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I’m kinda miffed at AGWAY.  I bought seed packs from them in the Spring–sunflowers, zinnias & bush watermelons–and they’ve yielded (so far) two scraggly zinnias, no sunflowers, and only one watermelon bush.  Did I goof, somewhere, or were these seeds somehow defective?   I guess I’m glad for whatever DOES grow; but it seems as though I shoulda received a little bit better deal.  (I can report that my crabgrass and bindweed are thriving!)  This weekend’s lessons are for pondering our plantings–and those of God.

The story of Jacob & Esau is shared with us from Genesis 25 beginning at verse 21.  Their mother Rebekah had all sorts of labor problems, for “the children struggled together within her” and finally were born in tandem.  My conjecture is that “they” were opposite sides of Isaac & Rebekah’s blessing, the Yin & Yang of parenthood.  Whatever,  the elder macho guy sold his  “birthright” to the younger stay-at-home brother, thus launching another episode between the Hebrews (Jacob’s descendants) and the surrounding peoples of Esau’s children.  Jewish readers of the Torah would consider Esau’s clans as crabgrass in the lawn, thorns in the harvest.  What races of “Them” do we consider expendable, in need of being excised?

In Paul’s heavy treatise on Ethics, his Letter to the Romans, we read of his concern for separating the “flesh”–tendencies to make our own gods/values–from the spiritual.  In other words, weeding our gardens.   “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.” (8:5)  Again, the Yin-Yang model which exists in humanity; is there still this dichotomy today?  Living ethically with God seems to be a deep-down question within each church-goer.  CNN & MSNBC devote their entire programming to this.

Matthew’s Gospel, 13:1-9, remembers when Jesus told the parable of The Sower; and later explained it (vv 18-23).  My friends at our Lectionary group think that the Sower is US:  we scatter the Word of Life to all we meet, regardless of whether we think that it will grow and be received there.  Good point.  But I’d like to imagine the Sower as God, freely shoveling Grace to all corners of the world and hoping for a harvest.  All of this seed is good and bears the potential for growth; it prospers as the soil is prepared.  Each hearer needs to name their own thorns…can they be eliminated?

So sing along with me this little ditty from THE FANTASTIKS:  “Plant a carrot, get a carrot, not a brussels sprout; that’s why I like vegetables, you know what you’re about…But if your issue doesn’t kiss you, then I wish you luck–for once you’ve planted childeren you’re absolutely stuck!    Every turnip green, every kidney bean, every plant grows according to the plot; while with childeren, it’s bewilderin’, ‘cuz just as soon as you think you know what kind you’ve got IT’S WHAT THEY’RE NOT!  So life is merry if it’s very vegetarian:  a man who plants a garden is a very happy man!”   Aahhh…!

In the process of unfolding,                                   Horace Brown King

My reaction to the Scripture readings of the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space of Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

So many roads.  So many voices.  And the signs are often hidden, or else too obscure to read right now.  Valerie Bridgeman asks, “How do we discern what is right?  How do we strengthen our faithfulness when our human nature resists?  These texts [which we hear this weekend] push us to consider the way God leads us and refreshes us along the way.”  (SOJOURNERS, July 2020:49)

The reading from Genesis, 24:34-67, needs to be put in context.  Abraham sent his right-hand guy to an uncle of his, Bethuel of Mesopotamia, to arrange a marriage for his son Isaac from “family”.  “How will I know the one to choose?” asked the servant. “You’ll know her when you see her”, was the reply.  No pressure.  Having prayed his way through the Fertile Crescent, the man arrived at Bethuel’s town–and immediately a sweet girl came to give him a drink from the well, and his camels too!  “This must be the one”, said he to himself; and gave her rich jewelry as gifts.  Long story short, she–Rebekah–went back with him, married Isaac, and they had many descendants.  But the story is mainly about how God helped the fellow who had a difficult task of ascertaining the Right One.

St. Paul writes in Romans 7:15-25 about how we often get in our own way, thus perverting the heavenly signs richly bestowed.  “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand…I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind (soul?)…”  Paul likes life to be very binary–black & white–and is often puzzled by the human mixture which is probably expectable from most people.  Most of us who hear these words have created a “law” or ethic which defines what a good & proper person does, from personal hygiene to filtering profanity out of our conversation.  When we slip, does “the Devil make us do it”?  How can we tell what’s acceptable with God’s People?  Whose advice and example do we follow?

Jesus sarcastically chuckles in Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 at fickle humanity that doesn’t recognize the Holy in their midst.  John the Baptizer came as an ascetic recluse, and was accused of “having a demon”; and the Savior came with a healthy appetite for feasting and wedding-receptions, and they called him a “glutton and a drunkard”… you can’t win!  But then he goes on to say that those who DO recognize him for what he is will have the right-size task (yoke) and a job (burden) that fits them well.

“Ordinary time is just under half of the Sundays on the calendar.  It is the time when Christians recount the stories of their faith, across the biblical canon, in order to strengthen their commitments to discipleship and to study and reflect on what it means to be the people of God, both in one’s own life and in the community’s formation…..These [days] in July capture the day-to-day nature of our faith.”  (Bridgeman, ibid.)  Our own journeys of discernment are bolstered by the adventures of these heroes.

In the process of unfolding,                     Horace Brown King

My joy of being met by scriptures assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Our church’s current book-study is Barbara Brown Taylor’s LEARNING TO WALK IN THE DARK.  Her main idea is that we hide in too much light, and that we should learn to welcome the dark.  Some are fortunate to see darkness as an option; for too many, it’s mandatory.  Scriptures of the coming weekend may well speak to those entering dim and uncharted territory:  those involved have been surprised by unpleasant situations and are urged to enter the valley with hope that God will meet them there.  Some things can’t be avoided or put off until tomorrow…

The Old Testament, Genesis 22:1-14, is difficult.  Abraham is sure that God has told him to sacrifice his son Isaac, the long-awaited progenitor of the promised multitude of descendants.   Our culture rejects child sacrifice, and can’t really believe that GOD told Abraham this.  Some current Christians will link this event to the sacrifice of God’s son Jesus; I don’t want to profane the Crucifixion with the attachment of human process to the God above human emotions.   At any rate, a ram/lamb was discovered and the substitution was made.  Abraham famously said, “God Will Provide!”

In the Letter to the Romans, 6:12-23, Paul argues that all persons are “slaves” to something–we may speak of compulsions or addictions–and that whatever interior darkness we may have is a result of exterior situations.  “But thanks be to God,” says he, “that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”  Again he sets forth a binary choice between Good & Evil, Darkness & Light, God-centered or self-centered.  The greater argument of the entire section is that God has provided a change in our slavery through Jesus the Christ.

In the dryness of the Mid-East, cool water is a limited, if not sacred, commodity.  Small wonder, then, that Jesus speaks of risky hospitality to his missionaries:  “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple”  will not forfeit their just desserts.  We’re reminded of the spectators at a long-distance run who offer water-bottles to the competitors as they dash past.  And last Friday, one of the several daily appeals in my mailbox described severe Navaho life in the desert of New Mexico as the tribe eagerly awaited the life-giving water buffalo.  Could I not give my symbolic cup?  Often God’s Providence is partnered with human means of hospitality.

Bill Gifford interjects that “sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey!”  And even there, the People of God are urged to demonstrate their trust in God’s Providence by stepping forth in tenderness and compassion….  Besides, who knows what sort of blessing we may receive from the humble and dark-bound as we entertain angels unaware??

In the process of unfolding,                      Horace Brown King

My encounter with lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be marked every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

In the several weeks since the murder of George Floyd, many of us have renewed an emphasis on personal worth.  #BlackLivesMatter has called us to search our own prejudices and assumptions, some of which are against what we profess in our spirit-journey.  Lessons read this weekend may well lead us deeper into our own worth as well as that of other living beings who share our planet.

The story from Genesis (21:1-21) needs to be heard:  it deals with racism from long ago, yet which seems current.   Ishmael, whose name means “God hears”, and his mother Hagar–who was Egyptian–were put out of the camp by jealous Sarai, who feared for her specialness as Abram’s wife.  The refugees went out into the desert with only a skin of water and a bit of bread, and soon were about to be overcome by the heat.  Ishmael was left in a bit of shade to die; but his crying was heard by God, who opened the mother’s eyes to a spring of water.  Happy ending?  Traditionally Ishmael fathered the Arab people, and the racism continues.  Even so, God evidently saw Ishmael’s life as important to save despite the enmity of his ancestors/descendants.

Paul’s writing to the Romans, 6: 1-11,  announces Grace to people who were buried by their “Sin”–brokenness from God and God’s ways–and who thus denied their worth.  One of the most insidious heresies is that “God can’t fix me, I’m too bad”.  “But if we died with (into) Christ, we (can) believe that we will also live with him.”  What was impossible in the old understanding is now very real as we see ourselves and others through the eyes of Christ.  Harold E. Masback III reminds us in FEASTING  on the WORD that “God has already intervened to break the dynamic of self-centeredness and recenter the self back to God-centeredness”. (A 3:161)  “So also you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”  And others, too?

Matthew 10:24-39 is full of Good Stuff.  The verse which jumped out at me was the 29th:  “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”  Evidently #SparrowLivesMatter!  I read this teaching as affirming even the most insignificant of lives as bearing worth.  Francis of Assisi is supposed to have venerated even the most simple beings–brother mosquito?–as worthy bearers of life, and thus splinters of God.  The message seems increasingly clear, especially in recent days, that all life is sacred and should be protected at all cost!

An OLD story tells of the Rev. Dr. Hiram standing at the Pearly Gates.  St. Peter can’t seem to find him in the computer.  “But I’ve preached thousands of times, usually to full houses.”  “Hmmm…mm”   “My prayers have been regular, and I’ve comforted hundreds at their last breaths.”  “Mmm…uh-huh…”  “My street ministry has caused many to change their lives…”   “Say, are you the Dr. Hiram who always fed bread-crumbs to the sparrows in the park?” “Yes…that’s me.”  “Well, C’MON IN!!  The Lord of the Sparrows wants to thank you personally!”

In the process of unfolding,                     Horace Brown King

My encounter with scriptural passages assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

One of my fellow clergy had three daughters in rapid succession.  The first was named Faith; the second one, Hope; and the third–Mary Anne!  Lessons for this week seem to have a central thread of passing the torch to the next generation.  Are there those in our churches who worry a bit about what they’ve left for their descendants?  I sure do…it comes with age, I’m told.  Have any of my virtues, my standards, my values succeeded to those who may bear my genes?  Have I wasted my life proclaiming Justice in Christ and Release to the Captives? Are there those to carry on, or shall I pass and be forgotten like the rest?  (Personal note to my sons and their families:  GOOD JOB!  I’M PROUD OF YOU!)

The Old Testament readings vary from Lectionary to Lectionary–I’ve decided to go with the passage from Genesis 18:1-15.  Here Abram welcomes God’s visitants with lavish hospitality, and is told that he would soon have a son to carry on the name.  He was surprised, and Sarai (Mrs. Abram) laughed, since they considered themselves too old for such things.  But, as you remember, Father Abraham had MANY sons: and I am one of them, and so are you!  Several inter-faith groups exist called Children of Abraham, involving Christian, Islamic and Jewish people.  Abram’ faith-crisis was resolved, and he received peace in his later years.  “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

We don’t think that Paul had any biological children…but he considered himself a father-figure to the congregations throughout the Mediterranean world.  And so he can speak to the Romans (5:1) about being made right (justified) by their faith, and thus receiving peace through Christ.  Friends, we live in a non-peaceful age:  the world is too much with us.  So it’s nice to know that God is still in charge, that “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!”  (Maltbie D. Babcock)   Paul reminds the Romans and us that the Holy Spirit continues to pour God’s love into our hearts.

The Gospel, Matthew 9:35-10:8, conveys Jesus’ urgency as he sent out his “children” to the byways of Israel to announce that the kingdom of heaven has come near.  There’s plenty to do, he said, so travel light and don’t waste time kibbitzing.  This was a training mission to ensure that the mission would carry forward even though the Lord’s time was drawing to a close.  It’s not all skittles & beer–there’re occasions when you’ll meet opposition and ugliness.  Yet Jesus’ kids are to explore the gap between glorious ideals and the agony of rejection–a good lesson to be learned by all who would follow after.

It’s pretty traditional, I guess, to scoff a bit at the advice of those who’ve met problems before.  When I was a Young Turk, I listened to my elders…and immediately dismissed their wisdom as Old Fashioned.  Now, in my dotage, the chickens have come home to roost, and my life-scars routinely go unobserved by those more modern than I.  Our holy-history continues as we meld ancient truths with current needs and understandings.

In the process of unfolding,                      Horace Brown King

My encounter with scripture assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

There have always been competing gods.  We read about the Mesopotamian Baal and other local household fertility tokens.  From Aphrodite (and her see-through nighty) to Zoroaster, from Appollo to Zeus, monotheistic People of God have had ranks of false deities to absorb their attentions.  These haven’t died, but they’ve modernized their names:  there’s a blank screen in my living room that brings me images of something new to worship every day!  Trinity Sunday MAY help sort out our pantheons of diversions; there’s always an evil voice whispering in my ear, “Will wanting this REALLY dilute your dependence on and partnering with God?”  I’m afraid I’m addicted to luxury…

We begin at The Beginning, a very good place to start.  These few verses from Genesis (1:1-4)  speak of a holy wind/breath that drew form from chaos, and announced that God is actively involved in Creation and all that it yields.  Eons before any Trinitarian formula was conceived, the immensity of the cosmos is apprehended as inclusive of all that would become “nations”.

We’re supposed to pay particular attention to Paul’s benediction added to the Second Letter to the Corinthians, 13:13.  Often used as a greeting, it’s a familiar formula:  “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”  The bulk of the letter deals with the brokenness of the Church in Corinth, struggling with its obvious diversity and competing gods.  The conclusion isn’t a mere “Don’ worry, be happy”, but a vital reminder that the wholeness of God in all phases is what creates and sustains community.

Matthew concludes his Gospel narration with what has come to be known as the Great Commission:  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”  This terminology seems a bit strained to be in Matthew’s tradition, and would fit more into the spirituality of JOHN’s Gospel.  Be as it may, this emphasizes the wholeness/completeness of Godhead, and causes further generations to appreciate the several facets of particular care for them as “all nations”.  “The very fact that the task is utterly impossible throws the disciples completely onto the mercy and strength of God….’all authority’ does not belong to the Church or its resources, but comes from God’s wild investment…in Jesus the Son and the willingness of the Son to be present always to the Church in the Spirit.”  (Thomas G. Long, FEASTING on the WORD, A 3:49)

Celeste Kennel-Shank says it well:  “Jesus sends the Spirit to stay with us in the struggle against the dominant view of the earth as ripe for colonization and subjugation.  Instead, we can embrace our place interwoven in all of creation.”  (SOJOURNERS, June 2020, p.49)

In the process of unfolding,                          Horace Brown King

My meeting with scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be enjoined every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

One of the disadvantages of Being Old is that people don’t understand me.  When I’ve laid out my plans and agendas and procedures in what I feel is perfectly good English, there are those who ask, “What do you mean?”  People of Earth have always wondered, I suppose, what it ‘s all about.   Those who hear readings for this Pentecost weekend will resonate with believers who continue to ask, “What Does This Mean?”  Will insight follow?

We begin with a reading that is actually TWO readings.  If I were  planning worship, I’d separate the Joel 2 section from the larger one of Acts 2:1-15.  The Acts passage is the traditional Pentecost story about the coming of the Holy Spirit to citizens of the entire known world, with tongues of fire and the rush of a mighty wind.  Whereas at the ancient Tower of Babel the people’s language was confused, now God has made plain to all near ‘n’ far the universality of the Word.  This idea of God takes Jesus beyond a local Jewish sect into a realization of a world-wide phenomenon.  What was once divided has been mended–if folks can accept the wholeness of What This Means.

Be careful with the Joel 2:28-32 part:  Peter–or Luke?–twists this a bit to work in an Old Covenant prophecy.  Is “afterward” (Joel) the same as “in the last days” (Peter)?  Splitting hairs, perhaps.  At any rate, a nice image is proclaimed of the Spirit liberally POURED; not dribbled or sprinkled.  Some will get hung up on the portents of bloody-red moons and other ominous signs…my own feeling is that these are but a background for this world-wide baptism.

The Gospel, John 7:37-39, tells about Jesus’ presence at a whole ‘nother festival, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.  “Originally a harvest festival, it came to be associated with the eschatological hope for a time when God’s life-giving presence would flow out in rivers from the Temple…”  (Meda A.A. Stamper, in FEASTING on the WORD, A 3:21)  Jesus offers himself here as a Holy Stream for the relief of the world’s thirst (remember the Woman at the Well).  Does this apply, then, to all who believe?  Are they/we conduits of this living water to those who crave sustenance in the arid times?

Receiving God’s life-giving flow of water and fire and wind enables the new “church” to speak fluently to the nations and situations of the world.  It doesn’t promise the Reign of Christ–yet–but affirms the actions and presence of Believers then and now.

In the process of unfolding,                        Horace Brown King

My encounter with scriptural passages lined up for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Long, LONG ago, Marie and I were returning late in the evening from a family funeral.  As we came north on the Pennsylvania Turnpike extension, we ran into a huge fog-bank which only got worse as we drove along.  At length we came up behind another vehicle and were able to follow it for a few miles of relief from trying to keep on the pavement.  Every five miles or so, the lead car would pull over and the other guy would navigate through the cloud.  To the unknown driver, THANK YOU for getting us home!  Scripture readings for the upcoming weekend–Ascension Day–seem to be written for all of us who struggle to see the way.

Acts 1:1-11 is a synopsis of Jesus’ post-Resurrection instructions to the Disciples during forty days of companionship and presentation of the Kingdom of God.  Having assured them of the coming Holy Spirit, “he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight”.  An image from some movie pictures Jesus being enswirled by the gathering fog; and when it lifted he was no longer there (sort of a reprise of the scene at Transfiguration).  But don’t overlook the two angels, who told the witnesses to stop gawking and get on with it.  Including us.

Pauline take on the Ascension is to link it to the enthronement of Jesus as Christ at the right hand of God, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named…”  The author has asked that the “eyes of your heart [be] enlightened”, a reference to seeing through and beyond the Cloud, to my way of thinking.  “He wants the Ephesians to know that Christ’s resurrection and ascension both prefigure and make possible their own resurrections and ascensions.”  (David L. Bartlett, in FEASTING on the WORD, A 2:513)

Luke 24:44-53 is the ending to Luke’s Gospel.  Perhaps the worship leader may choose to read this passage just BEFORE the lesson from Acts, which would provide continuity.  Whichever, the point of this Ascension story is to recognize that Jesus is here carrying the fullness of humanity before God.  Our ancestors in the faith returned “with great joy”, somewhat like the shepherds at Christmas; and did not separate themselves from the rest of the world, but met in plain sight in what most contemporaries would call the holiest of all places, the Temple.

An anonymous English writer (or writers) penned a book on spirituality sometime near the time of Chaucer’s CANTERBURY TALES, called “The Cloude of Unknowyng”.  The reader is urged to put aside the machinations of space and time, and to fully take the hand of God as together they walk into the Cloud.  More recently, a TV commercial pictures an office-worker stumbling and confused by all the mist around him–until he buys the product, and the cloud all fades out the door!  Some days are cloudier than others, and we spend much time & energy peering into what lies between us and Paradise.  Our virtual realities have become lost in the Cloud.  Ascension Day reminds us that we’re not abandoned in the mist!

In the process of unfolding,                         Horace Brown King

My wanderings with biblical passages assigned to the upcoming weekend can be observed every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

When Professor Harold Hill first came to RiverCity, Iowa, he had to convince the towns-folk that they had lots of Trouble (“With a capital T, which rhymes with P, which stands for POOL!”).  Then, when he had their attentive concern, he began to paint a glorious picture of how good it would be when they had a Boys Band.  We tend to follow after those artists who raise our hearts and our vision to loftier things.  Scriptures for the weekend should brighten the lives of those who’re currently taking a dim view of the quarantine frustrations and the anxiety brought by a sagging economy.

We begin with a reading from Acts 17:22-31.  Paul speaks to the citizens of Athens about their concerns for “an unknown god” (just so they don’t miss any).  “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”  And then he tells them of the Creator God who can’t be confined to one place, but whose energies and graces extend “to all nations …though indeed {God} is not far from each one of us.”  Paul paints a picture of hope to those shackled by their worries about not catching the wholeness of an extended pantheon.

We also hear some words of Peter (?), writing in his First Letter 3:13-22:  “For Christ also suffered for [our] sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring YOU to God.”  This letter is addressed originally to the dispersed Jews/Christians in Asia Minor, many of those who have been “suffering” in servitude to harsh masters.  Surely, he says, if we’re gonna get beaten, it’s better to be maligned for being faithful than for our bad conduct.  Even when bad things happen, it’s hopeful to know that even then, we can be “in Christ”.

The Gospel is that of John 14:15-21, the table talk of Jesus after the Last Supper:  “I will not leave you orphaned….I will ask the Father and he will send you another Advocate to be with you forever.”  The Disciples have been gloomy, wondering what’s next, without an anchor in a rough world.  But Jesus’ last meeting with them is construed as a time of hope, a fulfillment of the agenda which God continues to unfold within and before them.  This hopeful Spirit/Advocate is timeless, just as important today as in ancient days.

Celeste Kennel-Shank quotes Henri Nouwen (SOJOURNERS, May 2020, “Being neither an optimist nor a pessimist, Jesus speaks about hope that is not based on chances that things will get better or worse.  His hope is built upon the promise that, whatever happens, God will stay with us at all times, in all places.”  God’s People are called more than ever to paint pictures of hope to our prevailing audience of bleakness and gloom.

In the process of unfolding,                                 Horace Brown King

Tales of my encounter with lessons assigned to be read on the upcoming weekend can be shared every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Among my favorite things when I was quite young was a set of wooden blocks.  Not just ordinary blocks, these had painted windows and storefronts and fancy doors…  I could build a city!  My town could have hotels, high rises, churches, even mansions…  Did I mention that there were chimneys and roofs and steeples?  Wish I had ’em back.  Folks sitting in virtual pews this week can join God in building a continued Creation as they hear positive words from the assigned lessons.

Acts 7:55-60 tells the story of the stoning of Stephen (that’s positive??).   The early Church seemed to think this account seminal:  not only is Stephen’s faith glorified, but the resulting dispersal of disciples carried a belief in Jesus as the Christ into further reaches of the Empire.  This scattering moved the gospel from Jerusalem as well as touching more gentiles where they lived.  Stephen, the first Saint, became a visionary,  seeing “the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God”.  Funny that the thrown stones weren’t collected as relics:  they could be seen as foundations of the coming Kingdom.

I Peter 2:2-10 has a lot to say about stones.  Loaded with building analogies, it declares Jesus the Christ as the chief cornerstone of the New Zion–and his followers as “living stones” allowing themselves to be “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood”.  The author tells that the stone which didn’t appear to the surrounding culture to be what they had expected now “has become the very head of the corner”!  Many will trip over the ethics of grace and love as they search for the Law’s righteousness and pass by us disciples who are odd-shaped yet doing our best to usefully fit into the growing Kingdom.  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you might proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

As you read John 14:1-14, try not to think of a funeral!  Or if you do, land hard on the verses where Jesus says that he’s going away to prepare a place for us.  Another building program in an ever-expanding Creation which not only includes all believers, but is especially built so that Christ might be ever near us, and we with him.  Some will yearn for mansions over the hilltop–but I’m looking forward to a maximum entry apartment complex, where we all can circulate in a mask-free environment!  “How can we know the way?” asks Thomas on our behalf.  Jesus replies, “From now on you do know [ Father] and have seen him.”

And so, Rocky, plunge on with the project.  Don’t give too much thought to legalism and holy acrobatics, but concentrate on imitating Jesus in works of charity and outreach, devotion and hospitality.  God has chosen your company in refining Creation–be built into the evolving Kingdom…and while you’re waiting, leave no stone unturned.

In the process of unfolding,                        Horace Brown King

My encounter with scripture passages assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com