Monday August 9 Pentecost 11
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Psalm 89 Part 2
The poet accuses God of breaking God’s commitment. God, the poet says in the first part of this psalm, you chose David as king and promised to protect him forever with the same amazing power with which you created the universe. In this second part of the psalm he says to God, You said you would be his father and he would be your son. But now you have broken your promise and have allowed him to be humiliated and his enemies rejoice in his defeat. God, you are faithless. Yet we can only trust in you. There is nothing more to say.
2 Samuel 13: 23-39 What’s Samuel about?
Absalom murders his brother Amnon in revenge for Amonon’s rape of his sister. David is distraught at Amnon’s murder, and Absalom flees. However when his grieving for Amnon is over, David longs to see Absalom again.
For a second time the writers show David in grief over the death of a son as a consequence of murder by royalty (the first was the death of his first son as a consequence of David’s having had Uriah murdered). Yet the possibility of healing is offered.
Mark 9: 42-50 What’s Mark about?
Jesus has just insisted that the disciples make care for each other their priority and that they fully accept non-disciples as equal to themselves. Jesus now uses deliberately exaggerated and almost hilarious images of excessive self-denial to capture the disciples’ attention (and ours) to the absolute importance of our living out the kingdom of justice and inclusion of all. Because without being that kind of salt for the rest of the world, we are as useless to anyone as tasteless salt.
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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