The scriptures for our meditations come from first and second
Samuel, the Psalms, the gospel according to Mark, and Paul’s
second letter to the Corinthians. The meditations follow a
pattern of tracing the Story from its beginning in the Hebrew
scriptures to its climax in the memories of the early church as
reflected in the gospels, and then on to what sense the first
Christians made of the connection between the two, as worked out
in the epistles. At each step along the way, the effort is made
to glean what the scripture passage may say to us today, either
individually or corporately.
The Story continues with us. In our meditations we step into a
flowing stream.
June 5
A Different Vision
1 Samuel 8:4-20;Psalm 138;2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1;Mark 3:20-35
Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian when he sings...
went Cowper’s old hymn. That can also be the experience
of one reading the disparate texts of a lectionary. Each one is a
part of the same great Story, but what single message do they all
have for me today?
In the Hebrew scripture, the people of God confront God’s
prophet Samuel about their anxiety for the stability of their
system of government. They ask for a king "like other
nations."
The psalm is one of thanksgiving and joy, secure in the
knowledge that "God will fulfill God’s purpose for
us."
The gospel presents Jesus’ radical ministry, which causes
his family so much concern that they come after him to bring him
back to the safety of his home. They can’t get close because
of the crowds so they send word: "Your mother and your
brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you."
He makes the astounding reply, "Who are my mother and my
brothers? Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the
will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
The biblical record ends with the epistle and the great
apostle Paul assuring his little flock, "We look not at what
can be seen but at what cannot be seen."
The message for the week: A different vision.
The caution for the week: Let’s not absolutize the
different vision.
Sometimes the different vision can be as cautious as deserting
the new thing to be like everybody else. Sometimes it can be as
bold and imaginative as Jesus’ new definition of family. We
can remember the faith of the psalmist. God will fulfill
God’s purpose for us. We can remember the faith of Paul.
Look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen.
June 12
The Old Order Changes
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13;Psalm 20;2 Corinthians 5:6-17;Mark 4:26-34
Last week the scriptures invited us to contemplate the
new—a different possibility. This week we begin to live into
that new possibility: first in the Hebrew scripture, a new king;
a prayer for that new king in the psalm; parables about the
mystery of growth and change in the gospel; and in the epistle, a
salute to the new creation.
The selection of the unlikely David has overtones of the
selection of great David’s greater son, "the stone that
the builders rejected." The question is asked, "Can any
good thing come out of Nazareth?" But we remember the
different vision. "We look not at what can be seen but at
what cannot be seen."
Looking not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen may
illumine an often overlooked parable. Two parables are put here
close together; the second one about the mustard seed has
eclipsed the first one in familiarity. However, the first one,
about the process of growth, speaks to our different vision.
Someone scatters the seed. That is all she or he does. The
earth produces of itself! Jesus was talking about the
inevitability of the coming of the kingdom. That is the assurance
with which we work.
It was also the assurance with which St. Paul worked: "If
anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: Everything old has
passed away; see, everything has become new."
June 19
Power of God
1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49;Psalm 9:9-20;2 Corinthians
6:1-13;Mark 4:35-41
After last week’s surge of optimism, even with our
deepest wishing that it were so, we find ourselves sinning
against the Holy Spirit, doubting the power of God.
We need this week’s scriptures.
We begin with the ancient and beloved tale of David and
Goliath. It is an ill-matched battle, as you can imagine. The
contest begins with the usual exchange of compliments from the
warriors. Goliath promises to give David’s flesh to the
birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.
David replies, "You come to me with sword and spear and
javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the
God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied." David
continues, "so that all the Earth may know that there is a
God in Israel."
David, a shepherd lad, prevailed over an awesome warrior.
By the power of God.
The psalm celebrates that power. "The Lord is a
stronghold for the oppressed." But the psalm, with the
realism of Hebrew religion, acknowledges that the events may not
always bear this out. While the psalmist sings his faith that God
will not forget the cry of the afflicted, this is no Pollyanna
refusal to look at the affliction. There is trouble in the world.
But it is not the last word.
The gospel underscores this. The last word is God’s.
"Peace, be still."
This is a beloved story. Does its attraction for use suggest
we sense the words are addressed to us? "Lord, do you not
care?" we cry. It is an act of faith. We are in frightening
circumstances. We have no resources to help ourselves. We cry out
to the only One who can. Has it not been said human extremity is
God’s opportunity? Can it be that in the most desperate of
circumstances, we are reminded that the last word is God’s?
Peace, be still.
The power of God is demonstrated most gloriously in changed
human lives, and what better example than Paul of Tarsus. Our New
Testament scripture is an excerpt from one of Paul’s letters
to a group of people called by his work among them to be saints.
As we read the account of what is meant for Paul to continue in
his ministry, we have no other explanation for his power to
continue than the power of God.
June 26
Out of the Depths
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27;Psalm 130;2 Corinthians 8:7-15;Mark 5:21-43
For the last week of June, the days of which the poet sings,
"O what is so rare...?," our lectionary takes us to the
somber halls of death.
We begin with the superb dirge for Saul and Jonathan, believed
to be an authentic composition of David, a poem to secure his
place among the poets of the world. It is marked by moving
repetition and simplicity of language. No trace of bitterness for
the man who tried to kill him mars the poem, and the grief David
felt at the loss of his "brother" Jonathan is effective
in its restraint. "How the mighty have fallen" speaks
to many times and occasions.
The mood of sorrow and sadness is deepened by Psalm 130, a
masterpiece of a lament for personal sins. Because there are no
specifics about the cause of the experience of the depths, the
psalm has a universality that speaks to the lost condition of the
human race and the grace and mercy of God. What humility and
wisdom are in the lines,
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
And what trust! "There is forgiveness with you."
As we watch for the morning, this psalm is a good
companion—whether it is the morning of the next day or of
our life!
There is so much gold in the gospel story that one day’s
meditation or one week’s or one’s lifetime is not
sufficient to mine it. In one story Mark gives us a vivid picture
of Jesus the healer and Jesus the teacher.
Jesus responds equally to calls from the high and from the
lowly. His healing ministry reaches out beyond the ancient taboos
of a religious system. He knows who he is and what he can do and
knows when he has accomplished the task. His very being heals. He
incarnates the ritual.
Can you imagine the emotions that surged through the leader of
the synagogue who saw and heard it all? But then the final word
comes. The synagogue leader’s child is dead. There is no
more you can do. The depths. But this teacher lives out that
there is always something else you can do. Do not pay attention
to the counsels of despair.
After this high gospel drama, the epistle seems to plunge to
mundane issues of institutional survival. Do what you can,
counsels Paul. Your offering is acceptable according to what you
have, not according to what you have not. Quoting a later Paul,
"You are accepted." Out of the depths. n
VERNA J. DOZIER is an educator and lay theologian in
Washington, D.C. She is the author of The Dream of God: A
Call to Return (Cowley Publications) and The Authority of
the Laity (The Alban Institute).
Read other articles by:
Dozier, Verna J.
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