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When I was in college, my father took a position in Harrisburg PA; for several years, my parents maintained an apartment there plus keeping the Old Family Homestead in Dalton, where I grew up. But then, an end-of-career move for them in yet another town left me rootless. Friends would ask, “Where do you live?”, and my only answer could be, “Where I am right now!” Scripture readings for this weekend are all about a human need for COMMUNITY: there will be those within our scope who feel cut off from familiarity, and transient within their culture.

Acts 8:26-40 is a neat story: the apostle Philip was led by the Holy Spirit to intersect with an Ethiopian believer who was reading from the prophet Isaiah. This person wasn’t welcome within the Jewish community because he was a eunuch, thus “incomplete” in their eyes; he also wasn’t welcome because of his skin color. Philip’s spontaneous act of Baptism was audacious to some, because he included this “alien” within the Christian group, an affront to the Jewish leaders and their tradition. Philip is to be applauded for his availability to knock down another wall which would exclude good folks from the Community.

I John 4:7-21 is notable because it uses the word “abide” many times. From the Greek MENO, this word carries the meaning of stability, staying in place, enduring, hanging in there which speaks of God’s HESED, God’s steadfast love. “God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.” We do not define God, but God defines us. (William L. Self) The author attempts to speak a mystery which is really beyond human words–especially as translated across many centuries. But the core of the passage seems to be that God loves us so much that we’re to be included within the Community of God, warts ‘n’ all!

I like to use the Gospel, John 15:1-8, during the celebration of the Sacrament of Communion. This is the saying of the Vine and the Branches: we little twigs are connected to the nourishment of God (the Ground of our Being) through the vine of Christ. As communicants take in the essence of Christ–the bread & wine–we can image such holiness flowing through our main stems into each tiny capillary of our humanity. “Those who abide [there’s that word, again] in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” Barbara J. Essex reminds us, “When God is doing the maintenance, we are assured that new life and new growth will result. Despite what the plant looks like, its connection to the vine renders it alive and not dead.” (FEASTING on the WORD, B 2:475) When John’s Gospel was written, the Community of Believers was of paramount importance. Today, too? This family was identified by its adherence to the Vine of Christ.

The job of the preacher/teacher/worship leader today is to stress the planned Incarnation of God into the well-loved world, and the permanent idea of dwelling there with us. The human heart is truly God’s abode, and we are encouraged to live in peace with God and all God’s people! “When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me…”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

My encounters with scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Showing my age: I once had a friend who owned an ocelot called “TearAlong (the Dotted Lion)” A few weeks ago, I had a dental procedure which required my permission. The nurse shoved three wordy documents at me and told me to sign my name “here…and here…and here”. What have I done? Maybe the small print included something about being executed at dawn! Y’never know, when you sign your name on the line, just what you’ve agreed to. Readings for this upcoming weekend are about Jesus, who laid his life on the line; and also how his followers are urged to risk their own lives for the betterment of the community. Heavy stuff.

Acts 4:5-12 continues the story about Peter & John after “their” healing of the lame man at the Temple. Authorities were outraged, not only that these two had usurped their monopoly of God-dispensing, but these disciples had done it in the name of Jesus–whom they thought they had eliminated. Peter spoke in the believers’ defense, being filled with the Holy Spirit: “let it be known to all of you…that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…” He told of how Jesus saw fit to lay down his life–to put his life on the line–to make the world and its people Whole again.

The Epistle continues in the First Letter of John, 3:16-24. What is probably the entire message is announced in v.16: “We know love by this, that [Jesus] laid down his life for us–and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” John’s community is urged to go beyond words and speech to truth and action! The author reminds us that we have a boldness from God to actively love one another. One of the things we’ve put aside during these pandemic times of quarantine is that sense of loving community. That is, we’ve refined it to include only those whom we choose to ZOOM with, and we can duck out at any time. Today’s readings emphasize that we’re all on this ship together, and that living out our spirit-compulsion is a reflection of the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

John 10:11-18 is the famous Good Shepherd passage: “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” It can be dangerous to confront the hungry wolf! As God through Jesus develops the flock, the disciples’ job is to prepare a safe sanctuary to welcome the “tempest-tossed, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. How much can we dare to go out of our comfort-zone in behalf of these, our fellow-travelers? What does Jesus mean about “other sheep that do not belong to this fold”? He has a heavenly mandate to lay his life on the line–and expects his followers to do likewise.

I confess that this expectation often turns into an intellectual exercise, for me. My words are braver than my deeds. I’ve prayed for courage to speak truth to power; but shrink away from danger to my prestige or pension. Am I too old to be an activist again? When I was young, lean and hungry it was much easier. My sympathies are quite aligned with the women of Africa who have to walk three miles for water; I walk by the smelly man who panhandles at the door of the post office… These words in church, this weekend, are meant to stick with us, to embolden us to make the wounded whole. May we be blessed…

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

My meeting with scripture assigned to the upcoming weekend can be known every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

So Easter is gone. I’ve eaten all the peanutbutter eggs, gorged myself on jellybeans and nibbled the ears off chocolate bunnies. The cat has eaten most of the Easter grass–a poor substitute, she says, for the real thing. What remains? Good News! The message of the empty tomb continues to resonate in the labyrinths of our souls, and the earth waits to see what God will do next… These weeks after Easter–Eastertide–are full of possibilities for engaging others in the highways & byways in experiences of justice, peace and renewed life. Lessons for the upcoming weekend remind those who straggle back after Easter that the Risen Lord is present in all things, and can be honored in the way we live.

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles (3:12-19) should be introduced with the backstory, where Peter & John have healed the lame man at the Temple. This gives opportunity for Peter to address the stunned Jewish multitude: “And by faith in (Jesus’) name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.” As in the Gospels, healing is a vehicle for glorifying Jesus, not only in body but in the deep recesses of their hearts. Peter & John were surrounded because this healing was a departure from the everyday post-Passover cleanup. Perhaps they expected more healing–but what they got was an invitation to come closer to God through Christ.

We turn again to I John 3:1-7, which includes a wealth of study material. The readers of this letter are exhorted to adopt a radical response to the daily temptations to selfishness and hate. The “sin” which is expressed here goes beyond chewing gum in school or running with scissors; John’s aim is at those who deny of the Risen Christ by practice or speech. And there is a happy ending for those faithful to God’s precepts: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” Will that interrupt our scrabbling in the dust?

The Gospel returns us to the immediate gathering of the Disciples on Easter, this time according to Luke’s narrative (24:36-49). No specific mention of Thomas’ faith-journey, but the assurance that Jesus did have a bodily resurrection. His eating of the broiled fish was not a parlor trick, but a prescient reminder of his physicality (to confound later heresies of gnosticism, which claimed that Jesus was only a spirit). Did those early believers think that their Jesus travels ended with Good Friday? Again, their indecision and tendency to hide was interrupted in an astonishing way… The Risen Lord transformed this motley crew into a cohort of released prisoners, sending them as witnesses of redemption and forgiveness.

Saints through the ages have described the Christian stance as one which interrupted their complacent routine with its surprises. “Just when I thought things were boringly normal, here he comes again!” We’re reminded that Easter continues, even when the hard-boiled eggs have become egg salad. When you least expect it, the Risen Christ breaks in!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

My encounters with readings designed for the upcoming weekend can be traced every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

I wonder who invented The Door. Doors are universal to every culture I know of, and seem to be a basic piece of architectural design. The whole purpose of a Door is twofold: to keep the Good Stuff in, and to keep the Bad Stuff out. The value to those who hear these readings this weekend is to examine the Doors they’ve created internally for protection or exclusion or solitude. Is God deterred by human barriers? Are there monsters we’ve locked in the closet? What’s behind the Green Door?

During Eastertide, the Old Testament readings are pushed aside for those of the Acts of the Apostles. In the Fourth Chapter (vv.32-35) we read how the Apostles pooled their resources and held everything in common. (socialism!!) Now if they gave away all their treasures, then there was no reason to lock their doors, right? Sorta like the fella from PORGY AND BESS who sang “I got plenty o’ nuthin, and nuthin’s plenty for me…” There’s a raft of sermon material in this passage…

The Epistle is I John 1:1-2:2 which speaks of going Beyond the Doors to a living fellowship with God. Written later in the formative Christian years, the letter address the evident separation within the community of believers over whether Christ was indeed a human manifestation of God. Some had physically closed their doors to others; some had closed their mental doors to any possibility that God was bigger than their human comprehension. The text turns into a confusing (to me) diatribe against sin, which is seen as walking in darkness without the Light of the World. The writer affirms the humanity of Christ by allowing for the cleansing power of his blood.

And the Gospel is the ultimate story of John, 20:19-31, that of “Doubting” Thomas. In the confusion of Easter, the Disciples huddled together and the doors were locked for fear of the Temple authorities. But Jesus appeared in their midst, totally disregarding the locked door! There he empowered them to move beyond the door, each carrying the breath of the Holy Spirit. The Peace which Jesus brings must not languish behind closed doors–although the Church often clusters on the other side of the door from the market-place or the arena of justice.

Twenty centuries after this encounter, the Church is still particular about locking the door. Has “the neighborhood” changed from the earliest days? What are we protecting? or avoiding? Year by year congregations close for lack of interest, even though they sit in the middle of a hungry population. Seems to me that God’s Love cannot be locked behind a door–nor can we who claim his name.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

My wrestle with the scripture assigned to the upcoming weekend can be enjoined every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com