Tuesday August 3 Pentecost 10
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Psalm 78 Part 2
When they were in the desert escaping from Egypt, the people ignored God in spite of God’s immense commitment to them in utterly defeating the Egyptians with plagues. When they finally arrived in the land God had promised, they did the same thing, ignoring God again. That’s why God allowed the foreigners to capture the ark which contained the original stone ten commandments and to kill the priests. But in spite of that, like a warrior waking up refreshed, God completely defeated their enemies and established a temple in Jerusalem and gathered the people together like a skillful shepherd under the leadership of King David.
The poet expresses his interpretation that behind the chaos of victories and defeats lies God whose commitment to the people is permanent despite their lack of commitment to God and the overwhelming military power of their enemies. A good challenge to us as we wonder about the chaos of our time and in what way God is being faithful to humanity now.
2 Samuel 7: 18-29 What’s Samuel about?
God has asserted his authority over David in refusing to accept David’s consolidation of power by building a ‘house’ for God—a temple of immense wealth, but promises David his own ‘house’ of an eternal royal lineage. David prays this prayer of thanksgiving and requests that God indeed make his lineage permanent.
Early Christians, who were all Jews, applied this idea of David’s permanent house to Jesus, calling him Son of David, thus claiming for Jesus the mantle of Israel’s greatest king who had brought to Jerusalem the essence of justice—the ark with the original ten commandments.
Mark 8:22-33 What’s Mark about?
At the mid-point of Mark’s gospel the tone completely changes. There are few miracles from this point onwards. Jesus speaks from now on about how the kingdom, which the disciples have welcomed enthusiastically up to this point, can only come through death and resurrection. Peter refuses this call, as will all the other disciples. The stories of how the disciples refused Jesus’ invitation to death and resurrection begins with the story of a blind man healed by Jesus who at first sees only partly and then sees well. That is what is about to happen to the disciples. They can’t ‘see’ how God is bringing in the kingdom in this way—they want it without sacrifice. But later, like today’s blind man, they will see clearly and follow Jesus’s way.
It’s a pretty good description of disciples in all times and places.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
your Son Jesus Christ fed the hungry
with the bread of his life
and the word of his kingdom.
Renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your true and living bread,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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