Images of the Church

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