Author: Harold

Psalm 61
I was burdened and God became my strength—be with me always.

Psalm 62
In face of evil, we trust in God to be our solid foundation.

1 Kings 21: 17-29 What’s Kings about?
Elijah confronts king Ahab with his murder of Naboth and theft of his property, and describes the horrific consequences which will flow from his and his wife’s violent abuse of power. King Ahab recognizes the depth of his offence and repents, and God, being generous, postpones the consequences for Ahab.

Matthew 4: 12-17 What’s Matthew about?
After his cousin is arrested, Jesus moves to the north of the country, far from the area where John had led the revolt against Rome, and begins to proclaim that God’s kingdom is breaking in. By associating Jesus with communities mentioned by Isaiah, Matthew asserts that Jesus really is the hope that Isaiah had prophesied, and therefore is 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.

Readings for Monday September 13

Monday September 13 Pentecost 16

Psalm 56
In the face of intense attack by evil, we trust that God will act for what is right.

Psalm 57
Another psalm expressing our trust that God will act for what is right in the face of intense attack by evil.

Psalm 58
An impassioned plea for evil to be overcome. We should read the violence not literally but as an expression of our determination that good will prevail.

1 Kings 21: 1-16 What’s Kings about?
A vineyard owner refuses to sell his vineyard to King Ahab. Jezebel arranges for the owner to be accused of treason and executed. This is parallel to what King David had done to Uriah in order to marry his wife Bathsheba. We know there will be consequences when a king abuses his power.

Matthew 4: 1-11 What’s Matthew about?
Immediately after Jesus is baptized, he faces three temptations: to look after himself first (turn stones into bread), to use his god-like powers to protect himself (throw himself off the temple spire), and to use force to get his way (control the power of all the world nations).

These are not the ways God uses, and God’s ways are the final truth. This is worth bearing in mind in our time when those three are the priorities for so much of national and international life.

This week’s collect:

Readings for Sunday September 12

Sunday September 12 Pentecost 16

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:

Readings for Saturday September 11

Saturday September 11 Pentecost 15

Psalm 55
I am terrified at what is happening. The city is full of corruption and my dear familiar friend has betrayed me. I will not cease imploring God to intervene and put things right.

Appropriate for a Saturday, when Jesus, betrayed by friends, waits in silence in the grave.

1 Kings 18: 41—19:8 What’s Kings about?
Elijah predicts torrential rain, proving that he acts for the true God. But Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, whose prophets Elijah killed, swears she will kill Elijah by the next day. Elijah flees into the desert where he is mysteriously fed, and walks an immense distance to the mountain where the Ten Commandments had been given.

In contrast to King Ahab and his wife, Elijah is returning to the source of justice (Sinai and the Ten Commandments) and even at the threat of death is refusing to bow to the oppression and injustice of the royal family.

When we see people with that courage today we are deeply impressed.

Matthew 3: 13-17 What’s Matthew about?
John the Baptist has led the people across the Jordan into the promised land as Joshua did long ago. The people are ready for God to throw off the Romans. Then God acts: Jesus enters the promised land—the God of justice has acted and is in charge and God’s heavenly voice confirms this.

This week’s collect:

Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people,
that richly bearing the fruit of good works,
we may by you be richly rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings for Friday September 10

Friday September 10 Pentecost 15

Psalm 40
All my life God lifted me up and I rejoiced in God’s care. But now my own sin, and my enemies, have nearly destroyed me. Do not wait any longer, God!

Psalm 54
I am in dire straights. Put everything back to right, God. I praise you, because you have done that.

1 Kings 18: 20-40 What’s Kings about?
Elijah challenges the foreign prophets: they are unable to make their sacrifice catch fire despite day-long pleading to their god and offerings of their own blood. Elijah drenches his sacrifice with water and after one simple prayer from Elijah, God sends fire which consumes not only the sacrifice, but the stone altar, the earth around the altar, and even the immense volume of water. This means that Elijah is the true prophet because God accepts his sacrifice and rejects King Ahab’s religion. God’s power is confirmed when Elijah kills the false prophets so the people will no longer be led into exploitation by King Ahab.

This God of justice is powerful beyond all the manipulations and illusions of other authorities. Are we learning the truth of that proclamation for our time?

Matthew 3: 1-12 What’s Matthew about?
John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, calls people to prepare for God’s great rescue. In the ancient past God rescued the people from the Egyptians, but this time, John proclaims, God will rescue them from the Romans. Just as Joshua led the people out of the wilderness through the Jordan river, and God miraculously conquered Jericho, so John the Baptist leads the people of Jesus’ time across the Jordan to claim the land from the Roman empire. John’s wears clothing that deliberately imitates that of the ancient Elijah, who challenged the injustice of King Ahab, and who won.

As is typical of Matthew, the consequences of not responding to the offer of salvation in Christ are made clear—John the Baptist insists that if people don’t change their way of living and enact God’s justice and inclusion for all, there will be terrible consequences. For Matthew this is not threat but clarity—unless the people enact justice and refuse to collaborate with Roman oppression of the poor, trusting in God’s ancient covenant with Abraham will be of no use. Such a statement was heretical in the extreme.

John has insulted both the Romans and his own religious leaders. No wonder he will shortly be executed.

This week’s collect:

Readings for Thursday September 9

Thursday September 9 Pentecost 15

Psalm 50
This psalm imagines God’s response to the people doing evil and abandoning justice. Rather than simply reacting or punishing, God lays out the case as if God were taking them to court—the idea is that God is being completely fair and getting an unbiased opinion about what the people have done. They have substituted religion for being just and if this continues there will be consequences, but if they return to justice all will be well.

Psalm 98
The people, the nations, and the whole of creation delight in God’s victory and rejoice when God comes to put all creation right. This psalm is used at Easter, and is often used on Sundays, mini-anniversaries of Easter. There is some lovely imagery of the sea deliberately making a noise with its waves and rivers doing the same by clapping their hands.

1 Kings 18: 1-19 What’s Kings about?
Obadiah is a very senior official in the court of Ahab at Samaria and he is secretly loyal to the God of justice. A famine has come upon the land in punishment for Ahab’s commitment to injustice. When Elijah approaches Obadiah to arrange a meeting with Ahab, Obadiah is afraid that Ahab will kill him for associating with Elijah. The reader is learning how ruthless Ahab is. But Elijah declares that God will protect Obadiah and the meeting is arranged.

At the meeting Elijah challenges Ahab to bring the eight hundred and fifty false prophets he and his wife use to support their injustice. The challenge is to take place at an ancient holy site on Mount Carmel.

Matthew 2: 13-23 What’s Matthew about?
God warns Joseph of the danger that Herod wants to kill the infant Jesus. We know from other sources that Herod was indeed a ruthless despot and Matthew’s description of his attempt to kill all children under two years old is consistent with Herod’s historical reputation. For Matthew, this act of horror anticipates what the rulers will do to Jesus in adulthood. This is one of Matthew’s themes: that Jesus is rejected starting right from his birth. For Matthew, the Christian community will become the new Judaism who will follow God’s will for justice revealed in the Hebrew Bible.

Matthew uses a verse from a psalm, originally referring to Moses, to explain that the reason Jesus lived in Egypt as an infant and travelled from there to the promised land is because he is repeating the life of Moses. In this way Matthew presents Jesus as being the new exodus by which God will save the people. To drive the point home that God is guiding every detail of Jesus’ life, Matthew recounts angels, messengers from God, repeatedly appearing to Joseph in dreams, and uses multiple quotes from the Hebrew Bible to show that Jesus is the fulfilment of everything the Jewish faith had hoped for.

This week’s collect:

Readings for Wednesday September 8

Wednesday September 8 Pentecost 15

Psalm 119 Part 3
Psalm 119 is a meditation on responding to God’s call to justice. Every verse contains some synonym for “justice”, such as “word”, “statute”, “commandment” or the like. The psalm is arranged in groups of eight verses. Each verse in the group starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet – the first group of eight verses all start with A, the second group all start with B and so on. The first seven verses mirror the seven days of creation, with the eighth sometimes pointing to the next group. This very careful construction mirrors God’s creating the universe by overcoming chaos with order. In the human world, justice, dignity and fulfilment – the outcomes of justice – are the expressions of order in the human world. The human world and the rest of creation are thus united. Today’s three sections begin with the letters Z, H, and Th (in Hebrew alphabetical order). As you read them, imagine the effect of each line in today’s first section beginning with “Z” and so on.

1 Kings 17: 1-24 What’s Kings about?
For the next two weeks we read the stories of how the prophet Elijah repeatedly challenges king Ahab’s injustice.

God sends famine and drought to persuade Ahab to change his ways, and God protects Elijah from Ahab by having Elijah flee from the land back into the wilderness from which Joshua originally crossed into Canaan. There ravens feed Elijah and when the water dries up God arranges for a poor widow from the non-Jewish (and therefore one of the disgusting aboriginal people) near death to feed Elijah with the last of her food. But her jug of oil and of flour never run out. When her son is about to die, leaving her destitute without a male to protect her, Elijah saves her son from death. We see God committed to justice for the poor—even a poor aboriginal widow, the poorest of the poor, and God gives a central role to this poorest of all people as she enables Elijah to continue his challenges to Ahab.

Matthew 2: 1-12 What’s Matthew about?
We now start reading through Matthew’s gospel. Where Mark was focused on Jesus’ proclamation that God’s just rule was actually emerging, Matthew is interested in how members of the Christian faith behave towards each other, thus embodying God’s kingdom. Matthew is also interested in how followers of Jesus embody the kingdom in relation to God’s directions in the Hebrew Bible.

The birth of Jesus is so significant that scholars from a distant country are aware of it. But the local leaders are not aware and plot to execute the baby.

This week’s collect:

Readings for Tuesday September 7

Tuesday September 7 Pentecost 15

Psalm 45
A poem about King David, using the imagery of an ancient oriental king, describing his personal and public magnificence and the glory of his relationship with the queen. Note that his prime duty is to serve truth and justice.

We can read this poem as a description of our own fulfilled self and relationships which have been made possible for us in union with Christ’s resurrection.

1 Kings 16: 23-34 What’s Kings about?
We have skipped over two chapters describing further evil done by Jeroboam (king of the north, “Israel”) and his descendants. We now come to King Omri, one of the subsequent kings, whose disloyalty to the God of justice consisisted of founding the city of Samaria which will become the site of the competing Jewish temple and thus the source of hatred by Jerusalem Jews in the south even in the time of Jesus. A tiny Samaritan Jewish community continues to this day.

When Omri dies he is succeeded by his son Ahab who married a foreign woman who follows disgusting rituals. The writers of these stories understood that God had expressly forbidden marriage outside Judaism probably because during the seventy years in Babylon (four hundred years after the events in the stories) such assimilation had been happening. Even worse, child sacrifice is practised at the founding of Jericho.

The writers expect us to anticipate that God will intervene, and tomorrow we will begin reading the saga of how Elijah embodied God’s challenge against Ahab’s descent into injustice.

Mark 16: 1-8(9-20) What’s Mark about?
Mark has no appearance of the risen Jesus. It may be that Mark wanted the listeners—who are us—to be the ones proclaiming the resurrection as Jesus’ risen life appears in our own lives. The remainder of the text, after verse 8, was added later and was not part of Mark’s gospel.

This concludes our readings from Mark’s gospel. Tomorrow we begin reading through Matthew’s gospel.

This week’s collect:

Readings for Monday September 6

Monday September 6 Pentecost 15

Psalm 41
Just as we care for the poor and needy, so God cares for us. I am needy in that I have sinned and my enemies and even my friends are all conspiring against me and hoping that I will die. All I can do is trust that God will protect me.

When we, or our world, seem to have little hope, we ground ourselves in knowing God holds us fast.

Psalm 52
Cruel powerful people seem to run the world, but we trust that God will enable the world to be as fertile as a green olive tree and evil will be ended.

1 Kings 13: 1-10 What’s Kings about?
An un-named prophet challenges King Jeroboam for setting up an alternate altar, and the king’s hand withers when he points to the prophet to execute him. The king repents and God restores his hand, but the prophet refuses to accept honours from the king.

There are consequences for abandoning the God of justice, but although God is always ready to receive the king back, God cannot remove the inevitable consequences. The writers are suggesting that had the kings ruled with faithful justice, the northern part of the country, ruled by Jeroboam at that time, would never have been devastated by Assyria.

Mark 15: 40-47 What’s Mark about?
Jesus is buried with a dignity that later Christians would have wanted him to have had. But in fact, the Romans would never have allowed such kindness and dignity for someone crucified—the whole point of crucifixion was to utterly destroy the person and their body and probably to have even prevented burial—that would have been experienced by Jews of the time as an abomination. Christians at the time of Mark’s gospel could no longer bear the thought of Jesus being treated with such devastating contempt. They were suggesting that the resurrection was already starting through this imaginary dignified burial.

Our honouring of the God we worship through Jesus should not blind us to the extraordinary lengths to which God is prepared to go to remain faithful to us.

This week’s collect:

Readings for Sunday September 5

Sunday September 5 Pentecost 15

Psalm 63
I delight in the certainty of God’s protection and victory over evil. The violence in verses 9 and 10 can be understood as an expression of our intense desire that all evil will come to an end.

1 Kings 12: 21-33 What’s Kings about?
Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son ruling at Jerusalem in the south (often called “Judah”), intends to conquer the northern part of the country (often called “Israel”) to restore it to the rule of David’s descendants but is told by God not to do so. God has another plan that will turn out to be the destruction of the north by the Assyrians.

Jeroboam has built a temple and system of sacrifice in Samaria in deliberate opposition to the true temple in Jerusalem so that people of his northern kingdom would no longer have to go to Jerusalem to worship and so that he could retain the revenue and power. Jeroboam even provided two golden calves for worship—this was twice as bad as the sin when the people had worshipped a golden calf at Sinai. Their loyalty is no longer to justice but to the power of religion, and there will be consequences. The writers, following the destruction of the temple by Babylon five hundred years later, consider this to be the ultimate blasphemy which even the God of justice cannot overlook.

John 10: 31-43 What’s John about?
This is the last of our Sunday readings from John’s gospel.

The controversy about Jesus’ claiming to be God’s image continues—there are attempts to kill him. Jesus quotes from Psalm 82 which is about God’s priority of justice. He uses an argument which would be odd to us, to say that if God said to humanity in that psalm that despite the fact that we are virtually little gods (“I (God) said that you are gods…”), we will nevertheless die like mortals for abusing others, then what’s wrong with Jesus claiming to be the Son of God? Jesus says that the power he exercises in healings proves who he is.

In our day, insisting on the priority of healing care through justice and inclusion, can also bring violent reactions when people’s comfort and power are threatened. But those priorities of justice are proof that we are enacting God’s kingdom in this world.

This week’s collect: