatever role is yet given me to enhance still further this Good Place.

God Bless Us, Every One                   Horace Brown King

My wrestling with scriptures assigned to the upcoming weekend can be observed every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com