Sunday September 12 Pentecost 16
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Psalm 24
While entering through the doors of the temple the poet sings a hymn of praise to God who brought order out of the dangerous primordial ocean. Appropriate for a Sunday as we enter into our worship.
Psalm 29
Astonishment at the overwhelming presence of God in nature who rules the untameable ocean and even makes mountains cavort like calves and oak trees “writhe” in a gale! We worship such a God, who makes such strength and peace available to us.
1 Kings 19: 8-21 What’s Kings about?
On the mountain where the Ten Commandments had been given to Moses, Elijah complains to God that the entire country has abandoned God’s call to justice which is what the commandments were about. God denies Elijah’s implied request for power to put things right, symbolized by God not being in the wind and fire and earthquake of Moses’ experience. Instead the God of justice appears in complete silence, reserving power for God’s self. The message is that it’s not about Elijah, it’s about God’s justice.
With that insight, God sends Elijah to anoint two new kings and to call Elisha to be a prophet. These three are to enact the horrific consequences of a nation having abandoned the God of justice. But God will not allow the faithful people to be totally destroyed—thousands will continue and will carry faithfulness to the God of justice into the future.
The similarity of the names of the two prophets is deliberate. “El” is always one of the words for God. So Eli-JAH means “God is Yahweh, the God of justice” and not some other god such as the gods of greed and injustice that Ahab and Jezebel were worshipping. Eli-SHA means “God is saving”—we can trust this God of justice to act, and cannot trust the foreign gods whose priorities are wealth and abusive power.
John 11: 45-57 What’s John about?
Due to Jesus’ raising of Lazarus he and his miracles are becoming a threat to the authorities who know they have no such power to heal.
As often in John’s gospel those who wish to kill Jesus cannot help unconsciously affirming his authority—that’s how we see the God of justice exercising power even as events close in on Jesus.
We are likely to experience the same reaction in our day from those who falsely claim to offer life through greed or violence. And if we pay careful attention we may also hear them affirming justice unaware.
This is the final Sunday reading from John’s gospel. Next week we begin reading from Luke’s gospel on Sundays for the rest of the year.
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.
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