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Christians are supposed to be optimistic! After all, Scripture is loaded with the eventual wholeness of Creation: God wins! And yet…it may be my advancing Old Age, but I oftentimes feel that Murphy may have been right… The GOOD news is that even though laments seem to have risen from the beginning of time, we’re not done yet. Lessons for the upcoming weekend–not including those congregations observing All Saint’s this weekend–lean toward those of us who are naturally gloomy.

After the opening lament, HABAKKUK 2:1-4 pictures the watchman at the top of the tower taking the long view; that is, the prophet/priest scans the horizon for a word of hope from God. And that word came: “For there still is a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. lf it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” The Church must keep on looking for this vision–and celebrating those small instances of personal fulfillment where we’ve seen God at work.

Who wrote II THESSALONIANS, and does it matter? The opening greeting is from “Paul, Silvanus & Timothy”, indicating a team approach to planting church congregations. According to this greeting, there IS a peace in troubled times that appears through Christ. At times the troubles of the world drive folks together for mutual support, and perhaps the Grace of God is accentuated by this gathering (verses 1-4) What is the “worthiness” of God’s call (verses 11-12)? Some translate this word as “deserving”: not that we are now, but in the love of Christ shall be…

Can anyone read the story of Zacchaeus (LUKE 19:1-10) without singing the song? (When I asked Zacchaeus for a loan, he replied that he was a little short, today…) Anyway, he climbed a nearby tree to get a better look at Jesus; a new perspective, if you will. Now Zacchaeus wasn’t really a bad guy, he was dissed because he worked for The Man–Caesar. Moreover, he seemed to be head of a pyramid scheme involving other tax-collectors. He was looking at the long view of Jesus/God drawing near, and renewed his own commitment to charitable love of the downtrodden. This is a story about Grace developing off the horizon, more than one of Z’s new vision.

Habakkuk, Zacchaeus and Paul all climbed to new heights to check the horizon for God’s Goodness. “It hurts a lot when the wicked win at your expense. God’s promise is what we have to rely on: though it tarry, it will come. Though it linger, it will arrive. How do we find the patience to wait…?” (Donna Schaper, in FEASTING on the WORD, C 4:243)

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday I explore the texts assigned by the Lectionary to services on the upcoming weekend. Join me at horacebrownking.com

Years ago, my big project was to make a compendium of all the Prayers of Confession I’ve written across the years. Quite a few of them are pretty good. My working title was “We Know Who We Are: Prayers of Confession for the Christian Year”. But I guess it proved too much for me… I may yet do it. Someday. Texts to be heard during the upcoming weekend could be seen as ancient history–OR they could be analogies of our contemporary crimes against God (COMmission and OMmission); and, of course, God’s ultimate grace.

JOEL 2:23-32 is most famous for a reading on Pentecost: verses 28 & 29 speak of the “pouring out of the spirit”. But there’s a lot more in there! The expression of Grace is especially noted in the Recognition Formula, “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.” God announces that even though our darkness is terrifying, there is coming an Ultimate Light. A happy ending is in store! In all of this, do we know who we are?

A side trip into PSALM 65 is in order: a reading generally reserved for harvest festivals also includes the verse, “When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.”

We’re still perusing the mentoring of TIMOTHY, II 4:6-8,16-18. Paul (?) isn’t hung up on his previous hostility to the Christian movement, but gives thanks for the many opportunities of a full and prosperous life. The author acknowledges that there’ll be conflict, and occasion to bemoan our shortcomings and brokenness. Yet the disciple can be assured that even the “most hopeless” can know who they are–and move on from there, guided by Christ.

So Jesus tells a parable (as retold in LUKE 18:9-14) about the best of guys and the worst, both praying in the Temple. Surprisingly, the Pharisee with all of his lengthy prayers and fancy clothes has to leave empty–mostly because he thought himself better than the (UGH!) Tax Collector. This despised Tax Collector was justified–made right with God–not for his behavior, but for his willingness to admit his imperfections. “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Obviously the fellow knew who he was, as opposed to the holier-than-thou Pharisee who was blinded by his own glitz…

I once thought that when I grew Old, I wouldn’t be as prone to separation from God. Wrong!! Not to have a pity-party, but I realize more ‘n’ more how imperfect and broken I am! I need these times of Confession to admit to these defects–and our culture also needs to know who we are…

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join me on Tuesdays at horacebrownking.com to be met by scripture lessons to be read on the upcoming weekend.

Years ago, I had a cartoon that showed a heron trying to swallow a frog. This wasn’t successful: the frog was choking the heron with his front feet. The caption read, NEVER GIVE UP! Right. I confess that there seem to be times when I’ve done all I can, yet nothing has changed for the better. Scriptures to be heard this weekend are for others like me who are just tired of trying to “do good” and change the world.

JEREMIAH (31:27-34) continues to give comfort to the Exiles now living in Babylon: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord….so I will watch over them to build and to plant…” The People of Israel appeared to be incapable of Righteousness, so YHWH is taking the initiative to establish a NEW covenant, the Way of God to be within them. So God hasn’t abandoned us after all! Are there those on the doorstep of giving up on redemption, saying “God can never love ME”? Yet God keeps on initiating a relationship with those exiles in a Strange Land.

II TIMOTHY 3:14-4:5 is an exhortation from experience to all of us who are timid. “Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.” OF COURSE it’s tough to Do Good–but hang in there! Despite our tiredness, the Lord is still with us. There will be those with “itching ears” who will seek out popular doctrines of success and worldly gain. Scriptures–both sacred and civil–are full of stories of people who’ve wandered away but returned.

LUKE 18:1-8 is Jesus’ story of the judge who “feared neither man nor God” and the widow who kept pestering her by pleading her cause. Afraid that she’d come and slap her in the face (a big insult in those days), she declared in the widow’s favor. Warning–this is a story, not an allegory of God! It’s told to encourage the disciple to be persistent in prayer and to expect a favorable result in God’s Good Time. To Luke, persistence in prayer and focus on the righteousness of God are matters of faith: if we believe, then we’ll keep on praying.

John M. Buchanan, lately of the CHRISTIAN CENTURY, reminds us in FEASTING on the WORD (C 4:193), “Count on God to come down on the side of justice. Count on God to hear the ones who have no power, no influence, no voice. Count on God to hear those who have nowhere else to turn. Count on God not always to grant your requests, but to hear, with loving, parental patience, the persistent prayers of your heart.”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Join me every Tuesday to be encouraged and confronted by texts to be read on the upcoming weekend–at horacebrownking.com

Last night Marie dropped me off at Barnes & Noble while she went grocery shopping. (Believe me, it’s better that way.) While I strolled around looking at things, I ran across the “Fantasy” section–shelf after shelf after shelf of stories about dragons, witches and voices from the Past. Maybe it’s because Hallowe’en is soon upon us… Or maybe it’s a general phenomenon of bored Americans looking for less-explored lands? Lots of us would like to be Somewhere Else. Lessons to be read on the upcoming weekend urge hearers to be alive where they are.

The backstory to JEREMIAH 29: 1, 4-7 is that the citadel of Jerusalem has fallen to the Babylonians, and almost all of the people have been deported. So Jeremiah wrote them a letter in which he told the Exiles not to waste time & energy bemoaning their fate, but rather “build houses, plant gardens…take wives and have sons & daughters….But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in ITS welfare you will find YOUR welfare.” The Psalmist wrote (137:4), “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Jeremiah’s rebuttal, “Just DO it!” Stop moping around and get on with it!

St. Paul (??) also told his associate TIMOTHY to get on with it (2:8-15). The younger fellow showed some honest anxiety about his Christian ministry and evidently had mentioned that he felt uncertain about getting involved for the whole nine yards. Paul speaks of his own imprisonment for standing up against the current, but reminds Timothy/us that “the word of God is not chained”. Timothy has been chosen to bear the gospel to others, “a worker who has no need to be ashamed”.

LUKE alone has the story of the 10 Lepers 17:11-19). This group of outcasts approached Jesus in the no-man’s land “between Samaria and Israel” seeking healing. (How did they know about him?) Says here that they were healed “as they went”. Went to be pronounced Whole, to resume their daily lives, to rejoin their families. One not steeped in Judaism returned to thank Jesus: “Where are the other nine?” (Old seminary joke says that “those ingrates moved to my parish, and their descendants live there to this day!”) Evidently God’s power and mercy extend to ALL, whatever their tribe calls themselves…

No one said that life is fair. Sometimes life gives us lemons. So while we’re searching for the juicer to make lemonade, we stay alive in God’s Wholeness/Holiness, aware that “There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me”. Hey, I’m not dead yet!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join me every Tuesday as we’re confronted by Scripture texts to be read during worship on the upcoming weekend: at horacebrownking.com