Tuesday June 22 Pentecost 4
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Psalm 97
God’s power in creation is an expression of God’s commitment to justice—righteousness and justice are the foundations of God’s throne and therefore of all creation. We can count on God to uphold those who are without power as surely as we experience enormous power in creation. A wonderful image for our age when science shows us so much power in creation – dignity and justice are equally embedded.
Psalm 99
God’s justice was shown in the way God rescued the people from slavery and cared for them throughout history. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 100
A short hymn of praise that God has remained faithful forever.
1 Samuel 6: 1-16 What’s Samuel about?
The Philistines decide to test the cause of the plagues caused by the ark. They yoke it to two milking cows and turn them loose with an offering of gold to appease the source of the plagues. If the cows pull the cart to Israel, then it was the Israelite God who was offended and the Philistines will be safe since the ark has returned to its home, but if the cows pull the ark back to their calves which is what milking cows would normally do as fast as possible, then the plagues were only coincidence and not an indication that the God of justice is supreme. However, the cows, against all their normal instincts, go directly to Israelite territory and the ark is returned to its rightful place.
God’s justice is vindicated, and God is eager to return justice to Israel. What a remarkable experience it would be if we lived in that expectation about God’s eagerness to return justice to ourselves and to the national priorities of our nations.
Luke 22: 1-13 What’s Luke about?
Judas betrays Jesus who then prepares to eat the ceremonial meal commemorating the Jews’ ancient escape from Egypt signified by the ritual killing of lambs. The imagery of this ancient experience was applied to Jesus by the early Christians—Jesus is the new form of the lamb whose death will usher in a modern escape from the oppression of our day.
This passage challenges us to understand what sort of sacrifices, perhaps of our world’s need for endless consumption, may provide a new freedom for us and for the people of the earth, and for the earth itself. Being confident that the first step in that process has already been taken by God, can give us confidence to take our own steps along that path.
This week’s collect:
O God our defender,
storms rage about us and cause us to be afraid.
Rescue your people from despair,
deliver your sons and daughters from fear,
and preserve us all from unbelief;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and ever. Amen.
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