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When you think about it, the entire Biblical story is one of God’s grace amidst impossible situations. So lessons to be heard on the upcoming weekend are all about incredible intercessions and a Presence which can be acknowledged by all of us. People in the pews may have heard these stories before–or maybe not!–and they should remind the hearers of their own spiritual journeys and revelations.

The Book of ESTHER, of which we’ll explore several verses in chapters 7 & 9, may or not be an account of an actual happening. But that doesn’t matter: the story addresses the reclamation of the Diaspora Jews through God’s empowerment of Queen Esther and the receptivity of King Ahazueras. Here again is a tale of God’s rescuing and restoring YHWHs People, of Divine Justice and a care for the community. We think of Mary’s Magnificat, centuries later, where “God has stretched out [a] mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans…” (Luke 2:51)

JAMES 5:13-20 is good advice despite its lack of Christology: whenever things get tough, PRAY. “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” (v.16) A word of caution: the pray-er may not get all that he or she requests, and it’s too easy to assume that the afflicted one “didn’t pray hard enough”. This all is cast within the understanding of the Church community: confession to one another, a gathering of elders, the restoration of those who may have wandered off…

The Gospel of MARK isn’t designed as a narrative, although we see a timeline of Jesus’ ministry and teachings unfold here. In 9:38-50 we find more references to the Business of Gathered Disciples: acceptance of others, the purging of the un-Godly in order to remain pure (Mark WAS Jewish), and the living in peace with one another. How much can we give up our own standards and keep our Christian identity? Some groups have isolated themselves from the Rest of the World–but that seems not to work. As the Disciples followed Jesus to Jerusalem, there were many decisions to be made.

These are not comfortable passages for the Church: contemporary Christians are urged to make these decisions on a daily basis. Yet the questions which may arise tend to stretch our ideas into further realms of witness. Ancient and more modern stories illuminate the journey of the Church, and serve to remind us that it’s not an easy path.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join in the discussion every Tuesday at horacebrownking.com, as we examine–and are examined by–scriptural passages to be shared on the upcoming weekend.

There seems to be no particular silver thread to connect these lectionary passages. But hearers are encouraged to picture the unfolding Church in these three encounters, for they seem counter-cultural and not at all what the Wisdom of Earth demands.

PROVERBS 3:10-31/The Bride of Christ. It’s pretty hard to hear these patriarchal words without flinching. But remember that they come from an era where Women were less than nothing, so they reflect an “enlightened” view of the role of Women. Sorta. The only way I can account for them is to let the Wonder Woman described be an allegory for the Wife of God. Please, ladies, don’t fear that you’ve fallen short; your husband still loves you, so does God.

JAMES 3:13-4:8/The Good Community. Although God is barely mentioned here, the inference of the Greater Epistle is that of encouraging the listener to live a Godly life, showing acts of kindness and righteousness. Here is a comparison of the selfish to the generous, the proud to the humble. “In choosing to draw near to God, we are throwing off the power that earthly wisdom has over us.” (Kathy L. Dawson, FEASTING on the WORD, B 4:90) Does our Church community show this kind of impartiality? Do we subjugate our own accomplishments to the good of the whole?

MARK 9:30-37/The Kingdom of the Uncluttered. A rather humorous story about the Disciples bickering on the way back home about “who was the greatest”. Jesus pretended not to hear this ’til they were settled, then said, “Whoever wants to be first must be last and servant of all”. (‘Cept the line for the pot-luck supper…) Then he showed them a child, naive and simple, and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me”.

Mark Douglas reminds us that “the forces of darkness are no threat to those who see with heavenly wisdom….the conflicts we face are those that come from within us–from disordered and conflicting desires that, when they come into contact with the disordered desires of others, lead to disputes and conflicts.” (ibid. p.88) Again, then, what the System honors and to which it defers is wholly different from the culture of Christ.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

You’re invited to pass this “Wisdom” on to a friend–and join us every Tuesday to be confronted by Lessons to be read on the upcoming weekend: at horacebrownking.com

I can still hear my Mother say, as I prepared to mow the lawn in my flip-flops, “Don’t come running to ME when you cut your foot off!” Scriptures to be heard this weekend are meant to remind the worshipper of the Wisdom of GOD, as opposed to the Smart Money here on earth. Through each of them, we’ll hear that God is ‘way more mighty than the incomplete knowledge presented by The System.

The Book of PROVERBS gives itself over to wise sayings, and a presentation of Wisdom in all Holiness. Verses 1:20-33 speak of God’s willingness to enlighten the People; and of a petulant parent-figure who says, “I told you so!” “I will make my words known to you….[but] because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity…” Bishop Kenneth Carter opines, “The church is but one voice among many, clamoring for the attention of the marketplace.” (FEASTING on the WORD, B 4:50) The neglect of Wisdom is ultimately the neglect of God.

JAMES 3:1-12 has no Christology, only the author’s observations. He compares the tongue to a ship’s rudder, a small piece controlling the entire boat. The words we say can cause a great conflagration: “It only takes a spark to start a fire going”. If we’re followers of the Holy, we’ll watch our tongues! Inherent in the reading is the idea that as we believe, so should we speak.

The Gospel according to MARK, 8:27-38, has Jesus asking the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter speaks of the Christ, and almost immediately denies the humanity of Jesus. Jesus rebukes all who would set Incarnation on the shelf, identifying them with the Tempter. Then he calls EVERYbody to hear that God wants to be God, that the followers of Jesus have to do away with their egos and accept whatever “cross” is laid on them… Denial is more than giving up peanut butter in Lent: it’s adopting a new priority, a new perspective on who we are and who Jesus is.

Charles Wesley: “Sinners turn, why will you die? God, your Maker, asks you why….Noblest of {God’s} creatures, why, why will you forever die?” What makes us “sinners” is that we’ve been lured into the wisdom of the System instead of hearing what GOD has to say!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we explore scriptural texts which are designed to carry the worship of the upcoming weekend. Come join us at horacebrownking.com

So says The System. Work! Sweat! Keep your nose to the grindstone, your shoulder to the wheel! And then you’ll be rich! And if you’re not, then you must have done something wrong. Or else God just doesn’t like you. Texts to be heard this weekend challenge us to change our stance toword the Work Ethic, reminding us that God loves rich and poor alike.

Selected verses from PROVERBS 22 tend to bend the point to our counter-cultural direction. But Vicki of Nashville has included v.22, “Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate.” The purpose of these proverbs is to guide the hearer into a wise and ethical community. The prevailing social view is that the Poor–or anyone not fitting the conventional mark–is a Loser. Bullies usually pick on the smallest, most vulnerabled kid on the playground. Yet all are created in the image of God, and deserve their place within the community.

The Epistle of JAMES (2:1-17) continues to ask the embarassing question, “Do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” Through the generations the System has told us, “Cultivate those that have power, befriend the well-to-do”. But there’s no place for favoritism within the House of God! How then shall we stitch the outcasts of The System into the Living Church?

The stories told by MARK in 7:24-37 serve to be models of our own discipleship. Here was Jesus, in an alien culture, being asked by throw-away Gentiles for healing. If nothing else, these picture an expansion of the Chritstly mission to disregard the borders someone drew: in national territories, in proper expressions of tradition, in self-indulgent views of the rich and those poor… These also speak of the community formed by expectation–the mother interceding for the daughter, the crowd interceding for the deaf & speechless man. As Jesus ministered to these “least” ones, how can we not minister to the needy nearby?

When I got my doctorate, one of my pals sent me a congratulatory card which read, “If you’re so smart, why aint ya rich?” The System will raise its viscious head until the Last Day (see Revelation). True faith is demonstrated through our acts of mercy and welcome; again we’re asked to Walk the Walk.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we delve into the core of Biblical readings to be heard in worship on the upcoming weekend; please join us at horacebrownking.com