Many of us long for the Good Old Summertime in worship: short sermons, familiar hymns and a pleasant glow about being white and privileged by a God of abundance. And maybe a picnic in the parking lot… Sure ‘nuf, readings for the upcoming weekend are a bit less demanding than the heavy-duty ethical stuff we’ve been dealing with. Or are they?? At any rate, some of us will nod in agreement and count ourselves fortunate to be so holy! And, of course, we are.
We don’t know for sure which poet wrote SONG OF SOLOMON/song of songs 2:8-13, but it sings well! It’s a folk-tune–with cello accompaniment–about two folks flirting and eventually getting together, “coming away”. Or maybe it’s about the flirtation of God with us, “gazing in at the window, looking through the lattice”? There’s nothing spoken about religion; but we rejoice with a God of love, and celebrate our own love affairs within God’s Creation. We delight in God’s transformative power: “However grim things have been in seasons past, winter will yield…and the season of glad songs will arrive at last.” (Susan Henry-Crowe, in FEASTING on the WORD, B 4:4) This is an announcement of the turn of the ages, from bitterness/boredom/despair to the paradise of a renewed heaven & earth.
JAMES 1:17-27 lies open to criticism for advocating “too active” a discipleship. Yet his idea of service doesn’t negate SOLA FIDE, but lies as a response to this sacramental gift of belief. From the Reformed tradition we get the saying, “God proposes, [ a human] disposes.” “God nurtures us, gives us gifts, and provides direction for our lives, often using human agency to do so.” (Archie Smith, Jr.in FEASTING…. B:4 14) Whatever tune we use, the liturgical doxology praises God “from whom all blessings flow”. The passage reminds us to weed out the anger & greed which we might harbor, in order to allow the implanted image of God to grow to fullness. Again, a turn of the ages: from useless rage to a season of the reflection of Good Deeds which have their origin beyond us in Heaven.
The Pharisees, who always observe a ritual washing before eating lest anything worldly enter their system, complained to Jesus that his followers didn’t observe the cleaning tradition of the elders (MARK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23). Jesus replied that they had missed the point: it’s not the stuff that goes INTO the mouth that’s the problem, it’s the stuff that COMES OUT of the mouth which is the problem! There’s nothing wrong with hand-washing; we should do more of it, says Dr. Fauci–but Tradition is no substitute for genuine concern about community. What are some of the traditions you observe that are handed down through the family? Mutilated prayers that we learned from childhood at mealtime and bedtime? Removing your hat inside? All families have long-standing traditions around Christmas and other holidays… and they’re important! But not to the exclusion of God…
Humans are funny people: we put great stock in Tradition, yet allow the tail to wag the dog! But here are three instances of God’s Greater Love clamoring to be free, to usher in the renewal of Time by putting aside the “old” virtues in favor of the Eternal ones. God calls, “Arise, my love, and come away!”
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
My encounters with Scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be observed with lenience every Tuesday at horacebrownking.com
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