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“You Tell Me Your Dream…” was a pop song from the 1890’s. The Bible is full of dreamers: Joseph of technicolor dream-coat fame; his namesake who tended the youthful Jesus; Daniel; the several prophets had “visions” of holy things. Scriptures to be read on the upcoming weekend are aimed at us visionaries in the pews, reminding us that God has never stopped speaking.

Thee un-named writer of I KINGS (3:3-12) has an audience of those either deported to Babylon or left to their own devices in what was once Judah. The culture isn’t yet dead, he says, because we remember the stories which helped define us. God continues to be the central mover in all these theological narratives. Gifts which Solomon requests–wisdom, justice–are seen as markings of the Good King; whether or not he embodies them, these become cultural standards of The People, as opposed to the values of those Others around us. Have these gifts become personal and corporate standards in OUR lives as well?

Paul tries to ascertain these values in the Letter to the ROMANS 8:26-39, especially the latter verses: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” This doesn’t stop the bad stuff from happening–but it does affirm God’s concern and presence in even the trivialities of daily life. God knows who we are!

We continue to explore the parables of Jesus as set forth in MATTHEW 13:31 ff. He speaks of the prevalence of even tiny sparks–mustard seed, leaven–in the growth of everything including bushes and loaves of bread. “Remember that the mighty oak was once a nut like you!” Most of the world’s belief-systems worship the great and the glamorous, but not ours. We can affirm that our God inhabits the tiny –even a newborn baby–and oversees development in the ongoing Creation around us. Where will the treasure once buried in us come to light?

“O let me ne’er forget that though the wrong is oft so strong, God is the ruler yet….This is my Father’s world! [God] shines in all that’s fair; in the rustling grass I hear {God} pass; [God] speaks to me everywhere.” –Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we wrestle with Holy Writ; you’re invited to join in at horacebrownking.com

I got it from my mother. This tendency to anticipate the Bad Things happening even in the best of times. Her family said that “she could find a cloud for every silver lining”. The people I hang out with tell me that I, too, am a cynic. (Maybe that’s why not many people will hang out with me.) Texts to be heard this weekend are pretty vague, but the thread running through them is that God’s In Charge, no matter what!

We begin with the prophet ISAIAH of Babylon, 44:6-8. Here is a present God telling them/us, “Do not fear, or be afraid…” Well, why not? They’re in a foreign pagan country, their Temple and all the culture it stood for has been trashed. Can this nation, “broken beyond recognition be born again?” (Heather Murray Elkins, FEASTING on the WORD, A 3:243) Evidently the Right will prevail, as we wait out the fulfilment of God’s Creation. Thank heaven for stories Old & New of restoration, all in God’s time.

Paul’s Letter to the ROMANS, 8:12-25, is filled with ideas of the New Creation. “Children of God” will not inherit the trite and the tawdry, but the perfection which lies ahead. We don’t yet know what this looks like: “For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we [should] wait for it with patience.” What we see is NOT what we get! This frees us, then, to be the alternative to the weedy society which continues to churn out headlines of death & destruction. If I live in the hope of a New World coming, I can dare the slings & arrows of misfortune. Our present age is one in which the Church can and should protest the prevailing culture’s destructive ways of militarism and the worship of money!

You probably remember Jesus’ story (MATTHEW 13:24-30) about the fella who planted premium seed in his field, but then in the night some creep sowed weeds there, too? The hired men wanted to pull them out right away, but the owner told them to wait until maturity, because if they acted now, some of the good plants would also be destroyed. The analogy recognizes the earthly concerns plaguing the field which God called “good”. My horn-playing friend has the proper sticker on her instrument case: “Spit Happens”. Do we hafta like it? No, but we can live with it until harvest. In the meantime, what’s our role as agents of change?

In front of our garage is a large urn, in which we’ve grown all sorts of stuff: squash, cherry tomatoes… Last year I planted petunias there, which made a nice purple greeting as we came up the drive. Somehow at least four of these plants wintered over, surprising us. Now the plants are blooming; but there’s a not-a-petunia there too! I decided to let it grow, expecting a nice bloom of Something. As of this morning it’s almost three feet tall–and not a sign of flowering. If I pull it up it’ll wreck the petunias. I guess it’s there until frost.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we look at scriptures to be read on the upcoming weekend; come join us at horacebrownking.com

This has been a spectacular year for flowers! The lupines, chives and roses were full to overflowing. And now we have tiger lilies, hostas and lambs’ ear. Hollyhocks, daisies and phlox. Gold flowers that I don’t know what they are and light yellow flowers on a long stem. And look at the cone-flowers! Some of these have been planted, but a few were here when we arrived. Birds have contributed some seed as well. So this weekend we’re gonna talk about seeds, those little bits of life which turn into beautiful and useful plants.

ISAIAH of Babylon concludes his optimistic oracles (55:10-13) and speaks of the seed-bearing word of life which God sends to accomplish God’s purpose: “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle.” Evidently quality was designed into everything, and God’s intention is to polish Creation. In the midst of exile, Isaiah dares to speak about healing the broken culture of Israel and announces the refinement of Nature. God’s holy-history is worth preserving, especially as it includes God’s holy VISION.

In ROMANS 8:1-11, Paul acknowledges the thorns. Still, “there is no condemnation (blame/guilt) for those who are in Christ…” Even if some ground is tainted or neglected, the holy Word/logos is generously given to all through the loving intercession of the Christ. As we believe this, our strength is subsumed into a strength beyond our own. Thorns can be overcome, not by our own endeavor, but only through Christ. Only then can we be blame-free to live life in the joy which is intended. How does YOUR garden grow?

MATTHEW 13:1-9 is yet another of Jesus’ nature parables. He pictures a sower broadcasting vital seeds to all, near & far–but some fall on rocky ground, others on thin soil, and others among the thorns which grow up and check their growth. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.” I dunno about you, but this surely describes ME. The sower could be an abundant and generous God who hopes for the best from God’s creative word. OR the sower could be any of us, faithfully living out the seeds of the good word even if the arena is less than receptive.

There are thorns. Oh boy, are there ever! Even when we chop ’em down and burn them, their roots are still there–and when we least expect it, bad habits prevail… But the heavenly sower keeps coming back, year after year, to anoint every acre with holy possibility. Thanks be to God!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we examine (and are examined by) texts to be read on the upcoming weekend. Come join us at horacebrownking.com

We’re all slaves to something: addictions, attitudes, prejudices. Vulgar habits. Profanity. Scriptures to be read on the upcoming weekend acknowledge these imperfections and urge the hearer to adopt better choices through the graces of Christ. These are not pleasant to hear, but are important first steps in the healing process. Who am I, really?

ZECHARIAH 9:9-12 is probably an oracle given to the returned Exiles from Babylon as they are trying to reconstruct not only the Temple in Jerusalem but their own culture and holy journey. The prophet told them to expect a Righteous and Humble King–the Messiah?–who would preside over world peace and command justice. “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I [YHWH] declare that I will restore to you double.” Prisoners of Hope are those who dare to believe that a more perfect society is not only possible but on the way.

St. Paul writes very personally to the ROMANS (7:15-25) about his own struggles with “being good”: “when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand”. The more I repress my libido, the stronger it becomes! This dual identity shows me that I can’t succeed ethically through sheer determination. I’m somewhat gladdened that Paul considered himself sinful even after his conversion, recognizing that the battle still goes on. Sin is more than breaking a rule, it is a neglect of our relationship with God. “If Paul’s bad news is that the self is trapped and cannot rescue itself, Paul’s GOOD news is that God intervenes to rescue the self through Jesus.” Harold E. Masback III, in FEASTING on the WORD, A 3:211)

Redemption comes in diverse disguises, rarely what we expect. Jesus’ commentary in MATTHEW 11:17, 28-30 notes that “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” Are there reasons for dancing, in contemporary society? Are there reasons to mourn? The civic expressions of sin are all around us, in the headlines and in social media; we grumble that we can’t do anything about it, yet we fall prey to our own needs for “success” and material show. Thank God that he sent one who says to “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Being yoked to Christ does not obliterate our deep propensity to sin. But it does provide a way out, and escape from the “waterless pit”. “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Each Tuesday we explore here the lessons to be read on the upcoming weekend; please join in at horacebrownking.com