My Blog

Pentecost. Not merely the season which extends from Resurrection-tide until Advent, Pentecost celebrates the Church in action. Most of the readings during this half-year period tell of how the disciples worked with God to extend systems of belief through the Roman world. They also are analogies for what’s expected of contemporary disciples as we attempt to extend the Christian message throughout the known world by means of mercy and witness, worship and acts of kindness & justice. Those hearing this message during the upcoming weekend may well find their lives enriched by the Spirit of God speaking to them in whatever language they choose.

The Old Testament story is that of the Tower of Babel, GENESIS 11:1-9. You probably remember how the people of earth spoke one language (Aramaic?) and decided to play God by building a tower to reach the heavens. (Similar to a pyramid or ziggurat, I suppose.) The Heavenly Host perceived this as an affront to their territory, so “they” came down to confuse their language and separate the people into tribes and nations. Some have pointed out that this project was disobedient in its concept of “us-first”, a re-visitation of Original Sin by stressing the ego. Current Towers have included–but are not limited to–border walls and repressive ethnic ghettoes and imminent domain and reservations…

Contrast this with the Pentecost story told by Luke in ACTS 2:1-21. The Holy Spirit showed herself to the gathered tribes and nations, and this time EVERYbody understood! This happily chaotic scene seems to resonate with our ideas of the Heavenly: lots of action, lots of sound and lots of mutually understandable sharing. “Pentecost represents the inbreaking of God’s purposes for all humanity, bringing humanity together in understanding, despite their differences.” (Michael Jenkins, in FEASTING on the WORD, C 3:16) We no longer have to distrust the Others who speak strangely. Are we not one people?

JOHN’s Gospel could well be read in two small segments, 14:15-17 and 14:25-27. Set within the Last Supper, these include Jesus’ advisement that the Holy Spirit would come to stand with them and to encourage them in their missionary activity. This Spirit will enable the hearers of the ancient story to know what this story means now to them and their neighbors. This Spirit will establish a community that will offer release to the captives and empower its members to speak to the excesses of empire.

“We are children of Pentecost and children of Babel. We long for the ideal of Pentecost, but we revisit the comfort and predictability of Babel.” (Douglas M. Donley, ibid., C 3:6) And Jeff Paschal adds, “(Ours) is a God who, with a word, may decide to scatter our neat existential architectural drawings to the wind and blow our carefully planned lives into something we had never imagined.” (ibid, C 3:7) Dear friends, get your sails ready!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join me every Tuesday to wrestle with lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend–at horacebrownking.com.

“How long should we wait?” for the professor who’s late to class. “How long should I wait?” for the red light to turn green? “How long should she wait?” for the love letter which never came? Scriptures to be read on the upcoming weekend seem to be just for me and those of you who think your computer is slow when it doesn’t boot for ten whole seconds… But impatience is part of the human condition: we want the kingdom to be established ASAP, even though our vision may have shrunk to a political revolution.

On Ascension, we should really look at this intermission between Easter and Pentecost as described by the author of Luke: LUKE 24:44-53 and ACTS 1:1-11 should be seen together as the holy history of Jesus’ leaving his disciples. Without this sense of abandonment the Church would have never gotten off the ground. (What have I said??) Left looking into the heavens would be our only hobby, to the neglect of the wounded and lonely in our care on earth. As the Confession says, “We happily ignore the needy and neglect the Gospel while we contemplate your coming again.”

And so we wait nearby for the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his followers to stay where they are until empowered–always difficult for me. “Let’s go! What’re we waiting for?!” But sometimes our mixture has to cook for a while until it becomes soup! God proposes not to raise a chosen clan or individual to the glory-days of imagined ancestry but to create bearers of that Kingdom yet unfolding…

Also associated with the Ascension is EPHESIANS 1:15-23– the author is expressing a hope for the development of God’s Kingdom in good time. “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of this great power.” As. You. Come to know him…

Why DO you look into the heavens? Curiosity; maybe there’re shooting stars? Checking the weather by the clouds? Getting direction and a sense of balance from the fixed stars? Watching for Jesus’ return? All well & good–but our vision must include earthly needs and holy ministry also.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come every Tuesday to join in a discussion of scripture to be read on the upcoming weekend, at horacebrownking.com

When I was younger, I was considered a stick-in-the-mud. Now that I’m Old, I’m merely Set In My Ways. Truth is, I’ve always been an alien to change. Scripture texts to be heard this upcoming weekend remind us that the Church is always on the move, that there’s no real reason to be comfortable with the way things are. Sages tell us that the only sure things are death and taxes; we might well add to those the idea that Church changes are inevitable. It’s difficult for me to admit this.

The reading from the ACTS of the Apostles, 16:9-15, continues the story of Paul’s travels. Like a good salesman, Paul & his team were always looking for new territory to develop. Convinced that Christianity was available to Gentiles as well as Jews, he had lingered on the west coast of Asia Minor (today’s Turkey) and awaited a sign to proceed. So we hear about God’s vision to Paul and his subsequent meeting with Lydia and her friends. The Church was again expanding, changing its shape yet again. The entirety of Acts is the acknowledgment that the waves of the Gospel message rippled out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

The verses from REVELATION (21:10; 21:22-22:5) tell of another visionary experience given to John of Patmos: “he showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God…” Not only does the Kingdom prevail over current empires (which will attempt to strike back) but will exceed our earthly expectations and human boundaries. No status quo for the Heavenly, God actively plans to break into our complacency with holy light and life.

The Gospel encounter explores Jesus’ farewell words with his closest friends (JOHN 14:23-29). Here he promises that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, will be sent from God to both teach and uphold, to illumine and to strengthen. Although Jesus himself will be on the move, the family he leaves behind will continue his mission into “unharvested fields”. The terms Home & Family sound like putting down roots, but this is far from what early disciples did! Thomas supposedly went to India, Philip went to Azotus, Peter went to Rome… Where will the Spirit send US?

One of the finest sermons I remember was preached at a Baccalaureate occasion for the Cooperstown High School. The preacher called it “Marching Off the Map”, and he called on graduates to keep on keeping on. He suggested that on ancient maps there were legends such as “Here Be Monsters”, which kept cautious seamen near home and served to discourage exploration. To be sure, the unfamiliar IS scary; there could be monsters lurking just over the horizon. BUT the disciple is urged to tighten her belt and move toward the ends of the earth–the universe?–under the guidance of God’s Spirit. Help me, Lord, to welcome Change.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

The lections for the coming weekend and I wrestle every Tuesday at horacebrownking.com…join us?

In the days of TV Ranch Club, it was much easier to tell who’s in and who’s out. The Good Guys wear white hats and the Bad Guys wear black hats. Simple. Then I grew older and learned about Grace… Does God really include Those Guys?? Scriptures heard at worship during the upcoming weekend will remind those who know they’re IN that the pool is wider than they thought; and also invite those who think they’re OUT to come closer.

Why oh why does the Book of the ACTS of the Apostles repeat the story of Peter’s roof-top vision (11:1-18)? Probably because this was a hot-button issue for the early Church–is Christian discipleship only for practicing (circumcised) Jews, or is it a world-religion that just may include foreigners with strange customs and ethics? The Voice of God reminds us through the centuries that Creation was pronounced “good”, and who are we to say otherwise?? Called on the carpet by his critics, The Rock answered with a story of grace, completely downplaying his own role/theology. Lewis Mudge says that “Peter could truthfully say that he did not take the initiative in any of this. The vision CAME to him. He was called by others to come, heal, preach, and baptize. God was speaking through him.” (FEASTING on the WORD, C 2:452)

Ah, the REVELATION (21:1-6)! I like to use this passage at funerals, it tells of a holiness and serene comfort too great to be confined to Heaven. The author indicates that God is not somewhere on a cloud far off, but as near as our breath. “…the home of God is among mortals….God [himself] will be with them.” Just as the “sheet” with all manner of living creatures was presented to Peter, so the New Jerusalem will be spilled over and across the Old Earth changing it forever! That which God created–those of all races, colors and gender identification–should never be judged by human standards. Anybody new for your congregation?

JOHN 13:31-35: what is “glorification”? Jesus implies that it refers to his final moments, when even thieves may come next to him and receive Light. The reader should mention that the scene has shifted back to the Last Supper, just as Judas is leaving to do his worst. “Now” means that things have changed, that there’s no return to the Old Ways. And the “New Commandment” is recognition that in this New Order there can be no more discrimination, only Love for the Other. This indeed will show the heavenly splendor now in force upon Earth.

These days of Eastertide have been filled with exhortations to see the Risen Christ and to let a waiting world see that we have indeed seen. Beginning at home, the Church is implored to espouse inclusion of all who’re willing–which may well involve exercises of love and tolerance within our personal worldview. “A change of heart comes when one sees the Spirit at work in the stories of strangers, recognizing in them the same Spirit that is working in one’s own life.” (Mudge, ibid.)

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Scripture to be read on the upcoming weekend confronts me every Tuesday; please join me at horacebrownking.com

One of the lasting marks of the COVID plague is loneliness: most of us feel in some way excluded from the rest of the herd. Sure, there’s ZOOM and other social media–but it’s just not the same as interacting with the rest of you flesh’n’blood humans. Scriptures to be heard on the upcoming weekend tell tales of how the COMMUNITY of Jesus rallied for healing and support. I often need to be reminded that I’m not alone, that there are others who dare proclaim Life in the face of Death.

In Luke’s account of The ACTS of the Apostles, 9:36-43, we hear about Peter’s bringing an Easter message to Joppa in the raising of Tabitha from the dead. Although Peter and Tabitha are the main characters, the story is really about the faithful community of Jesus’ disciples who were not content with The Way Things Are, and who pressed forward to bring life and wholeness. These good folks understood that illness and brokenness are not in the blueprint of Creation, and joined in mutual support to proclaim that.

REVELATION 7:9-17 tells about the great community of Heaven, banded together in praise: “there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…” Does this mean that even “those other people” are included within Jesus’ community? (But I sometimes fear those who live on the other side of the mountain.) Here is the fulfillment of Creation’s promise–always diverse, yet united around the Lamb. Like the author, we too are compelled to announce this Happy Ending; all of us/them have come through a great ordeal…

JOHN 10:22-30 is a rather enigmatic passage–don’t get lost in detail. Like all of this gospel, the worldly authorities (the Jewish Temple leaders) here oppose the Kingdom of Heaven in a power struggle meant to preserve the Old Ways and also their own skins… Jesus uses the metaphor of the sheep who know his voice/presence/leadership, and the rest who are not yet members of this community. (By the time this gospel was inscribed, several cells of Jesus-followers were functioning, and the Temple/Judaism had been recently destroyed.) More than interesting history, this passage should help the hearers renew their own understanding of the strength of the Jesus community and proclaim Easter by their stance and service.

Family is important. We have an inborn need to be with like-minded people, to affirm our own names. Easter People are urged to experience the common dependency and give’n’take of the Body of Christ at worship and in mission.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join me every Tuesday to explore the lessons assigned to worship during the upcoming weekend; horacebrownking.com