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The common theme in Lent seems to be contrasting The Light with so many signs of prevailing darkness. Most of us are groaning as we read the headlines and watch Rachel Maddow. Is there no perfection, no Balm in Gilead? Lections to be read this upcoming weekend are affirming the ongoing powers of God–if then, why not now? What stance should the Christians adopt as they realize that they’re just not fitting in? Do we “go along to get along”?

The Old Testament reading is from I SAMUEL 16:1-13, the humorous anointing of David to be king succeeding Saul. You may remember that Samuel wanted to appraise all of Jesse’s sons, but none fit the mold God desired. “Oh, yeah, I do have another son; but he’s out with the sheep, and besides, he’s only a little kid.” So David, the Ultimate King, was introduced as being a good shepherd, just what Israel needed. No longer would they stumble in the dark.

And so we attend to EPHESIANS 5:8-14: “For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord, you are light.” Not “were IN”, but the disciple IS darkness or light! Sorta like the old TV Westerns, where the good guys always wore white hats. How can our small posse hold back the juggernaut of complacency and the Devil of the Noonday Sun? I don’t know about you, but I can say truthfully that I’m pretty tired of the battle–I really need to hear these words again. And again. Seems that in Christ, we can apprehend “what is pleasing to the Lord”. For both activist and pew-sitter, our effort for Light reflects that in Christ, we are “woke” from our comfortable drowsiness.

JOHN 9:1-41 is the really well-told story of Jesus healing the man born blind by anointing his eyes with mud made from holy spittle (?) and the dirt of humility (humus). Although this blind man’s ancestors were created perfect, something–genetic, not ethically!–happened to contort light into darkness. Just as God once knelt in the dirt to create humans from Holy Mud, so Jesus completes this work with his timely ministry of anointing. Appearing only in this Gospel, this account may be an edited narrative about how God desires the People to come from Darkness into Light. Unsupported by his community, the local religious system AND his parents, the afflicted man turns to Jesus alone for wholeness. The Pharisees don’t like this, because it makes Jesus the hero and not them! The story appears to announce Jesus as the sole healer and source of seeing clearly.

So many idols control our present systems: militarism, consumerism, ego-centric charities and chicanery in banks… We’re bombarded by Evil in so many forms! “It’s better to light one little candle than to stumble in the dark.”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

We’re comforted and challenged by the Scripture assigned to the upcoming weekend–join us every Tuesday as we begin to explore it at horacebrownking.com

You can go for many days without food, but your body needs to be hydrated–that is, to drink water. Much of the world’s population is spiritually dry; readings to be heard on the upcoming weekend address this lack of fluid, whether it be a personal faith-crisis or perhaps just ignorance of the availability of Living Water.

EXODUS 17:1-7 recalls the thirst of the desert wanderers under Moses. The people cursed Moses for bringing them out of fertile(?) Egypt into the desert: they were thirsty. But God told Moses to strike the rock of Mt. Horeb with his staff, and sure enough, water poured out! This was before the rag-tag group became the Covenant People; they were still wandering about, trying to discern who they were. The people in the pews hearing this story may well project it onto themselves: “Where in this rocky place will we ever discover Living Water?” Only by God’s intercession, I guess.

The Epistle lesson is from ROMANS 5:1-11. The verse that springs out at me is number 5, “…because love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Here again is a reference to the Living Water which God provides, in the image of the Holy Spirit as a hose or channel pouring, not sprinkling, spiritual graces directly into our hearts/bodily centers. “This generosity of God is worth holding up and affirming…..We need to have it poured. We need to drink it in, freely, eagerly, over and over again in order for our lives to move” from suffering to fulfilling hope. (Laird J. Stuart, in FEASTING on the WORD, A 2:90)

You probably know the story of the Woman at the Well, JOHN 4:5-19. Jesus & Company had stopped at Jacob’s Well in Samaria, near Mt. Gerazim. While the group went on into town to buy lunch, Jesus remained at the well, where he was accosted by a local woman. “Give me a drink,” he asked her–a highly unusual experience for a single man to address a woman, especially. a Samaritan. In the ensuing dialogue, Jesus told the woman that if she’d asked HIM, he would’ve given her some Living Water. He said that through him, Living Water would “become in [them] a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John tells a good story, this one like so many involving the hearer in knowing the holiness of Jesus. The woman, of course, was converted–and asked to receive the Living Water always…

These occasions can be mere Biblical trivia–unless the hearers in the pews try to put themselves into the picture. Be as it may, the reading of such texts will provide a gulp of freshness to those struggling in their own deserts.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come join me every Tuesday as we’re confronted by Scriptural lections assigned to the upcoming weekend: at horacebrownking.com.

There’s a marvelous song in PAINT YOUR WAGON: “Where’re ya going?” “I don’t know” “When will you get there?” “I ain’t certain–all that I know is I am on my way.” Scriptures read this weekend celebrate that we’re always in a Divine Process, that we’re never parked for any period as long as God has Creation to do. We also note that we constantly stand in a tension between the Good and Not So Good; not just an ethical behavior, but an acknowledgment that we believe that God is really leading us to a Holy Place.

In GENESIS 12:1-4a we read about the sending of Abram from the city of Haran in Mesopotamia to an unknown place. There he was to illuminate YHWH and call the people there into a God-formed community. “Haran” could be translated as “the crossroad” from whence Abram was sent–and isn’t this an allegory for our lives as well? We’re at an important intersection where we have no map except going forth in faith that God has an idea for us. So Abram hitched up his ox-cart, and put a bumper sticker on the back: “Don’t follow me, I’m lost too!” The call of God always leads us to a more perfect idea of who we are, and what is already unfolding.

St. Paul talks about the human side of the law in ROMANS 4:15,, 13-17, “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” Please note that Abraham’s blessing of inheritance wasn’t conditioned by his living right, but only because God saw in him a receptive vessel that could hold rivers of unmerited grace! Abraham’s faith, not the law, was the catalyst for demonstrating God’s Love and attendant blessing.

The Gospel reading is one we know well–or do we? JOHN 3:1-17 is used ad nauseum to bludgeon the non-Christian into conformity with Creation. It’s the conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus, who came and left in the dark, not yet understanding the mystery of the Light. But Nicodemus himself admitted that he was at a crossroads too, and realized (Abram-like) that salvation was a matter of accepting God as God was! Nor did Nicodemus have a map for the journey, as we watch his Christ-life unfold later. Are there those around us who’re fearful of coming out of the shadows? “To be born from above by water and the Spirit, to believe in Jesus, is to leave darkness and to come into the light.”–George W. Stroup, in FEASTING on the WORD

I find that there are always interesting cross-streets to lure me into more comfortable places. Will I stay the course all the way to the place God has promised?

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we explore Holy Places through the scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend. Come join us at horacebrownking.com

Not to disparage our grandma’s generation, but the stories about temptation really don’t have to do with sex! Readings presented this weekend address our proclivity to try to assume God’s role. These aren’t even ethical issues, but ones of our theology: who are we? and who is God? Spoiler: two of these stories talk about snakes–or at least about the powers of Evil (Satan?) that assail each of us daily. My maxim holds–“the only good snake is a DEAD snake!”

We begin with the latter parts of the Creation story, found in GENESIS 2:15-17 and 3:1-7. You’ve probably heard the story of Adam & Eve & the serpent in the Garden of Eden; unfortunately, many tellings leave us with the idea that Original Sin (whatever that is) came from eating the fruit of Knowledge of Good & Evil, thus bringing death & condemnation to all (“boo, Adam!”). One good translation of “you shall die” reads “you shall KNOW death”. And so we worry about it. Human purpose, then, isn’t to worry about life & death stuff, but to faithfully care for Creation. The Serpent told First Humans that they could do God’s work by deciding “right” from “wrong”, certainly an ongoing temptation to every generation. Lent is a season for recognizing that each of us is distracted by our own attempts at glory.

Paul’s Letter to the ROMANS (5:12-19) attempts to contrast Jesus and Adam, Grace and Temptation. He admits that “death exercised dominion” through our preoccupation with it, allowing it to shade our lives/actions with fear. The study -leader does well to survey our own angst about dying in order to set the stage for the Christian appearance. Lift up the idea that in Christ is an assurance of moving beyond death into life!

The First Weekend in Lent wouldn’t be complete without the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert (MATTHEW 4:1-11). Here comes that snake, again, with ideas about how Jesus could be in charge of everything in lieu of his Father. He spoke of relevance: turn stones into bread, feed yourself and the whole world; of being spectacular, jumping from the roof of the Temple, which would show the people his invincibility; and of being powerful, being able to direct all the nations of the world and enjoy their riches. Well, sounds good! What would YOU do if you won the big lottery? or were The Grand Marshall? or had super-powers? To what extent will Jesus trust God to be God, that is, to have all these things under control? “Now that you’ve been recently baptized, what will you do? What signs will you give us?”

The Season of Lent begins with a puzzle which tends to keep with us until the resolution of Easter. These readings are part of the contemporary story, and not just interesting incidents of Long Ago.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we’ll explore together the lections assigned to the upcoming weekend. Come along at horacebrownking.com

“Who has not known moments of surprised illumination when, through some outwardly ordinary act, episode or fragment of conversation, someone we thought we knew fairly well is suddenly revealed in a completely new light.” (Douglas John Hall. in FEASTING on the WORD< A 1:452) This Sunday, Transfiguration in most traditions, is the time for recalling all the epiphanies of the current Season–“Epiphany” can be known as “AHA!” Where has God surprised you? has that colored your life? Scripture lessons read this weekend look at such a surprise as being a strength for the Journey: the People of Israel about to undertake a 40-year community-building exercise in the Wilderness; Jesus & Co. on the Way to the Cross, with all that means; even “Peter” getting ready to preside over a world-wide group which has suddenly morphed from a regional holiness-movement…

EXODUS 24:12-18 tells the story of Moses summoned before God on Mt.Sinai. We have few details about this 40-day experience (sound familiar, Noah? 40 is TWICE what you can count on your fingers and toes), but lots of things changed. The People. Certainly Moses himself. And the Law became the driving marker of the new community of desert-dwellers (habiru). Please note that this epiphany, as in all epiphanies, is for the benefit of the Greater Community. Wherever God surprises God’s agents should be seen as a message for ALL.

2 PETER 1:16-21 may be seen as the last writing to be encapsulated in our currently accepted Scriptures. Attempting to restore some holiness to the ongoing fuss of “Who was Paul?”, the author recalls the reader to the Old Story of Transfiguration, claiming that he was part of it. And aren’t we all? The “lamp shining in a dark place” involves us as actual participants in the enlightening work of Christ and his Church. Through the years we’ve maintained this lamp in different ways–yet it continues to be a beacon to an incredible world.

The Gospel is MATTHEW 17:1-9, the story of Peter, John & James going with Jesus up the peak of the mountain, there to be met with the Spirits of Moses & Elijah, the Law & the Prophets. This, of course, legitimizes Jesus as a part of the team. It energizes the disciples–and through them, the Church–with an overview of a still-radiant Presence despite the machinations of the System. Given the sharp contrast between the Glory of the Kingdom and the shadows of the System’s “dark places” often puzzles us to a point of paralysis. But we’ll never be the same…

Hall, again, (ibid. 454)–“Epiphanies are rarely confined to the moments of their alleged occurrence; indeed, their character as extraordinary experiences of illumination may always, or usually, require significant lapses of time for contemplation.” So think about how God has surprised you: may holy light shine upon you!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday you’re invited to join me at horacebrownkingcom to explore (and be explored by) Lessons designated to be heard on the upcoming weekend.

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,/ and sorry I could not travel both/ and be one traveler, long I stood/and peered down one as far as I could/ until it bent in the undergrowth.” (Robert Frost) Scriptures to be read during the upcoming weekend are all about alternatives–each hearer is urged to examine the possibilities, and ultimately choose The System’s way or God’s way. Usually these are difficult: God helps us, but it often demands a life-style change…

Moses addresses his People on the edge of the Promised Land: they’ve spent 40 years crossing the desert in order to become a nation under God, and now at last they’re ready to cross the Jordan. DEUTERONOMY 30:15-20–“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, [or] death and adversity….Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” Some of those folks were like little kids, chomping at the bit to be FREE! Moses tried to tell them and us that there’re still responsibilities to God WHEREVER they/we are. As independent people, we often boast of our Freedom of Choice; well, yes, but there are consequences to our actions. We’ve chosen Death when we settle for that which is inferior. But God wants us to choose actions and thoughts which lead to Life.

Irenaeus is reported to have said, “The Church has been planted in the world as a paradise.” It’s sometimes difficult to see the Church as a Perfect Place, where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are all sunny all day. Yet Paul reminds the CORINTHIANS (I 3:1-9) that only GOD is in charge, that he and Apollos are but gardeners: one plants, another waters, but only God gives the growth. These congregations and ours need to see issues of justice and exploitation resolved. Care for the hurting, share food with the hungry. Love kindness and walk with God.

The Sermon on the Mount continues in MATTHEW 5:21-37. There are seven instances where Jesus says, “You have heard it said…but I say to you…” Unless we live on Flyspeck Island, we’re pretty familiar with how the system works. But here, Jesus demands that we do even MORE than required: to excell, and not to just get by. More (difficult) alternatives! We’re told to get right with our brother or sister, to excise those items which would keep us from the Kingdom; to stay committed to others, and to tell the truth without outside references. The Good News is that God is willing and eager to help us do this! The passage exhorts Jesus’ followers then and now to celebrate those others in the world, and to keep open the lines of communication,

Life is full of choices. We often relate to Tevye, in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF:…”but on the OTHER hand…” In all of the flux, we have a God that saves us from ourselves. “And that,” says Frost, “makes all the difference.”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join us every Tuesday to be examined by the Scripture passages assigned to the upcoming weekend–at horacebrownking.com

Granddaughter Sam and fiance Doug have an interesting wall hanging. This is a picture of the Earth taken from space, with blue background, black country lines and a shiny gold trim where the lights shine and the people are. Lots of lights for metropolitan areas, especially Bosnywash; even Binghamton has its share of lights. But the deeper meaning for me is that there are immense sections of the world without any lights at all! Scripture texts to be read this weekend remind the hearer that there are many dark places and that the community of Christ–the Church–is entrusted with lighting them.

ISAIAH 58:1-12 is God’s remonstrance to a yet unrealized People: “If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, THEN your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday…” You may remember that First Isaiah (Isaiah of Jerusalem, chapters 1-39) spoke words of encouragement to those preparing for Exile; and that Second Isaiah (Isaiah of Babylon, chapters 40-55) gave hope to those returning from Exile–and now “Third Isaiah” (c.550?, chapters 54-66) portrays YHWH as being disappointed that this restored group is too self-centered to be a Holy Community. “…as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God…”! There’s an un-holy gap here between “Belief” and “Practice”. Is worship an individual matter, or are we strengthed by the community in mission?

I CORINTHIANS 2:1-12 is pretty heavy: Paul is telling the Church there that what we do TOGETHER is what really matters. The Apostle says that his entrance there was not an exercise in heavenly wisdom but “a demonstration of the Spirit”; that is, he tried to put his money where his mouth was, to “walk the walk and not just talk the talk”. Part of the point is that God’s Wisdom is an alternative to worldly sense as we are tempted to practice it. The diverse Corinthian congregations struggled as we do to understand mission as a corporate function.

MATTHEW 5:13-20 continues with the Sermon on the Mount, which addresses two fundamental questions: Who are we? and What are we to do? Here is presented the famous “You are the light of the world”. But being this Light is only preparatory to SHARING this Light! Jesus is calling those who would follow him into a stature of righteousness, that is Justice & Mercy. He’s attempting to form a community based on the reality of the Law & the Prophets–but as God would see this reality, better than human nearsightedness would have it. The Light of which we speak is that which illumines even the dark corners and presents the monsters that live there as what they really are.

Charles James Cook writes in FEASTING on the WORD (A 1:336), “In order for the light to be seen, we must be willing to go where the darkness exists.” East side? West side? All around the town?

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday the lectionary scriptures for the upcoming weekend are lifted up here: come join us at horacebrownking.com

Many years ago, a newlywed couple went shopping for Christmas decorations. In a big-box store they found an angel for the tree. She was the only one left, and the price was greatly reduced. Shop-worn, her rubber face was grimy & stained. Her green hair was an absolute mess. Did we buy her? You bet! For years & years she sat on our annual Yule tree, reminding all & sundry that there’s a place even for the Angel With a Dirty Face. Scriptures to be read this weekend bear out this allegory: we who are hopeful yet tarnished hear yet again a holy message of redemption, inviting us to God’s Kingdom even though we may have a dirty face…

We turn to MICAH 6:1-8 for a word from the Older Testament: the prophet contrasts the opulent gifts by which we try to buy God’s Presence to the real requirements–“to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” The preacher could spend time exploring the brokenness of a failed rebuilding of the Promised Land; or talk about the current racial & economic injustice, the lack of compassion in neighborhoods and the unkindness of not trying to understand the pain behind mass shootings. Although this text springs from an ancient disappointment in a redeemed people, the contemporary need to hear is just as great. Is God still disappointed?

The Apostle Paul seems very concerned about the congregation(s?) he planted in Corinth. (I CORINTHIANS 1:18-31) These diverse people were reluctant to claim the cross of Christ as “foolishness”; yet “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength”. This passage calls folks from all backgrounds into a redeemed community. Here we can permit persons to express their faith despite phony barriers of money, birth or previous ills. “God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing the things that are.”

The Beatitudes of MATTHEW 5:1-12 are the beginnings of the Sermon on the Mount, a heavenly claim that there ARE alternatives to the business-as-usual of “me first”. We need to say loudly–again–that these blessings are NOT a laundry list of how to get to heaven, but they acknowledge that the bumper-sticker is right: “Stuff Happens”. And even when we’ve messed up again, God is there to pick us up, to dry our tears, and, yes, Bless Us! These Blessings remind us poor in spirit that God loves us anyway; what a gift to angels with dirt on their faces.

I’ve always liked Wm. Cowper’s hymn, which concludes, “”Though vine nor fig tree neither Their wonted fruit should bear, Though all the field should wither, nor flocks nor herds be there; Yet God the same abiding, [God’s] praise shall tune my voice, For while in [God] confiding, I cannot but rejoice.” !!

In the Process of Unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join me each Tuesday as we explore scriptural lessons which are to be read during the upcoming weekend; at horacebrownking.com

In the 1800″s, there were many traveling circuses, carnivals and troupes of actors which moved from town to town, offering entertainment to local residents. In these days before electronic gadgets, they would send a couple of fellows to the place where they’d be in a few weeks: one to beat the drum loudly, the other to hand out flyers as to date and specific location. All traveling salesmen soon were considered “drummers”, attempting to drum up business. The weekend’s scriptures call out to all of you drummers to announce positively that the Realm of God is nearer than you think.

We begin with the oracle of ISAIAH 9:1-4, a song of praise for all of God’s graces, even to a people on the brink of war (c.740 BC). Already the northern lands (Zebulon & Naphtali) had yielded to the Assyrians, and Galilee was darkened by conquest. BUT “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light”, and now they live in prosperity and the yoke of their burden has been broken by Divine Intercession. Here begins a “new” understanding of God’s inclusiveness: God has yet again entered history. Even in the face of the break-up of the Nation, a great light that shows the character of God dawns. For us moderns, we can bear all the system’s corruption, bathed in the light of God’s stubborn plan of redemption. Who will tell the system?

I CORINTHIANS 1:10-18 continues Paul’s greeting to the Church there, and addresses the question of Who Baptized Who. The congregation was bickering about who was better; Paul maintained that what was important is being baptized in JESUS’ name, whoever the officiant was. “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel.” Instead of grumping around, the Church is reminded that making the good announcement was pre-eminent. St. Francis is reputed to have said, “Preach constantly; use words when necessary.”

The Gospel comes from MATTHEW 4:12-23, dealing with Jesus establishing a home-base in Capernaum, and the calling of his fisherman pals–Andrew & Simon, James & John. But tucked in the middle of this (v.17) comes the message of Christ: “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near!” Turn around/rethink your path, hear the drummer that says that the reign of God is coming soon! This is not making an escape, but welcoming the divine change to our systems and cultures which is on track to happen. Not “SomeDay”, rather “just over the horizon”. Drop what you’re doing (mending fish-nets?) and get involved TODAY with this important announcement.

William Barclay helped my thoughts immensely, and steers us out with the following (THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, I, 87-88): “Reverse your direction, and stop walking away from God and begin walking towards God. The command had become urgently necessary because the reign of God was about to begin. Eternity had invaded time; God had invaded earth in Jesus Christ and therefore it was of paramount importance that each man and each woman should choose the right side and the right direction.”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we meet here to glean some direction from the Scriptures assigned to the upcoming weekend. Come join us at horacebrownking.com

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a Boy Scout. One of the skills our troop learned was how to start a fire, Not by rubbing two sticks together, but by striking a flinty rock with a steel file. The idea was to strike a significant spark and let it fall into a container that already held charred cloth. The resulting flame could warm your hands and cook your evening meal. It was a lot of work: easier to carry a match! Scripture texts read this weekend have to do with the small group that will speak out and bring in God’s Kingdom.

We begin with ISAIAH 49:1-7, an oracle given by Isaiah of Babylon to remind the returning exiles that they really are important in the grand scheme of things: “I will give YOU (Israel) as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Not just a personal righteousness with a local deity, but the People are called to be the spark of ignition for a worldwide flame! This may have been more than they bargained for; it usually is, says this clergyman who thought he was retiring… They thought they were going Home, but it looks like a mission trip. Epiphany–the Season of “AHA!”–lifts this message to the entire Church: we’re not called to CARRY the light, we’re called to BE the light!

The Epistle is I CORINTHIANS 1:1-9, in which Paul claims his own role as a disciple and commends the Corinthian Church for its diversity in spiritual gifts. The hearer needs to remember that Corinth was a most cosmopolitan place, where sailors & merchants from all lands plied their trade. The “ends of the earth” were gathered and handy, a fine place for the Church to disseminate the Gospel and to publicly practice its life-changing message. Please note that such practice is not done by human effort, but only by the strength of Grace. Today’s hearers are challenged to determine where God is leading them…

Not surprisingly, on this Day of Light, the Gospel is read from that of JOHN, the evangelist of Light (1:29-42). After Baptism, Jesus was walking by a group of John the Baptizer’s disciples. John announced Jesus as “the Lamb of God”, perhaps referring to Passover and Good Friday all in one symbol. Andrew and another followed Jesus to find out more: “Where are you staying?” and Jesus follows Gospel tradition by inviting them, “Come and see”. Andrew was so enraptured that he brought his brother Simon to be introduced. Jesus called him the Rock, or Peter/Cephas.

In January, I like to hunker down by the fire and tell tales of Long Ago. UNH-UNH, says the Spirit: evidently the People are called this day to embrace the light of today’s unfolding mission and face unafraid the plans that they’ve made, walking in our YHWH’s wonderland.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come and see on Tuesdays what God is preparing to tell us through these readings assigned to the upcoming weekend; wrestled with some agony at horacebrownking.com