People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: By the Bushels ~ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost '24 Yr B

For Sunday, June 2, 2024; Readings: 1Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20), Psalm 139: 1-5, 12-17;

2 Corinthians 4:5-12, Mark 2:23-3:6

Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" [1 Samuel 3:8b-9]

Lord, you have searched me out and known me...you discern my thoughts from afar...You trace my journeys and my resting places and are acquainted with all my ways. Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you O Lord, know it altogether...For you yourself created my inmost parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. [Psalm 139:1a,b; 2-3, 12]

For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ...For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus made be made visible in our mortal flesh. [2 Corinthians 4:6, 11]

One Sabbath Jesus and his disciples were going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"...Then [Jesus] said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath..." [Mark 2:23-24, 27]

Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm of all, well, most of it. In the verses appointed for this Sunday, we celebrate "the mystery of human personhood" as Biblical Scholar Walter Bruggemann has called it. We have left aside, for the moment, the parts that take our personhood to another part of our mortal being, the very human desire for vengeance. But we will leave our Smite-ing God for another day and think about the God who calls to us.

Samuel hears and is confused. Was it a BOOMING GOD VOICE or a still small voice as he was lying in readiness for sleep? We don't know but it causes me to wonder if, when, and how has God's Voice come to me unrecognized and therefore unattended. But Eli had the perfect solution, if Samuel hears ~ or thinks he hears ~ God calling, simply say, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. After all, the Psalm is very clear about what the Lord knows about us as we were knitted together in our mother's womb. And when life is feeling especially dark, and the uncertainty of God's voice and presence looms large, Paul reminds us that it is God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness" ...the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus...

Our fragile human existence, our life ~ this treasure in clay jars ~ is intended to not only receive but to give that light out. When we know within and others can see from the outside that Jesus is visible in all that we do in our lives, it takes me right back to the Psalm. God has searched us out, knows our ways, our thoughts, and the words on our lips ~ almost frightening on one level, yet comfortable on another. Who else but with God are we totally ourselves, with nothing to hide, and, if we relax into it, as in true Sabbath time, there is nothing to fear. But are we listening?

Jesus seems prepared and mildly defiant when questioned by the Pharisees about the disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath. The incidents recounted in Mark don't reach a level of vengeance, but it is notable that it says Jesus looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart..." when questioning the Pharisaic enforcers. We don’t know the tone of voice, perhaps sarcastic, about whether it is lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath. Jesus told them earlier that the law was made for humans not humans for the law and he was absolutely defiant and intentional in his flagrant healing of the man with the withered hand. There is a very deep message to hear. Religious and secular laws can reflect the values and commitment of individuals and communities for a just and fair society. But taken to an extreme they can also be used against individuals and communities through technicalities that defy the spirit or intent of the law as it was instituted, especially by those who want power over others. God instituted the Sabbath for human rest. If someone was unable to gather enough food the day before, should they be expected to go hungry for the sake of the letter of the law, or be denied healing? Jesus didn't think so. But listen for all the grains of truth that fall around us and pile up, and we fear disturbing the heap, we may become desensitized to the genuine needs of others. Let us release ourselves from only hearing the truth we want rather than the truth that is. As we follow God’s call to Sabbath rest, we will begin to recognize when and why we have allowed our own hearts to be hardened. Let us cease our rejection of the heartless by being heart-full. Let light shine out of darkness... Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening for the bushels of truth you offer.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Most High and Holy God, You created and know us in all our ways, our thoughts, and our words. Grant us the desire and intent to seek and then listen to Your Voice when it comes. Guide our path to use the lives You have given us to live in humble and grateful service to and through the message of Christ Jesus.