Saturday September 18 Pentecost 16
Click here for simplified daily office prayers
Psalm 75
God assures us that justice will prevail.
Psalm 76
Praise to God who stands with overwhelming power for the poor and for the oppressed.
2 Kings 2: 1-18 What’s Kings about?
Elijah journeys through a series of holy places where the God of justice had been experienced, as he goes to Gilgal, the location where the ancient Israelites first camped when they first crossed the Jordan leaving the wilderness and entering the land God had promised them. There Elijah and Elisha cross the Jordan into the wilderness and Elijah is taken up to heaven, the only prophet who did not die. This, and his commitment to justice is probably why he appears with Jesus at the transfiguration.
As Elijah is taken up, his mantle falls on Elisha, who becomes the new prophet to challenge oppressive kings. Like his mentor, Elisha reenacts Joshua’s ancient crossing the Jordan, thus escaping Egyptian slavery, to enter the promised land. This is a political statement that defies the contemporary slavery being imposed by Israelite kings on their own people. It is now Elisha’s role to continue Elijah’s confrontation of the oppressive royal family.
The compilers of these stories, who no longer had kings because they had been killed by the Babylonians, understood that only prophets could be relied upon to be faithful and to lead the Israelites back to the God of justice following their release from Babylon.
Matthew 5: 17-20 What’s Matthew about?
At the time Matthew was writing his gospel, one of the central critiques of Jesus was that he was disobeying God’s ancient commands, such as to keep the Sabbath holy by not working or healing. Matthew is concerned to demonstrate that Jesus was not being unfaithful but was completing the ancient commands. Jesus is clear in this passage that the new freedom he brings does not imply that people can ignore the ancient expectations of living with justice—that remains essential to being the people of God.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
you call your Church to witness
that in Christ we are reconciled to you.
Help us so to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may turn to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Click here to share a comment on the web site.