George Love, Pastor of Hebron Presbyterian Church, continues sharing his thoughts on the Daily Lectionary Series of Bible readings. You will find his most recent comments at the top, with earlier ones below. See earlier ones in previous months by following this link.
We have also added daily links to Presbyterian Church (USA) website where you will find the Scripture readings for that day. We hope you will find this a helpful way to join us in seeking God's message for our daily lives.
June 3
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Psalm: Psalm 65
Second Reading:
Galatians 2:11-21
Gospel: Matthew 14:1-12
"…he has put a sense of past and future into their minds." - Ecclesiastes 3:11
Ecclesiastes is a wonderful, thoughtful book. It asks questions that bring together philosophy and theology. Today's passage includes the refrain about there being a time for everything under heaven. People that may not know those words are scripture are familiar with them from the longtime popularity of Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
It is a good book to read slowly and to contemplate and engage the questions it asks as you go. Beyond that it throws out ideas and assertions that are worthy of pausing and considering, giving time to let them breathe and knock around in our minds a bit. In 3:11 the writer points out a hallmark of what makes us human. God has gifted us with a sense of the past and an awareness of the future. We know that this moment is not everything; it came from somewhere and it will lead somewhere.
Because of our awareness of our past, we have memories, and those memories hold a huge sway in our lives. They give us confidence or they fill us with regret. We arrive in the present moment with all of those memories inside of us, shaping us and impacting the way we respond to present circumstances that may or may not have anything to do with what has gone before.
Similarly, we know that there will be a next hour, minute, day, and year. We know that what we do now in this moment, we will have to live with in all of those subsequent moments. This knowledge can inspire us and it can make us anxious. We stand here in the present moment, but our minds are already exploring where our actions and choices may take us.
In the next part of this phrase, it goes on to say that all of this awareness, does nothing to help us know the totality of what God is doing. It puts into sharp relief the tension that exists between our limited awareness and the sweep of God's activity, beginning with creation and continuing to wherever it is headed. Scripture gives us guidance, but we can find ourselves frustrated knowing there is a tomorrow, knowing there are choices to be made and actions to be taken, and not knowing beforehand what the outcomes of those choices and actions will be. We arrive then, at the place of necessary faith, hope, and trust in the God who loves us and gave us these gifts, both of looking back and looking forward.
June 2
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 2:16-26
Psalm: Psalm 54
Second Reading:
Galatians 1:18-2:10
Gospel: Matthew 13:53-58
"And he did not do many deeds of power there because of their unbelief." - Matthew 13:58
This is a very specific passage in terms of a thing happening in a particular place with a particular context and particular people. Jesus has gone home, has done some public speaking and the people just aren't sure they like what they've heard. They know who Jesus is and so they know who he cannot be. Who he cannot be is who his words are asserting he is. See, it feels very dialed into that specific circumstance. Until. Until we get to the sentence at the last that puts the bow on the story.
At that point it becomes a story in which any of us could make an appearance. It becomes a cautionary story for people of faith who are aiming to follow Jesus. It's about what we've decided is possible and what we've determined is impossible. Even if we believe all the things we say we believe about Jesus, we have to be aware there is a part of our mind that is thinking that there are things in our experience that are not possible. This story indicates that a big part of experiencing the possibility bending power of God at work is jettisoning our unbelief.
It's not that Jesus was incapable of deeds of power. It's that their "unbelief" put up a barrier to even allowing Jesus the space to show them otherwise. It is self-defeating to pray for something while at the same time thinking in our rational mind that the thing is impossible. The point of this passage is not for us to shake our heads at the unbelief of the people of Jesus' hometown. The point is to help us remove whatever boundaries we might be building around what we imagine God can do in our world. One example: it is easy to imagine that peace on earth is a pipe dream. We've demonstrated it's an impossibility. Still, we pray for it, and still scripture attests that it is God's will. God doesn't will impossible things. God wills the future. The call here is to believe it, expect it, work towards it.
June 1
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:1-15
Psalm: Psalm 57
Second Reading: Galatians 1:1-17
Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." - Matthew 13:45
In my hobby, comic books collecting, there exists the concept of a collector's "holy grail book." That is the book that person is most keen on having as a part of their collection. For me that book is Brave and the Bold #28, the first appearance of the Justice League of America, from February/March 1960.
So I might hear today's parable as, "the kingdom of heaven is like a comic book collector who finds one comic book of great value. Having found that book that has so captured his imagination, he sells everything he has and buys it."
I really wouldn't sell everything to buy one book, not even Brave and the Bold #28. My wife, who is not a comic book collector and therefore is able to offer input as an objective onlooker, might question that; but I do think I'd stop somewhere short of selling everything. The story is not about pearls or comic books however, it is about the kingdom of God. The pearl, and in my adaptation the comic book, are just there to illustrate things that we can know very well, so that we are able to recognize the best of the best when it comes along.
The kingdom of God is the best of the best. It is what we are all built for and it is what we are longing for. Life is often occupied with that thing which will fulfill us, make us whole, quiet our sense of unrest and longing. When we find faith and a relationship with Christ, we experience something unique that can not be matched in any other way or any other place. That is to discover the path - in following Jesus - to the kingdom of God.
This parable teaches us that the mark of true discipleship is that when we become followers of Jesus, everything else falls into line behind that one priority. Anything else that seemed to hold value, is put in perspective and found lacking. Our fulfillment in life will be found in placing that relationship with Christ as our first priority, and our joy will be in living into that relationship day by day through all the days, months, and years of our lives.