Early in the Hebrew Testament
reading for this week, Samuel is grieving over Saul’s abysmal kingship. God was
sorry that he had made Saul king as he disobeyed God’s decrees and decided to
do only as he wanted to do and in his own way. It’s an interesting and rare
moment that God regrets a decision. The only other time we’re told about is in
Genesis 6 when God regretted the creation of humanity and so, enter Noah. For
me, it’s comforting to know that there are times when God’s mind is changed
about a prior decision. While we only know about two of them from the Bible,
perhaps there are more? How does this speak to those who firmly believe in
pre-destination also known as fate or the concept that God already knows
everything that will happen?
God is then
preparing Samuel to find a new king for Israel and explains the criteria to
him. Mortals look at outward appearance and make judgments while God
looks on the heart and from that vantage point, God guides the
uncertain Samuel to choose Saul’s successor. David, who while the smallest seed
of Jesse, had a confident heart when the spirit of the Lord came
mightily upon him at his anointing.
When the reading
from 2nd Corinthians for this week began with "So we are always
confident...," I was immediately struck with the sense of how, more
often than not, I am far from feeling confident in my faith or in my
understanding of God. It feels especially rocky in those moments in life when, as Paul says
in Romans 7:15: "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what
I want, but I do the very thing that I hate." For that reason I had
to retreat to the end of chapter 4 and the start of chapter 5 in 2nd Corinthians to find my
internal footing, to begin to accept that the opening lines of today's reading
from Paul really can apply to me. Paul tells us just before today’s
reading that we [are to] look not at
what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary,
but what cannot be seen is eternal. [2
Cor 4:18] It all seems very cryptic but it then weaves into Paul's
reminder this week that being at home in this earthly body, that is seen and
also temporary, is life away from the Lord. We are called to seek our eternal,
and not yet seen, home with our Lord God, and in so doing we become a new
creation in Christ.
As usual, with Paul’s letters, we have to take our time
and plod through the sometimes density of his words to discover the meaning. It
is also important to remember that Paul wrote those letters in his time to
specific churches and communities in their time as guidance for their particular
issues. We can only truly relate to them in our own time, and IF those issues are
our own individual life and spiritual questions, and also collectively as a parish
for the same reasons.
Jesus
carries things further in his likening the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, a
very tiny seed that grows into a shrub or tree so large that birds can nest in
its branches. The parable of the mustard seed appears in the Gospels of
Mark, Matthew [Matthew 13:31-32] and Luke, and has always resonated with me,
especially later on in Luke when Jesus says that all we need is faith the size
of one of these very tiny seeds and mountains can be moved [Luke
17:6]. Just how small is that exactly? Well some varieties yield
seeds the size of the period that ends this sentence. The average modern
mustard seed is about one tenth of an inch across and it takes about
750 seeds to weigh one gram or 3% of one ounce. An average green grape weighs about 5
grams or 17% of an ounce. Well, I think my faith is as good as that tiny seed which
comforts my heart and a offers my soul quite a few more ounces of confidence.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Creator of
the Seen and Unseen, You brought forth and seeded the Universe with life and
living in all of its forms. Grow our willingness to tend our personal spiritual
gardens by weeding out temptation, feeding with prayer in action, and
prospering the work of our souls for Your service.
O Lord our God
RESPONSE:
Help
us grow confident in faith
~ Creator of the Seen and Unseen,
answer us in our days of trouble and cultivate the growth of virtue,
decency, empathy, and righteousness within the souls of all who govern in this
World, in this Country, and in this Community. Implant any change of heart
needed to bring about the full and equal flowering of all people,
and cessation of violence and war everywhere. We
pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord our God
Help
us grow confident in faith
~ Creator of the Seen and Unseen,
may all who are weakened by severe illness, depression, or desperation, feel
nested in the comforting shade of Your healing embrace. Fortify and strengthen
all those who give them care. We now join our hearts to pray for those in
need…add your own petitions
O Lord our God
Help
us grow confident in faith
~ Creator of the Seen and Unseen, through
the beauty and abundance Your Earth provides, we give continuous thanksgiving for the
brilliance of the eternal life, where those we love now live anew
and thrive forever. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord our God
Help
us grow confident in faith
~ Creator of the Seen and Unseen,
we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt
thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add
your own petitions
O Lord our God
Help us grow confident in faith
~ Creator of the Seen and Unseen, enhance
the special combination of humility and confidence in those chosen to serve as
leaders in Your Church. Guide them as they guide us to vibrantly bloom as a new
creation in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord our God
Help
us grow confident in faith
The Celebrant adds: O God,
Most High, instill in us the wisdom to know that, however small and humble our
beginnings, as we walk by faith and not by sight, we will surely reap the
fullness of life eternal from the seeds of Your infinite love and grace. We ask
through Jesus, our Christ, in whom all Creation is new; and the Holy Spirit whose
Wisdom enriches the roots of our souls; who together with You, are One God, now
and for ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment