Today's Scripture Readings
1 Kings 3:5-12 (NRSV)
Psalm 119: 129-136 (BCP., p.774)
Romans 8:26-39 (NRSV)
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (NRSV)
Blog Reflection
When I read the story of King Solomon from 1 Kings, I get the impression that I am reading another fairy tale. A King that gracious and wonderful seems like something this world just couldn't realize from our imaginations. The story of Saul and then David leading up to Solomon is full of all kinds of battles, killings, relationships and endless conversations. When we get to King Solomon it appears as if everything has culminated in this one amazing man who ruled with his riches, but never forgot the poor or oppressed. The land he ruled was blessed beyond just peace and harmony, but the presence of God in all aspects of their lives.
Stories such as this should awaken in us the importance of praying for the world's leaders. It seems from a distant viewpoint that whether a society is governed by a so called democracy or a monarchy, the gap between justice for some people and all people is all that much wider. There is a lot of talk about working towards equal rights for all, but actually getting down to the work of making it happen is stalled because of some kind of prejudice, political maneuvering and back room money deals. It is up to Christians and other people of various religions and philosophies to speak up and be part of the movement towards a more inclusive Church and society by which justice is for all people.
The continuing violence between Israel and Gaza is something we must pray about and call for a cease fire. The centuries long debates about who owns what land, and whether or not there is enough room for everyone there seems to collide with catastrophic military actions that destroy property and kill unnumbered people. It is not appropriate for any leader of the world, or person of a religious (or no religious) persuasion to turn our eyes as if we are burying our heads in the sand of complacency.
Today's Reading from Romans is one of my very favorite epistles. We are reminded that our prayers offered are not of our own initiative. Our prayers begin from the heart of God who places within us a burning desire for a relationship with God in constant communion. Our response to God is the work of the Holy Spirit within us who makes intercession with God the Father on our behalf with a longing so deep that human words cannot utter them. The heart of God moves with love and desire that all of us will know how much we are loved to the point that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our life of prayer is linked to our responsibilities to each other in the community of humankind. It comes from a radical response to God's loving desire on our part and becomes the food, water and nourishment through which we become God's loving presence to others. It comes from a reverence for God that sees in each person the stamp of God's abiding presence that cherishes that person to such a degree, that withholding their dignity, peace or freedom enslaved to our own wills just cannot be conceived let alone executed by our actions.
In our Gospel today, Jesus calls on us to see ourselves as the mustard seed that sprouts into the largest of trees. We are God's treasure in the field, the pearl and that important fish in the net that Angels are called to gather us from among the catch. Jesus' message for us today is to know that relationship in our own hearts, so that we in turn love one another as God's treasure, pearl and the fish that must never be lost because of prejudice or carelessness.
The best news in this parable told by Jesus, is that even if we have not been so faithful to God and our responsibilities to one another, God's mercy is always calling us back for the forgiveness of our sins and restoration as divine daughters and sons of God.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons teaching about sin and grace was that sin is a state of immaturity and grace restores us to our Divine relationship with God. This concept is written about at great length in Patrick S. Cheng's book From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ. In 2 Peter 1:3,4 we read:
Amen.
Prayers
1 Kings 3:5-12 (NRSV)
At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you." And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?"
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you."
Psalm 119: 129-136 (BCP., p.774)
Romans 8:26-39 (NRSV)
The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- "For your sake we are being killed all day long;
- we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (NRSV)
Jesus put before the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
Blog Reflection
When I read the story of King Solomon from 1 Kings, I get the impression that I am reading another fairy tale. A King that gracious and wonderful seems like something this world just couldn't realize from our imaginations. The story of Saul and then David leading up to Solomon is full of all kinds of battles, killings, relationships and endless conversations. When we get to King Solomon it appears as if everything has culminated in this one amazing man who ruled with his riches, but never forgot the poor or oppressed. The land he ruled was blessed beyond just peace and harmony, but the presence of God in all aspects of their lives.
Stories such as this should awaken in us the importance of praying for the world's leaders. It seems from a distant viewpoint that whether a society is governed by a so called democracy or a monarchy, the gap between justice for some people and all people is all that much wider. There is a lot of talk about working towards equal rights for all, but actually getting down to the work of making it happen is stalled because of some kind of prejudice, political maneuvering and back room money deals. It is up to Christians and other people of various religions and philosophies to speak up and be part of the movement towards a more inclusive Church and society by which justice is for all people.
The continuing violence between Israel and Gaza is something we must pray about and call for a cease fire. The centuries long debates about who owns what land, and whether or not there is enough room for everyone there seems to collide with catastrophic military actions that destroy property and kill unnumbered people. It is not appropriate for any leader of the world, or person of a religious (or no religious) persuasion to turn our eyes as if we are burying our heads in the sand of complacency.
Today's Reading from Romans is one of my very favorite epistles. We are reminded that our prayers offered are not of our own initiative. Our prayers begin from the heart of God who places within us a burning desire for a relationship with God in constant communion. Our response to God is the work of the Holy Spirit within us who makes intercession with God the Father on our behalf with a longing so deep that human words cannot utter them. The heart of God moves with love and desire that all of us will know how much we are loved to the point that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our life of prayer is linked to our responsibilities to each other in the community of humankind. It comes from a radical response to God's loving desire on our part and becomes the food, water and nourishment through which we become God's loving presence to others. It comes from a reverence for God that sees in each person the stamp of God's abiding presence that cherishes that person to such a degree, that withholding their dignity, peace or freedom enslaved to our own wills just cannot be conceived let alone executed by our actions.
In our Gospel today, Jesus calls on us to see ourselves as the mustard seed that sprouts into the largest of trees. We are God's treasure in the field, the pearl and that important fish in the net that Angels are called to gather us from among the catch. Jesus' message for us today is to know that relationship in our own hearts, so that we in turn love one another as God's treasure, pearl and the fish that must never be lost because of prejudice or carelessness.
The best news in this parable told by Jesus, is that even if we have not been so faithful to God and our responsibilities to one another, God's mercy is always calling us back for the forgiveness of our sins and restoration as divine daughters and sons of God.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons teaching about sin and grace was that sin is a state of immaturity and grace restores us to our Divine relationship with God. This concept is written about at great length in Patrick S. Cheng's book From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ. In 2 Peter 1:3,4 we read:
"[God's] divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature."I believe that Jesus in today's parable is calling us to a mature relationship with God by which we understand that our prayer and our communal responsibilities to one another are linked together. This is such wonderful news. It means that our relationship with God is not isolated to a weekly appointment with our favorite pew, all the beautiful music and liturgy that makes our hearts sing. The relationship with God should overflow out the doors of our cathedrals and churches and into the heart of our daily lives with one another in mutual trust and love of God, neighbor and ourselves. Jesus' message to us in today's Gospel is that this is possible in this world.. In Jesus the Christ, the Word made Flesh, He showed us the we can move toward God with faith and trust in God's will for our lives.
Amen.
Prayers
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom
nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon
us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so
pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 12, Book of Common Prayer, p. 231).
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, p.815).
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