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Back in 1967, the guys in the house where I lived all decided to write music for our impending weddings. My piece, “Arise, My Love” turned out quite well, I think. At any rate, the text lives on; as do the other exhortions we read today in preparation for the upcoming weekend services. These indicate a matter of priorities: what really means something in our daily lives.

Some commentators will say that SONG OF SONGS 2:8-13 is to describe the mystical relationship of God with the Church. Well, maybe. But I opt for the face-value song of appreciation between a lover and his lass which celebrates the earthly infatuation of very human youth! The winter has indeed been long and icy–but now the rains are over and gone! “God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world!” Your congregation is invited to dance with God in joy for the proliferation of young lovers…

JAMES wrote his letter to the Greek-speaking new Christians in Asia Minor; and here in 1:17-27 he plunges right into the core of his message: “But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act–they will be blessed in their doing.” Again, a matter of priorities. Evidently some of these folks thought that saying Christian words would be enough, that it didn’t matter what they did. The One who rejoices over human love continues to rejoice when this love is expanded to all Creation, both in personal morality and social justice.

Some of the old rules had their purpose, others were merely poses. MARK 7 elaborates on this with the confrontation of Jesus and the Good People about eating restrictions: the disciples of Jesus didn’t wash their hands correctly before eating! Oh, come on! Jesus went on to say that whatever goes into the body through the mouth is mere nutrition, however you see it–but what comes OUT of the body (usually through the mouth) is harmful to the person AND society: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, slander, pride, folly…. So what do YOU discard? Better, so what will you embrace?

At the weddings I’ve officiated, I often tell the groom, “Well, now your troubles are at an end!” But I never told him WHICH end… Still, God celebrates Young Lovers and those who choose to Be Doers and those who know that holiness is more than the proper rituals! We’re told to get our priorities straight.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Several of you have made my day by telling others about our weekly examination of and by Scripture to be heard on the upcoming weekend! All are invited to horacebrownking.com every Tuesday.

We’re a strange people, aren’t we? Especially when we know better! Scriptures to be heard on the upcoming weekend will hopefully remind those who hear that we still run after alien gods, whether we call them by ancient names or more contemporary ones: trust in military might, the newest vehicles/razors/broadband services, the supremacy of an athletic team, or the wonders of artificial intelligence. (You can insert your own personal god right here.) A prophet is one empowered by the Real God to speak against idolatry by whatever name it bears. Do we need more prophets?

In JOSHUA 24, we see that the habiru/desert wanderers have arrived at the Promised Land. Joshua has called the leaders of the tribes, and exhorts them to be loyal to YHWH. There’s a critical choice to be made between the local gods “of the ancestors” or the God who has led them through the wilderness with many signs and intercessions. Joshua encourages the People to embrace the Laws & Command-ments and not give in to the temptations of compromising their relationship with the True God by running after things that can tarnish with time.

The key verse in EPHESIANS 6:10-20 seems to be “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities (see Titus 3:1), against the cosmic powers of this present darkness….” Paul counsels that we are to stand firm and not go with the flow. Does your congregation take this seriously, or is the bottom line the measure of “success”?

We’ve been exploring in the Gospel of JOHN the seemingly shocking speeches of Jesus about the consumption of his body and blood. Many of his followers said, “This is too much” and ran away. In 6:67 we read Jesus’ question, “Do you ALSO wish to go away?” Notice that he’s not speaking just to those disciples, but to present ones as well. You and me. Peter forms the Church as he replies, “We have come to believe and know that YOU are the Holy One of God.” More than “spirituality”, our life in Christ demands that we go with him beyond our comfort zone.

Susan Henry-Crowe gives us some demaning questions (FEASTING on the WORD, B 3:366): “What are the names of the ancestral gods still worshiped in his or her own congregation? What benefits have these gods provided in the past? What losses may result from deserting them for the One God who promises relationship instead of rewards?” Living the God-like life is hard.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we examine–and are likewise examined by–the Scriptures to be heard on the upcoming weekend. Please join us!

When I was in Eighth Grade, the pals I hung out with were derisively called the Wise Guys, especially by male faculty members. We always had a smart answer for our shenanigans. Scriptures to be read during worship on the upcoming weekend remind us that in God’s eyes, we’re not always that smart. Real Wisdom is a gift from God, and often (usually?) runs counter to the wisdom of The System.

PROVERBS 9:1-6 “introduces” Wisdom as the feminine side of Creation; she calls those who will hear to “lay aside immaturity and live, and walk in the way of insight”. Wisdom goes beyond obeying the rules to accepting a divine relationship with a God who has generously created Life. Our ethics have turned upside down, and if we care to wait out the dark times, the Light will eventually win out. Well, THERE’s hope! Do we pursue the path of Wisdom, or do we squander our dreams on that which does not satisfy? Please note that Dame Wisdom freely offers bread and wine, the Nourishment of Eternity.

EPHESIANS 5:15-20 speaks to our need to live as wise people, acknowledging God’s Presence at all times. “The mark of the wise, according to this passage, is using time wisely, and using it to change the world.” (Paul V. Marshall, in FEASTING on the WORD, B 3:350) The Christ-follower is to put themself where the Wisdom is, abstaining from that which dulls the senses, and giving thanks for all that is, certain that God is there.

Many have skipped over the Gospel of JOHN 6:51-58, where Jesus announces that to eat his body and drink his blood is the fulfillment of Godliness. Many cringe when they realize that he means it: consumption is allowing each bit to flow through the circulation into the smallest of capillaries. Luther maintains that the emphasis should be on “MY”, instead of concentrating on “FLESH” and “BLOOD”. All of us “consume” something, sometimes the evils of The System. Real salvation is about attending to God’s Presence by not selling out to the impotent forces that surround us.

So the Wise are those men & women who proclaim that the Word has moved into our backyard and must be acknowledged. They commit to a life never quite in-sync with the common values, to a life on the fringes of The System, and of self-giving to the destitute and loveless.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we’ll explore the lessons to be read during worship on the upcoming weekend, at horacebrownking.com

Sometimes, not often, I recognize that the commentators I follow have said better things than I can with my limited language. This week, I’ve decided to let them speak for themselves; I’m reading the Common Lectionary from FEASTING on the WORD, Proper 14 in Year B, pages in Volume 3 of 314 through 337.

I KINGS 19:4-8 (Susan E. Vande Kappelle, once pastor of 4th Presbyterian, Washington PA) “Elijah is a faithful servant of the living God. In the prophetic office, Elijah has known the Lord’s provision in drought and famine….Even without blatant personal sin, Elijah sees no good in his life….He assumes that he can be of no further service to the Lord….Feeling the hopelessness of his situation, Elijah flees into the wilderness and seeks an end to his life….In every situation God makes redemption possible….God breaks the power of evil and offers new life….In response to an individual who has lost hope and direction for life and who has a poor sense of self-worth, God acts with compassion….The redemption of Elijah takes time. It requires compassionate nurture and the recovery of Elijah’s sense of his value to God….Elijah’s worth is found in God’s love for him and in the call of God upon his life….Human worth does not depend upon living a sinless life. It is the concrete love of God that provides humans with self-worth and meaning for life.”

EPHESIANS 4:25-5:2 (G. Porter Taylor, Episcopal Bishop of Western North Carolina, Asheville NC) “The new believers are to ‘put off’ or ‘strip away’ the old self so that God can give them the new….Because we are reborn, the habits of the old self have no dominion over us….Therefore, the works described by Paul are not merit badges set out for us to achieve. Rather, they are marks of the new life given to us in baptism….Paul is calling for the new Christians to remember who they now are in Christ and to focus on the way to life, instead of turning back to the ways of death….God gives us the capacity to turn around as well as to refrain from turning back….Paul is calling for these early Christians not merely to worship God in Christ, but through the Holy Spirit to imitate Christ in their own behavior…”

JOHN 6:41-51 (Will Willimon, Bishop of the United Methodist Church and resident scholar at Duke University) “As modern scientific people, we have learned so much about everything we can taste, and touch, and feel. In the process, the world got demystified, explained, unbearably flattened and figured out. We therefore long to peek behind the veil, to penetrate the less obvious….What the Bible names in places as ‘idolatry’ could also be called attempts to seek sustenance in places other than with Jesus, who says he is the bread of life….Whatever we need in order to comprehend Jesus must come as a gift, insight not of our own devising.”

Egad, what a lot of words! I pray that they’ll direct your life as they do mine.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Join us next Tuesday to explore Scripture passages to be read during worship on the upcoming weekend.