Thursday June 17 Pentecost 3
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Psalm 83
We are under terrible attack. God, act quickly and utterly defeat them. We can say the same: that our world is under attack from forces of greed and exploitation, and we desperately need to be rescued. We can interpret the almost violent images in this psalm, as an expression of our deep determination that nothing will overcome the work of justice, inclusion and dignity for all. If our culture felt that strongly about dignity of all, what a wonderful world we would live in!
1 Samuel 2: 27-36 What’s Samuel about?
God speaks to Eli through an anonymous holy man, about his sons’ terrible betrayal of justice, the justice for which the priesthood was the ultimate symbol. The holy man predicts that Eli’s sons and his entire family will pay with their lives for their infidelity. The oppression which will ultimately result in slavery in Babylon is appearing even in the priests.
Luke 20.41—21: 4 What’s Luke about?
As his confrontation with the authorities intensifies in the days before his execution, Jesus seems to be arguing against the widespread belief that the messiah would be descended from the great King David, a belief widely held by the early Christians who told stories on that basis about Jesus being born in Bethlehem, the town from which David had come. So it is very strange to find Jesus arguing that the messiah is not descended from King David.
The royal families in Jesus’ time were descended from David but had given up loyalty to the God of justice and had become loyal to the Roman empire and its gods of violent oppression. So by denying that the messiah would be descended from King David, Jesus is saying that God isn’t constrained by normal expectations and can act without reference to the powerful and oppressive royal families descended from David. Jesus then criticizes exploitation by religious leaders (members of the royal families) and commends the startling generosity of the very poor. No wonder he will be executed in a couple of days.
When the kingdom arrives, for which we are to live in expectation, many of our normal expectations will be reversed.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God, without you we are not able to please you.
Mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
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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