My two mentionable hobbies are stamp collecting and gardening. Part of the pleasure from these is that there are always more stamps to sift through, or there’re seasonal adjustments to be made to the plot each day. Things are never done, are they? The older I get, the more I realize that nothing–even life itself–is ever finished; and that’s good! There’s always another adventure, another horizon. This weekend’s scriptures address and hopefully celebrate the process of Life with God.
The Hebrew Bible concludes the Pentateuch/Moses story with Moses’ death (Deuteronomy 34:1-12). Some regret that Moses never entered the Promised Land, although he saw it from a distance. But there was no need to: his work was done! The five “Books of Moses” gathered the fire-side tales of Creation and the Patriarchs–with the Exodus–and made them into “Israel’s Primal Narrative” (Brueggeman/Borg). These stories, plus the tribulation of forty years in the wilderness, serve to unite Judaism and form the People from habiru/ desert wanderers into a vital Nation. Was the Story over? Just that part of it: there’s a new season at hand…
We continue our exploration of Paul’s Letters with more of the Thessalonian Epistle, 2:1-8. Here the Apostle lets his earlier travails behind at Philippi and tenderly embraces new Christian friends. There are sometimes blood-spatters on the path we’ve already walked–but that was then, this is now. Verse 4, “…just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts”, seems to be central to a holy process of new and ongoing creation. Daily ministry involves words and actions which celebrate God’s works today plus looking forward in hope to whatever holy happens tomorrow.
Matthew 22:34-46 recounts Jesus’ final week as the ending of his earthly journey and the beginning (?) of his assumption of the Christ-mantle. The Pharisaic question about the Greatest Law is really an attempt to connect the Past with the Present, a question of ethical propriety despite the parade of history. Given all that’s happened previously, what’s important today? These can be the ultimate teachings of Christ: there’s nothing more to say. “From that day did anyone dare to ask (Jesus) any more questions.”
Marcus Borg (page 106, READING THE BIBLE AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME) closes it out: “Indeed, the theme of promise and fulfillment is strikingly relevant to people in ALL times. In spite of threats to the promise and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, when birth and rebirth seem impossible, when pharaohs and the powers of empires seem to rule the world, God’s faithfulness can be counted on.”
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
My encounters with readings assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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