Friday August 13 Pentecost 11
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Psalm 107 Part 1
The first part of this psalm sings about how faithfully God has rescued people on many occasions: from slavery, from their own foolishness and rebellion against God, and from the dangers of travelling on the ocean. The ocean was a terrifying place for the Israelites, and the reference to God calming the storm and bringing them to harbour may have influenced the stories of Jesus calming storms.
2 Samuel 15: 19-37 What’s Samuel about?
Absalom’s insurrection against his father has grown stronger and David is fleeing from Jerusalem taking the ark and the original stones with the 10 commandments as protection. However, David sends the ark back to Jerusalem as a sign that he refuses to use the central symbol of justice for his personal gain. Some of his most loyal supporters are foreigners. David arranges for spies to remain in Jerusalem and report Absalom’s plans to him and prays that Absalom’s advisers will provide bad advice.
The writers struggle with the dilemma that God has anointed David as king, and yet royal abuse of power and abandonment of justice will bring disaster upon them when the country is conquered by Babylon five hundred years later just as David’s abuse of power has brought him to the point of being overthrown by his son. So David is described both as an abuser and as faithful to the Israelite God and as a successful military strategist to whom even foreigners are loyal.
Mark 10: 46-52 What’s Mark about?
The three occasions on which Jesus insists on moving towards death and the three refusals of the disciples to follow are bracketed by two healings of blind people. In contrast with the first, this second healing is immediate. This is also the only time someone healed by Jesus is identified by name. It is clearly an extremely significant event—the disciples are still blind to what Jesus was about, but soon will see.
Verse 52 says Bartimaeus “followed Jesus on the way.” This is a pun: “The Way” is what Christianity was originally called. And in the very next verse, “the way” is the path to Jerusalem and the last five days of Jesus’ life culminating in his execution and resurrection.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
you sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church.
Open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love, joy, and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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