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My alter ego, Ecaroh Gnik, believes that every person has his/her price.  I’d like to dismiss this as typical cynicism, but it sometimes does seem that even the most altruistic among us can yield integrity to a bauble dujour.  Certainly our path of discernment as we ponder any new project includes the question which marks us as human, “What’s in it for me?”  Which Future should we bank on?  Why behave responsibly when there’s so much fun to be had?  Why waste precious commodities on someone else?  Lessons read during worship this weekend will acknowledge these life-questions.

Just as everything is going OK, in walks Jeremiah.  Hananiah, one of the Temple Prophets, had told the crowd that God would restore the exiles and the sacred vessels from Babylon (Jeremiah 28:5-9).  But is this idle dreaming, or has God really promised this?  “…when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”  Trace Haythorn comments, “…such moments compel us to invite God into our discernment, to listen more deeply than we have ever listened before, to pray that we may get far enough out of the way that God’s will may find its way in.” (FEASTING on the WORD, A 3:174)

Paul’s address to the Christians at Rome speaks to the “Who’s On First?” question (6:12-23).  His logic is perhaps too simple, for he describes the Human Person as either in or out of God’s camp.  This binary formula has caused despair in many, and a few (?) have given up integrity as too saintly to realize.  Yet Paul continues to tell of those who like himself have been dragged into the Kingdom by a persistent God. “But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification [being made righteous].  The end [of this long journey] is eternal life.” (v.22)  That’s what’s in it for me…

“What’s a Reward?” is a question we may well ask Matthew.  The Gospel (10:40-42) mentions “a prophet’s reward”, “the reward of the righteous”, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple–truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”  In the old Westerns, a reward was sort of a bribe offered to someone who would rat on Black Bart or Nasty Canasta.  In the daily paper, a reward is offered to someone who could shed light on the whereabouts of a missing pet.  Jesus’ words here are pretty misty:  in Greek, they seem to indicate “just wages/recompense/just desserts”.  Should I offer cool refreshment to a believer?  What’s in it for me?

So what’s the incentive?  Will I have an advantage over my fellow-travelers?  Will there be stars in my crown?  Better News is that Doing Right FEELS good, and somehow ties us together with others in the lifeboat.  Is that the reward?  Being part of a holy mission, knowing that Creation is a bit better because I followed through?

God Bless Us, Every One                        Horace Brown King

My ponderings on assigned lessons for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

There’s a growing perception that the Church is “losing” members because too much is being asked.  One solution, as proposed by some mega-churches, is to dumb-down expectations and faith–directions.  “Everybody come, we’re here to have fun, doesn’t matter what you believe (if anything).”  Doesn’t work for me.  I’m heartily in favor of leaner congregations, united in common ministry and mission, validated by knowing what  they stand for.  This weekend’s readings remind us that discipleship isn’t for wimps.

One definition of the Prophetic role is to speak FOR God AGAINST idols.  (An idol is a rival “god” which dilutes worship of the True God.)  Jeremiah speaks of his weariness and burn-out as he contends with a steady stream of popular and patriotic idols:  “O Lord, you have seduced me, you have wrestled me to the ground and pinned me there…whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction’.”
(20:7-8)  And I’m sick of being the sole voice in a corrupt society.  Yet when I remain silent, a fire rages…”the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail.” (vv.7-12)  “Prophets go after everyone indiscriminately…[and] turn on us…they lay our lives bare, down to the bone, marrow & soul.  They break through our well-planned worlds to say that we are the problem.”  (Megan McKenna, PROPHETS: WORDS OF FIRE)  “Bidden or not bidden, God is present.”

Psalm 69:7 ff carries this even further.

Paul, writing to the Roman churches,  has some back-door Good News: “The death [Jesus] died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (6:10-11)  So, then, once we’ve admitted that we live in God and that God lives in us, there’s no going back?  Not even for a Summer holiday?  Every once in a while I’ve tried to vacation from Discipleship–and a persistent God tells me to “rest, enjoy, but stay close ’cause I’ll be expecting to speak through you again shortly”.

Matthew’s Gospel remembers a whole lot of Jesus’ teachings, many of which are scary in their intensity.  (10:24-39)  My paranoia really clings to v.26: “nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.”  And it gets worse:  he brings a sword, not peace, and will set family members against one another.  (My disappointment for the week is a White Supremacy/anti-immigrant email forwarded by a dear friend.  Do I tell her she’s a bigot?)  AND, “whoever does not take up my/the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”  Not much wiggle-room here, God…

I’ve often mentioned the statue which is on the campus of the University of Scranton.  Two figures interlocked represent Jacob wrestling with the Angel.  It’s hard to see which is which.  Only at dawn after the dark night of struggle does holiness win, the story says.  Personally, my entire life has been driven by this sort of struggle: how much shall I give to God, and how much am I allowed to keep for myself??  “An idol mind is the devil’s playground.”  God has given no alternative…

God Bless Us, Every One                        Horace Brown King

My wrestling with Scripture for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

My physician once told me that he’d practiced medicine for 30 years; I asked him when he was gonna stop practicing!  God-followers are expected to keep on practicing mercy and compassion, worship and spiritual growth.  It’s difficult to weave together the lections for this weekend–if there is a thread, it’s a reminder of unwarranted grace and a direction to respond to this through public concern.

We begin with an old tale of the newly-released Hebrews encamped in the wilderness near Mt. Sinai (Exodus19:2-8a).   Yahweh, through Moses, reminds Israel of their “eagles’ wings” salvation from the Egyptians–and promises that if they remain loyal to the Covenant, they “shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation”. (v.6)  As all through scripture, Yahweh shows an initiating relationship, despite the Peoples’ faltering faith.  There’s also an expectation that, once touched, the People will adhere to the unfolding covenant.

“Therefore”, says St. Paul, “since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand…” (Romans 5:1-2a)   The result of our faith is Peace with God, whether as refugees in the wilderness or as comfortable middle-class folks with more money than sense!   Paul continues to list the results of our predictable  “sufferings” as we attempt to live in grace: endurance, character, hope…  Hearers of these words will be comforted and strengthened, confident of God’s Peace despite the frustration of daily life in a coarse and profane culture.

Matthew remembers how Jesus “went about all the cities and villages,teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.” (9:35)  Crowds upon crowds needing a dose of Divine Peace:  and Jesus compassionately sent out the Twelve to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.  Successors of the Twelve are still sent to bring wholeness and renewed life, to overcome bias and banish the evils of greed and anger.  (There’ve been times when this disciple has really desired to raise the devil and cast out the dead; but that’s a different story.)

One of the great symptoms of this post-Christian era is that abandonment of the wandering multitudes.  Having tasted God’s Peace ourselves, our passing of the gift is often relegated to “Tomorrow”, if at all.  The opening thought in all these readings is that God cares enough to make the first move; and that we who’ve received it are thus expected to live within our societies with an accordant sense of spreading the wealth.

God Bless Us, Every One                         Horace Brown King

My thoughts about lectionary readings for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

This weekend we’ll celebrate Trinity Sunday.  “We” is probably a misnomer, since hardly anyone beside clergy and parament-changers will realize this.  Better thinkers and more articulate writers than I have attempted to explain the Trinity with little success–although I still appreciate St. Patrick’s reference to the shamrock, which has three leaves on one stem.   So I’m content to accept the Trinity as one of those Holy Mysteries which paint light into an otherwise gloomy historical scene.

Genesis begins us well:  “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters…” (1:1-2)  I resonate with the image of “wind”:  invisible, unpredictable but powerful, it flows over Creation  lending its force to Make Things Go.  In Hebrew, this is called “ruach”, the breath of God.  In Greek, it’s “pneuma”; and in Latin, “spiritus”.  Our worship explores this life- energy which roams the earth and presents God when things become formless and dark.

Perhaps the first reference to Trinity comes at the end of the Corinthian correspondence, in Paul’s benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (II 13:13)   Jesus (here “Lord” and not “Son”) is primary, as the conduit of grace.  God is seen as the ultimate repository of love; and the Spirit knits together the community.  (Daniel N. Schowalter, in THE OXFORD COMPANION TO THE BIBLE, p.782)  As an apostle to the Very Diverse, Paul knows that the infant Church must be anchored on some common ground, and sees the Spirit as that glue which can unite varied cultures and mores.

Matthew reports that the final earthly words of Jesus are to “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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (28:19-20)  Matthew isn’t as much interested in promulgating the Trinitarian formula as he is in encouraging the team to see the limitless possibilities.  Remembering the recent Wind of Pentecost, they’re also to remember the promise of Jesus to send them an Advocate (paraclete, one who stands alongside for strength and comfort), “even the Spirit of Truth”. (John 14:16)

Most of those sitting in pews this weekend are content to pass over the mystery of Holy Trinity, acknowledging its presence, and then re-shelving it for another year.  My own prayer is that this Divine Wind will not only Roam the Earth, but will touch where my small boat is moored and fill its limp and tattered sails once again.  The journey is at hand!  What ports await??

God Bless Us Every One                      Horace Brown King

My musings on scripture for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook, or at horacebrownking. com

The gas station where I generally fill up has a large display of Red Bull on the counter.  Red Bull is loaded with caffeine, designed to give Something More to your busy day.  Evidently  it sells quickly; I see lots of Red Bull delivery trucks on the streets and highways.  I guess we all crave an extra jolt to handle our endless quest for The Top of the Heap:  if we’re lucky, our senses and sensibilities will be anesthetized and overdosed as we Run for the Roses.   This Sunday is Pentecost–scriptures of the day address our endless quest for Something More.

Holy Moses.  Evidently he was irradiated by Yahweh’s Glory every time they conversed, and he felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities to the Hebrews which it brought.  So on Yahweh’s next visit, He scraped some glory off Moses and spread it on seventy other fellows–plus two more who stayed in the camp!  (Numbers 11:24-30)  Joshua was alarmed at the “prophesying” (speaking for God) that ensued–but Moses welcomed the sharing of Power:  “Would that ALL the Lord’s People were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” (v.29)  Our belief gains strength as God empowers the people through the mentoring of those who realize that they’ve been touched by God’s Spirit.

The established reading for Pentecost is found in Acts 2:1-21.   Luke recounts how holy fire and wind swept through the meeting of the Apostles, causing them to speak the news of Jesus in languages familiar to those who were gathered in Jerusalem for the festival.  We retell this every year because it re-introduces a God who can’t be confined to one culture; we acknowledge a big God who shares a big Presence into a big and welcoming world!  A new understanding for me comes from Herman Waetjen, who says that Roman coins of the First Century picture DIVIDED TONGUES OF FIRE over the head of Caesar.  God has co-opted this well-known image to proclaim the power/divinity which identifies us as messengers of God’s Presence to the nations…

The reading of the Gospel, John 7:37-39, can really mix metaphors.  No fire and wind here:  Jesus calls those who thirst for Something More to experience Living Water.  More than an advertisement for a quick gulp of momentary satisfaction, he reminds those who believe that they have RIVERS of spiritual reservoirs flowing from their hearts!  This has got to be good news for us who’ve burned out on the world’s hollow promises.  “When you’ve explored all the culture’s seductive come-ons, when you’ve found nothing that seems lasting and real, come to me and drink the good water, the in-dwelling of my Holy Spirit.”

These days are discouraging, especially after nightfall.  I’m disappointed in the shallowness of our government.   I’m dismayed at the trashy language and attitude on Facebook and TV.  I’m really sick of hearing about the Good Old Days of racial injustice, an imaginary work-ethic and keeping women barefoot and pregnant.  “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me”…

God Bless Us, Every One                Horace Brown King

My thoughts about lectionary readings for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Someday there’ll be Peace and Justice!  Someday our alabaster cities WILL gleam undimmed by human tears!  Someday I’ll write my great novel.  Someday I’ll start to save my money.  Someday.   As Annie says, “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, Tomorrow!  You’re always a day away!”  A sign in a Cooperstown restaurant advertises, “Free Beer Tomorrow!”

This weekend’s scripture readings confront us pew-sitters with an urgency to procrastinate no longer!  The Acts of the Apostles lesson recaps the Ascension motive:  disciples ask the Risen Christ, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)  And Jesus replies that they’ll receive the Holy Spirit in due course, and will take it from there.  “Here, at the very beginning of the church, we see a fundamental posture of ANTICIPATION that (a) God will do something, and (b) the church will be empowered for witness when God acts.” (John S. McClure, FEASTING on the WORD, A 2:523)   When, TODAY??  Could I loaf around a few more days/years…?

I’m enjoying the encouraging words of I Peter:  they speak to concerned citizens of all imperfect times.  “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that [God] may exalt you in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on [God], because [God] cares for you.” (5:5-7)   Sounds as if God is present and alert!  The author goes on to urge regularity of holy-habits and to RESIST the power of evil–is this for today, or what?!

In Jesus’ long Upper Room discourse he prayed, “Father, the hour has come…” (John 17:1)  No longer is redemption in the sweet bye ‘n’ bye.  This open prayer continues with a request for holy unity, which John and we call the Church.  There is no Church of the Future, only one of Today.  Our spiritual investment in our civil community isn’t something we do just for our grandchildren, rather it acquires a friction-induced  heat as it cuts through the social inequity and idolatry of each day!

I confess that I don’t know what to do; though I attempt to be a faithful messenger.  My personal fear is that I’ll be waiting for Something Else while the revolution surges on!  Harry Emerson Fosdick had it right even back in 1930 when he prayed, “God of grace and God of glory, on thy people pour thy power; Crown thine ancient church’s story, bring her bud to glorious flower–Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of THIS hour.”

God Bless Us,  Every One                 Horace Brown King

My thoughts about scripture lections for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

No wonder my psyche is scattered:  there are too many things out there clamoring to claim my allegiance.  Down-sizing one’s heart is a tricky business.   At this stage of my life, there’s increasing pressure to get ’em all in before it’s too late.  As the bumper sticker reads, “So many pedestrians, so little time”.  My intuition is that most church-goers this weekend will be carrying a backpack of household gods, griping a bit about the weight, yet reluctant to dispose of any.  Scripture readings of the day acknowledge the dilemma, which is evidently nothing new…

St. Paul, strolling around Athens, marveled that its citizenry had erected an altar to An Unknown God–just in case they’d missed any. (Acts 17:22-31)  Paul was listening to the culture, how folks were arranging their spirit-lives, and here he found an opening for the Gospel.   John S. McClure opines, “It is one thing simply to lambaste all idolatry, and another to think carefully about what a particular form of idolatry represents in terms of human aspiration.” (FEASTING on the WORD,  A 2:475)  Our idols embody our hopes and our fears; Paul’s point is that these may be discarded as we learn more about the “unknown” God.

Those congregations to whom the First Letter ascribed to Peter was written were evidently caught in the Culture War; namely, how to practice Christianity while overshadowed by The Empire.  Same old same old, isn’t it? The writer exhorts, “But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.  Do not fear what THEY fear, and do not be intimidated…” (3:14)  What do y’suppose “they” feared?  I’m guessing the usual suspects: civic insecurity,  job loss,  changing  values, persons from other cultures…  Easy to SAY “don’t be intimidated”, yet of course we are:  in any crisis, Ethics usually takes the back seat.

John’s long account of Jesus’ final message to his peeps includes this:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [paraclete], to be with you forever.” (14:15-16)  Over against the Imperial control by intimidation, this demonstration of love re-orders our lives and relationships.  Not an idle dream (groan),  the “hopes and fears of all the years” are met in Jesus!   And thanks be for the Advocate (paracletus: one who stands beside) on which I heavily lean!

Idols seem to grow more complex, as society “advances” and the world shrinks.  Alarming events across the globe pour over us by Information Technology, and we begin to feel waterboarded as we gasp for peace.  Although it sounds good, once in a while, I’d not make a good hermit.  I need the world, even though it often annoys me.  These readings offer an alternative to despair as the Believer is immersed in daily choices.

God Bless Us, Every One                 Horace Brown King

My ruminations upon scripture readings for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook, or at horacebrownking.com

Some years ago, we were to meet our granddaughter Samantha at the Binghamton airport.  Since we hadn’t seen Sam for quite a while, we were expecting an adolescent and somewhat gangly youngster.  As the passengers came through the gate, a very attractive and self-possessed young woman greeted us and handed us her baggage, causing me to ask, “Who are you?  And what have you done with my granddaughter?”  Each of us wears a bunch of hats: as a citizen of  the USA and the world, as a member of organization/club, as employee/manager…and yes, as a Believer in Christ.  No wonder I’m confused!

Scripture this coming weekend helps us to clarify who we are, especially in light of the recent Easter.  The story from Acts is about the stoning of Stephen (7:55-60), and is meant to empower the Resurrection People.  Stephen’s death launched a wave of persecution (see Saul/Paul, Acts 9) and dispersed the Friends of Jesus to tell about him all over the Roman world.  If we can see ourselves as part of this ongoing dispersion, we may begin to identify our own personae in the face of draconian budget-cuts and other current attitudes of abandoning the poor…

Peter or his amanuensis writes to faith communities in Asia Minor who are feeling crunched because they’re running counter to the prevailing culture.  “But YOU are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, GOD’S OWN PEOPLE, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into [God’s] marvelous light!   Once you were not a people, but now you are GOD’S people!  Once you had not received mercy, but now you HAVE received mercy.” (I 2:9-10)  We all need a pep rally now ‘n’ then to remind ourselves Who We Are.  Can this be written over the exit doors of each church building?

Scattered post-Easter People are recalled to the Person of Jesus as the Christ in the Gospel lesson, John 14:1-14.  In retrospect, the Last Supper was an occasion for self- identity:  John’s readers were supposed to say, “Aha!  NOW I get it!”  Jesus speaks of preparing Eternity for those gathered around the bread & cup; he reminds Thomas and the rest of us, “From now on you DO know [my Father] and HAVE seen him.”  And later, an audacious promise, “Amen, amen, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”   Although discouragingly feeble, we their heirs are urged to claim our ancestry especially though disappointed with the prevailing culture.

People expect certain functions from those who wear ID credentials:  this is a doctor, she’ll fix my nausea; this is a computer techie, he’ll fix my laptop; this is a server, he’ll bring my dinner…  Our badges hopefully identify us as People who have seen the Resurrected Christ:  we’ll speak of peace and justice, faith and affirmation!  Dare I understand that even I have a place in the choir?

God Bless Us, Every One                              Horace Brown King

My musings on Bible passages assigned for the coming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

A 21st-Century challenge is to describe a sheep to a generation far removed from herding and pasturing.  Both testaments of the Bible are FULL of sheep–and so is our cultural repository of simile:  “pulling the wool over my eyes”, ” black sheep of the family”, “a nation of sheep”–not to mention assorted nursery-rhymes and Baad jokes. (Where do we get virgin wool?)…  So the futile preacher/teacher has her hands full of lanolin trying to talk about Sheep Sunday.  (“Daddy, what’s a sheep?”)

This Sunday will conclude for now our exploration of the Pentecost event as remembered by St. Luke in Acts 2.  Vv. 42-47 speak of the outcome of this visitation by the Holy Spirit:  “All who believed were together and had all things in common…”  But this was more than a commune, it was a public community centered  upon an active interaction with God!  Hearers of this, then & now, are enabled to envision salvation as a flock- event more than an individual revelation.  The acts of Acts are almost entirely done through the Believing Community, in response to a Divine In-breaking.

When I was quite little, my sweet Gramma used to call me “Lambie-Pie”.  (Yeccch)  The First Letter attributed to Peter coulda been her model: written to persecuted congregations south of the Black Sea, this epistle urges them to consider the sufferings of Jesus, the Lamb of God.  As good sheep, therefore, they have been called, “because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.” (2:21)   This can give some solace, I suppose; it also was stretched into masochism for many ensuing generations of wannabe sheep.

John’s picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd endures throughout Christian iconography:  how many church buildings do you know that don’t have at least one picture of Jesus with sheep?  Jesus’ occasion for this metaphor (John 10:1-10) is to assure the Flock that he’s the Real One, the shepherd they can trust for “green pastures and still waters”.  Our lectionary group got a bit bogged down with Jesus being the GATE.  Just before this he spoke of ENTERING the gate, opened for him by a trusted guard.  So who’s this Gatekeeper?  You?  Me?  St. Peter?  It may be better to let this alone and focus on the Shepherd…

Being called Sheep is not really complimentary:  they’re not at all bright, they tend to wander, and they’ve been known not to come in from the rain.  Come to think of it, maybe God’s writers have a point!

God Bless Us, Every One                            Horace Brown King

My musings about scriptural passages for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Most of us have driven there.  The forest track goes on and on; one maple looks like another; and we wonder if these ruts really come to an end at some place.  Maybe we’re just driving around and around!  Maybe we’ll never get anywhere!  Sometimes this long detour takes place in our heads:  ideas and emotions circle like buzzards, urging on our expiration on our way to Nowhere.  The weekend’s scriptures address this anxiety that, Easter notwithstanding, we may be trapped on the carousel of same old-same old.

“For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”  St. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, recalls to his Jerusalem hearers that there really is an outcome of their faith.(Acts 2:39)  They have just seen God’s Spirit blowing fire into Believers, and are aware that there’s a dynamic in these days after Easter: the people of God are being guided–driven??– into new life!  We read these words so many centuries removed so that faith communities can re-experience this emergent movement to Somewhere.

A much later letter ascribed to St. Peter, probably written in his name, is intended to bolster persecuted congregations in Asia Minor.  “You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors…” (I Peter 1:18a)  By the time this was written (64 AD?), the Easter light was spreading and “Nowhere” was replaced with the frontiers of the Roman Empire.  “The futile ways” were seen as yesterday’s affliction, now redeemed by the Resurrection.  Our Church IS going somewhere…

The Road to Emmaus story (Luke24:13-35) endures because it’s a good tale:  despondent acceptance is presented as earth-bound vision.  “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”  And then, revelation!  The Mysterious Stranger re-tells Messiah-ship from his perspective, and they recognize him in a sacramental moment as the Bearer of New Life….  What difference does a Risen Savior make when “death & despair in all around I see?”  What gloomy thoughts do we entertain on the Way to Nowhere, confined by the horizons of tight agendas and impossible expectations?

Cynthia A. Jarvis asks, “Where were we going when the question of a stranger prompted us to confess that we had lost our way?” (FEASTING on the WORD, A 2:423)  The revelation of the Risen Christ enables us to put together the incongruities of daily living into a purposeful Whole, to recognize that God continues to call us home.  We have not been left to wander the forest aimlessly: we HAVE a destination!

God Bless Us Everyone                                Horace Brown King

My thoughts on lectionary passages for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com