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While I still lived at home, my Dad would admonish me to not sully the family’s good name with my bad behavior:  “Remember –you’re a KING!”  What constitutes being a “good” King?  Many who would observe Christ the King Sunday–the fulfillment of the Christian Year!–may feel uncomfortable with the term.  Most of our ancestors came across The Pond to escape being under royal decree…

Nevertheless, our readings begin with The Last Words of King David, II Samuel 23:1-7.  Detractors would point out David’s adulteries, his rash and explosive personality, and his moments of moody introspection as being un-Kingly.  Yet David was chosen to form God’s earthly kingdom because of his human side, as well as his enlightened vision.  Let yourself be immersed in his description of Godly rule:  “like the light of the morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.”  Smell the air.  Feel the mist on your eyebrows.  What a grand morning!    (“I’ve got a wonderful feeling Everything’s going my way!”)

The lesson of Revelation (1:4b-8) falls in the greeting:  “…from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” (v.5)  This passage can yield lots of ideas, but I like this 5th verse for its description of the Lord as being sovereign even over local kings.  We live in a time of mega-competing royalties–money & jobs, international manipulation, family & education–which are not evil in themselves, as long as they’re seen as subservient to Christ.

Poor Pilate couldn’t grasp the idea of an allegiance beyond Rome.   Sent to uphold the things that were Caesar’s, he had little choice but to eliminate Jesus, whom he and others considered a pretender to the Empire. (John 18:33-37)  “So you are a king?”  Jesus answered, “YOU say that I am a king…”  Again, it’s a question of allegiance, where we put our ultimate trust.

Radical that I am, I won’t pledge allegiance to the flag–or to the republic for which it stands!  Some can be dual citizens, and each has to decide where their loyalty lies. (I’m quite compulsive about voting and paying my taxes.)  More and more often, in my advancing years, I find a large gap between what civil society proclaims and what the Christian ethic stands for.  I like my creature comforts too much to go to a hermitage…how then shall I live?  The question for all of us is, “What will you do with Christ the King?”

God Bless Us, Every One          Horace Brown King

This blog can be read each Tuesday in this space on Facebook.

What’s God gonna do next? is an ageless question.  Soothsayers of recent time or long ago have made and lost fortunes by reading tea leaves, bird entrails, clouds and seasonal signs.  Down deep, this is an acknowledgement that The Other is in ultimate control, much as we’d like to be the captain of our ship, the master of our soul.  In the words of Cassius, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in our selves…”   But don’t let the weekend’s readings degenerate into mere parlor tricks of predictions:  the Evangel is in presenting God’s Steadfast Love, still at work despite overwhelming odds.

The story of Hannah, Samuel’s mother, is found in the First Book of Samuel, 1:1-2:10.  Hannah was impossibly barren of children; but her intense prayers were rewarded by the birth of The Prophet.  She announces this Great Reversal:  “the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength.” (2:4)  Nearing the end of the Christian Year, we’re refreshed by this vision of a Realm quickly progressing, one not dependent upon human strategies or momentary strength.  “The vision of reality sung by Hannah invites us to see the world as God intends, to behold what God is bringing about.  It is a vision that may sound surprising to some and may even be threatening to others.”  (Michael Pasquarello III, in FEASTING ON THE WORD. vol.B 4: 299)

The Letter to the Hebrew Christians is still comparing Jesus to the Temple’s High Priest (10:19-25).  The strength of this text is in what’s implied:  that Jesus has freed us from our anxiety about sin so that we may live as pioneers of an eternal country.  Believers are prodded beyond passive reception into active participation in that which is on our doorstep.  “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (v.25)

“Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” said the disciple (Mark 13:1)  But they won’t last, said Jesus: “all will be thrown down.”  Everything changes; but when??  There will be many “signs” and tumults, he said; always wars, earthquakes and famines.  So don’t follow every Chicken Little who announces that the sky is falling!  But do be alert, and open to what God is building.   Resist the easy answers and hold out for the coming of God to a heart near you…

How then do we move from darkness to light, from pity to parenthood, from musty tradition to the assurance of forgiveness?  Give thanks to a God who is present always–even in empty despair–and look for God’s surprising provision as each day unfolds…

God Bless Us, Every One!          Horace Brown King

Weekly insights into coming lectionary readings can be found in this spot on Facebook every Tuesday.

Despite the marketing of Yuletide hardware in the chain stores, the Body of Christ is now working toward and appreciating Bountiful Harvests and other indications of the approach of God’s Kingdom.  Prescribed readings for these several weeks will celebrate the richness of Creation and the blessings of life unfolding in Christ.  Although they appear unrelated, I’d like to suggest that lessons heard on the upcoming weekend carry a disguised common thread of God at work in everyday moments.

The Story of Ruth introduces the ancestry of David (therefore Jesus) through the conjugation of Ruth & Boaz (4:13-17).  A son was born, and Naomi immediately did the Grandma thing.  Her cronies announced that a son had been born “to Naomi”, and even named him Obed, “Servant of God”.  G. Malcolm Sinclair observes, “Part of the community’s strength is its realization that the Holy One is at work in the simplest, the earthiest, and the most authentic human experiences….Before all doctrine, theology, and liturgical tradition, there were simply people finding profound richness in the most ordinary and unlikely places.” (FEASTING ON THE WORD, year B #4:269-271)

The reading of Hebrews 9:24-28 can be pretty metaphysical–and oblique, if we’re not careful.  The main thrust is a comparison between earthly worship and that of eternity.  Some will get great mileage from the verses about Christ “appearing a second time…to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”  Yet I’d take this in the direction of finding a Holy Presence where and when we’d least expect it, even and especially in human contrivances.  Because of Christ’s one-time intercession, we need have no angst about not being good enough!  If our relationship with God has already been cemented, why should our imperfections keep us up at night?

Mark’s Gospel remembrance (12:38-44) is also one of contrasts:  Jesus cautions against putting on religious airs, as the scribes do.  He points out the devout widow with her two-cents’ worth as the ultimate example of knowing God’s blessings, and responding with a more holy attitude.  This is often a “you can give more” sermon, which is OK–again, I’d like to lift up the aura of surprise where it’s least expected.  Does the Kingdom of God find its harvest of blessings in the faithful expectations of one on the bottom of the ladder?

These readings are aimed at the 99%, we inconsequential strivers after wind who bring our hopes and fears daily before God, often embarrassed by the meagerness of our spirituality.  We need to hear that the gates of God’s Kingdom are indeed open, that there are surprises down the road from the Keeper of ultimate promises.

God Bless Us, Every One                 Horace Brown King

My comments on the weekly readings can be found on Facebook every Tuesday

The greatest mystery of life is that of death.  Theology and folklore have been melded through the years to accommodate our terrors and superstition:  caricatures of lost and damned souls have adorned medieval cathedrals and modern theatrical productions.  We sophisticates don’t believe in this, of course–but why do we run past graveyards?   New Orleans has made a bundle of money on tours of Cities of the Dead, and zombies have been in style for several years now…  Sunday is All Saints’, the day after the spooks disappear, and the readings most of us will hear help us to be more comfortable with death.

From “between the Testaments” come words from The Wisdom of Solomon (3:1-9).  The author encourages the faith-community to look beyond appearances:  “But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them….because grace and mercy are upon [God’s] holy ones, and [God] watches over [the] elect.”  We’re invited here to probe the truth and purpose of the Creator, who has allowed the mortality of humans.  The reading “also encourages wise and courageous daily living for individual believers and the community of faith.”  (Gary W. Charles, in FEASTING ON THE WORD, Year B, No.4:222)

The book of the Revelation to St. John has been used to promote all sorts of superstitions and tawdry practices.  But this selection, Chapter 21:1-6, is an assurance of God’s steadfast coming among us:  “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God….See, the home of God is among mortals…and God will be with them.”  Evidently the Author of All There Is isn’t stuck on a cloud somewhere far away!  Roger A. Ferlo writes, “Revelation is at its heart a book of consolation, a vision of comfort for a people persecuted and in distress….To hear this reading on All Saints’ Day is to hear a summons to solidarity with all those who have suffered in their witness to Christ.”  (FEASTING etc,. page 232, 234)

Why read the “Lenten” story of Lazarus’ resurrection (John 11:32-44) on All Saints’?  Probably because it looks beyond the grave to God’s immediacy in Jesus to those who’re confused and terrorized by the cessation of earthly “life”.  The raising of Lazarus becomes a symbol of Grace and Divine Direction for latter-day saints.  What then can separate us from the love of Christ?, asks St. Paul.  “Neither death nor life…”  The renewed Lazarus has become unbound from the terrors of death; thus shall all friends of Jesus find a manifestation of Life.

I’m not afraid of being dead.  What DOES paralyze me with fear (especially in the dark hours of the night) is the process of dying!  I once remarked to my friend Bill Reid that I was dying of a THOUSAND things–to which he replied, “But you’ll only die of ONE of them, so don’t worry about the rest!”  Well, yeah.  In the unity of Creation, death is only one more adventure in life.  “In life, in death, in life beyond death, we are not alone.  Thanks be to God!”

God Bless Us, Every One         Horace Brown King

“What do you get when you play a country song backward?”, asks the old joke.  You remember the answer:  your best friend brings back your wife and your 18-wheel rig, your bass boat gets fixed and resurfaces on the lake, and your old dog comes back to life.  Happy ending!  The scriptures we’ll hear this weekend remind us that a gracious Deity offers a second chance–and more–at finding fulfillment.

We close out  several weeks of considering Job by hearing the moral at the ending (chapter 42).  Job finally acknowledges that God is God, and that he is not:  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted….therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (vv.2, 6)  No matter how long it takes to finally see the light, God waits:  “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before!”  Or at least Job appreciated it twice as much… (v.10)   “And Job died, old and full of days.”  THE END

The unknown writer of the Letter to the Hebrews is determined to assimilate the Christ into the Jewish tradition and theology.  In Chapter 7, s/he speaks at length about Jesus as the Eternal manifestation of the High Priest.  But here’s the contrast:  human high priests need to offer sacrifices for their own sin, whereas the Christ does not!  In Jesus, God presents the Perfect as an indication that human foibles will not persist in the new regime.  “For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.” (v.28)

Mark’s Gospel recalls the healing of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. (10:46-52)  Ol’ Bart evidently hadn’t always been blind: he answered Jesus, “My teacher, let me see again.”  I have no trouble in believing that this occasion really happened; but is the blind beggar an archetype of the human awareness that there’s “more to see”?  Blinded by all kind of distractions and lusts, our field of holy sight grows more ‘n’ more narrow–’til we sit by the side of the road, dependent upon the largess of those who still travel there.  Bottom line:  there IS restoration and perfection to be received when Jesus comes near!

All in all, these are “happier” readings than we’ve had of late.  The Season of Kingdomtide has swung in a great arc:  the first snow-shower of the year presages putting the gardens to bed and closing the deck.  This has always been a time of introspection for me:  early darkness urges our souls to  a new appreciation of participating in eternal and marvelous cycles.  May these words of worship   restore and perfect our trip toward harvest-time….

God Bless  Us,  Every One                Horace Brown KIng

This weekly commentary may be found every Tuesday on Facebook.

Somewhere along the rail-line The Little Engine That Could morphed into Thomas the Tank Engine.  Both are pretty positive, as far as locomotives go, about cheerfully taking on hard or next to impossible tasks.  As an Old Curmudgeon, I’ve become disillusioned with Positive Thinking: despite my happiest thoughts, the weather never seems to clear up; neither do my friends win the lottery.  Clicking my heels three times hasn’t brought me a bit nearer My heart’s Desire:  I’ve long since given up on the idea of “Home”.  This weekend’s scriptures address our ambitions and shed truthful light on our limitations.

Job has been complaining that God’s unfair, and says that if HE (Job) were In Charge, things wouldn’t be so topsy-turvy…especially for the self-righteous.  Finally, God has had enough, and calls Job out:  “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?….Where were YOU when I laid the foundation of the earth?….Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,…send forth lightnings….tilt the waterskins of the heavens?” (38:2,4,34ff)  No, Job, you’re really not cut out to be God –so be as good a human as you can…and kwitcherbellyachin!

High priests of Judaism are sterling people, says the writer of the Book of the Hebrews. (5:1-4)  They’re chosen to offer gifts & sacrifices, honored by God’s Calling.  And yet they’re human, with all the attendant errors and doubts.  Jesus, however, was begotten to be a priest forever, obediently bearing human prayers and supplications.  The writer contrasts our human imperfections with Jesus’ being made perfect:  although the high priests were (mostly) honorable, the coming of Christ calls them out, as well.  “So You Think You Can?”

The story Mark tells (10:35-45) is evidently central, because Matthew & Luke also refer to it.  James & John, “sons of thunder”, speak their ambitions about seeking the best seats in Jesus’ “glory”.  Considering that Jesus’ “glory” is the Cross, they didn’t know what they were asking!  Jesus asked, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink…?”  He went on to remind them that the Kingdom of God isn’t based on human procedures:  “whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”  So, do you still think you can?

Some of our discomfort with these passages is because we all have some Zebedee DNA in our genes.  Job-like, I tend to advise God how things could be done better.  My priestly vocation is a sense of pride, despite my moral pratfalls.  And yes, thank you, I’d prefer the richness of the Heavenly Banquet without going through the pain of discipleship.  Knowing this, you’d think that I would welcome humility!  No; like Whack-a-Mole, arrogance & pride pop up again and again…  Alas, it is to ME that God poses the question, “So You Think You Can?”

God Bless Us, Every One                 Horace Brown King

(Weekly blogs appear each Tuesday, and can be accessed at FaceBook)

The Munchkins showed Dorothy the yellow brick road which led to the Emerald City, the house of the Great and Magnificent Oz.  The road led through all sorts of critical places, each one yielding a traveling companion when the danger had passed.  Despite the heroics of outsmarting the flying monkeys and baptizing the witch, her Heart’s Desire was found beyond the all-too-human Wizard: in her post-dream life which she had all along!  “Oz never gave nuthin’ to the Tin Man that he didn’t already have!”   But, oh, the quest for the Emerald City…!

“Oh, that I knew where I might find [God],” said Job, “that I might come even to [God’s] dwelling!” (23:3)  Job knew that his case would be heard, and felt deep down that he would be vindicated.  Amidst shallow advice from friends & family, Job searched as we do for the high place where  Justice would be served.  “Job wants his hearing because, for all of the invective he hurls into the chasm of divine silence, he cannot let go of the conviction that God is ultimately just, and that God ultimately will hear him.” (J. S. Randolph Harris, FEASTING ON THE WORD, B 4:147)

The Jewish community was into the idea of “High Priest” more than we are.  But the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews acknowledges that some believers will initially need an intercessor to open the door to the holy place.  This writer confesses that this is Jesus,  who has encountered and passed through the dangers, toils & snares on his own (yellow brick?) road to the Eternal City.   This gives us confidence to move ahead:  “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (4:16)   Or does grace find US?

The Righteous Rich Guy came to Jesus and said, “I’ve done all the requirements…yet there must be Something More.” (Mark 10:20)  You know that Jesus told him to give away his Stuff and become a disciple.  Alas, this was too much of a change: he couldn’t do it.  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” (v.25)   The fellow wasn’t particularly sinful–but his weakness was in being held captive by possessions, thus being prevented from enjoying the full life of the Kingdom.  What baggage must I lose on that winding road?

So what’s the message of Grace for this week’s worship?  Is it that Job’s God will sit with the suffering to hear out our angst?  Is it that through Jesus we have access to the Face of Glory?  Maybe it’s the opportunity to throw out our accumulated griefs & superstitions, and start clean with the Master?  The way through the labyrinth tries our patience and our sense of direction–and treasure is found at every twist.

God Bless Us, Every One                   Horace Brown KIng

How do we get along together?  Even the most primitive tribes have cultural rules for their members’ survival and well-being.  In more progressive tribes, an Outside Power (Divinity) is acknowledged to be the provider and maintainer of these rules.  Those who believe that a god is a human invention often manipulate and temper these rules.  Others with a transcendent view of God are still struggling to get it right.(?)  During these Kingdom-weeks at the climax of the Christian Year we continue to be examined by scriptures calling the believer into an unfolding community of both Faith and Integrity.

Job is a tale from pre-history which confronts and refutes our naive teaching that “if we’re Good, then we’ll be blessed”  all our lives.  When we attain a certain age, we begin to realize that Bad Things often happen to Good People–and we begin to think that there was no reason to Be Good.  With Mrs. Job we ask ourselves, “Do you still persist in your integrity?  Curse God, and die.” (2:9)  The Evil One has often whispered in my ear, “Nice guys finish last!”  Honest churches must allow these words to be spoken; denial is more than a river in Egypt.  Thomas Edward Frank reminds us that “life together is a continual discovery of God sitting in the ashes beside us.”  (FEASTING on the WORD, B 4, p.126)

The Prologue to the Book of the Hebrews introduces this foray into Cosmic Truth almost as well as the movie introduction, “In A Galaxy Far, Far Away”:  “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these [recent] days he has spoken to us by a Son….and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” (1:1-3)  Again, the listening Church must live within the knowledge of paradox.  As somebody’s Law and all its corollaries remind us, “Stuff Happens!”  The Old Rules aren’t fully adequate–what, in these recent days, shall we do with The Christ?

Alas, Mark’s remembrance of Jesus’ teaching about divorce (10:2-12) has been used to bludgeon victims of abuse and degradation for centuries.  This passage isn’t about Getting Along despite the Cost!  It DOES speak up for those who’ve been shelved arbitrarily, those who’ve been retired for a newer model, those who’ve been locked-out as victims of boredom.  Jesus is again re-writing the rules to provide support for the cast-off and the powerless.

21st-Century Living is about community, like it or not.  There are few places to hide where we’re not connected to others.  Once -useful rules for isolated tribes don’t deal with the complexities and paradoxes now thrust on us.  Old standards are no longer absolute as we rub elbows with cultures new to us.  The Christian Church can: a) say nothing, pretending that we still live in the 1800’s; b) denounce “those” people who’re not clones of who we think we are; or c) actively engage in open conversation about how our Faith-Journeys help us to meet the challenges of an ever-expanding Creation–and its Creator.

God Bless Us, Every One.                    Horace Brown KIng

I admit it.  I’m a fairweather friend.  I can be a humorous and sanguine buddy as long as things are going well–but if you really need a helping hand, I can usually duck out by doing something else.  Fortunately, God isn’t like that.  In all seasons, God can be relied upon to be an empathetic and genuine companion, always ready to hear and attend to our anxieties and disappointments.  Lessons for the coming weekend uncover this Steadfast Love, and remind us of our own importance within  Creation.

We begin with selected verses from the Book of Esther (7:1-10; 9:20-22)  This book wasn’t written down in current form until the time of the Maccabees–about 175 BCE–although portions of it had been passed on as oral tradition for several centuries before.  The book doesn’t pretend to be “history”:  its purpose is to encourage the Jewish people to endure in times of trouble, for wickedness and racial persecution will get zapped in the end!  This message is important today because of the fear- mongers who stir up anxiety about good people who’re maligned because they look different or speak differently or worship differently than “we” do…  So it’s a message of social justice and faith in a God who hasn’t let us down.

The Epistle reading is that of James, the Advice Columnist of the New Testament, 5:13-20.  Today he urges intercessory prayer for the sick, the broken and the wandering.  His implication is that the God of Steadfast Love will receive these needs and make the sufferer(s) whole…no matter how bad things have been.  Those who tackle this text “will almost certainly find resistance,since it is no small thing to dislodge the self-serving wisdom of the world with the community-healing wisdom of God.”  (Barbara Brown Taylor)

And the Gospel seems loaded with harsh judgment (Mark 9:38-50):  is this really Jesus telling us to purge ourselves of an offending body part?  The bottom line seems to say that it’s better to enter eternity maimed than to be thrown into hell for the sins of “one part”.  (Devout Jews were not allowed into the sanctuary if they were bodily deformed or incomplete.)  Can we infer that the God of Steadfast Love makes room in heaven for even the imperfect?  This can get tricky, if we’re to keep integrity with Mark’s remembrance.

A recurring theme will continue to surface during these weeks leading to the fulfillment of the Christian Year, before we turn to the anticipation of Advent.  That theme is one of Building the Good Community, becoming the People of God more and more along our Holy Journey.  There is really nothing to fear as we acknowledge this God of Steadfast Love who is unfolding a goodly future before us.

God Bless Us, Every One                 Horace Brown King

The Lessons assigned to this coming weekend are difficult.  If there’s a thread running through them, it’s that of Community Development.  That is, God is trying to build The Good Community–the Kingdom of God?– from a motley crew of sinners who are coming along with a great deal of baggage!  Blinded by tribal sayings that may or may not be of God, we stumble in un-knowledge  and try to discern the sacred presence within and around us.

In England, there’s a pub–maybe several–called “The Silent Woman”.  It’s sign depicts a female form with no head.  (The correctness police are on their way!)  We begin with a questionable passage from Proverbs 31, beginning at verse 10:  “A capable wife who can find?….”  I have no idea how this got to be Biblical, for it has been used to abuse women for 2500 years!  It may have been a descriptor of the Ideal Wife in ancient Israel; perhaps it was a love-letter by some well-meaning guy that got slipped into the manuscript…  Oft-quoted by insecure males who’re afraid of women when they’re not barefoot & pregnant, it seems to have little value.  Can YOU find any Grace or God-talk here?

James has flowing images for building up the Church as Christ’s body (3:13-4:3, plus 7 &8).  I especially like his scolding us, “You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder.  And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.   You do not HAVE because you do not ASK.” (v.7)  Of what are we scared?  Is our dealing with authority so terrifying that we hang back?  Somehow we’ve gotta ditch the tribal wisdom that we’re “in the hands of an angry God”!

Well, Jesus WAS kinda angry with the thickness of his disciples who didn’t get it because they didn’t want to hear it.  Pastor Michelle calls them the “duh-ciples”!  We see this especially in Mark’s account which doesn’t use unnecessary words to capture the intensity of Jesus’ radical teaching.  “But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask.” (9:32)  And a few verses later, Jesus asked them what they were arguing about as they traveled–but they were silent.  C’mon, folks, how can we experience the Holy if we won’t talk to God??

Talking with God involves more than praying for a pony, or that Saturday will be nice for the picnic.  Sacred Writ through the ages has stressed the delight of meaningful conversation with a caring friend.  We dare approach the Creative-Redemptive-Sustaining energy of each day as this divinity swirls around us!  Our assignment, then, is to revel in this relationship AND to invite others in:  don’t be scared!

God Bless Us, Every One.              Horace Brown King