Christ the King/Reign of Christ (B)—Revelation 1:4b-8 and John 18:33-37

 

Revelation 1:4b-8

 Catacombe di Commodilla, Rome, 4th c.

When All Is Said and Done

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” he says,

a phrase not in common usage anymore,

so let’s imagine what he might say these days:

“I’m A to Z.”

Or, he might try this:

“I am the start of it all, and the living end.”

     “the be all and end all,

          “the real McCoy,

               “the genuine article,

                    “the real deal.”

Or how about this?

“I am the whole nine yards,

     “the whole enchilada,

          “the whole shebang,

               “the whole bailiwick.

                    “the whole ball of wax,

                         “the whole shootin’ match,” and,

                              “the whole kit and caboodle.”

“I am the unvarnished truth,

     “the honest truth,

          “the naked truth,

               “the full monty,

                    “the inside track,

                         “the whole story,” and of course,

                               “the gospel truth.”

There must be no end to the ways he might put it.

Get it?

Personally, today I like, “I am the cat’s meow.”

Scott L. Barton

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

+ + +

John 18:33-37

 

Christ the King statue, Świebodzin, Poland

"Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 

or

And in the End (reflection on the last Sunday of the church year)

I think it's funny that

it's not the other way around:

Like, “All who hear my voice

belong to truth;” I think that sounds . . .

 

Religious! Yet, he still confounds

what we expect to hear.

The truth is that it's all a gift,

and everyone is dear;

 

Those living thus, will love as much—

he could not be more clear!

Still, list'ning to this king

is never easy—any year!

Scott L. Barton

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)—1 Samuel 1:4–20 and 1 Samuel 2:1–10 (see also Luke 1:46–55); Mark 13:1–8

 1 Samuel 1:4-20 and 1 Samuel 2:1-10 (see also Luke 1:46–55)

Marc Chagall: Hannah Praying to God (ca. 1956)

Hannah's Hymn

 

Tune: St. Catherine (Faith of Our Fathers; Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me)

 

Hannah knew how her Elkanah

Forsook her not, nor cast aside,

He as a spendthrift, even more,

On Hannah, lavished love with pride.

Faith of our mothers, fathers, too,

Teach us God's love makes all things new!

 

Letting loose doubt the Lord provides,

Pouring out faith set Hannah free,

Her wish bore fruit by love and prayer,

And what she asked for, came to be.

Faith of our mothers, fathers, too,

Teach us God's love makes all things new!

 

"There is no Holy One like the LORD,"

Thus Hannah prayed, exulting that day;

Girding the feeble, thwarting the proud,

Love for the world will find a way!

Faith of our mothers, fathers, too,

Teach us God's love makes all things new!

 

Hannah could never know some day

Her prayer would be the model for

Another pray-er who magnified

The Lord, who in her joy she bore!

Faith of our mothers, fathers, too,

Teach us God's love makes all things new!

 

Scott L. Barton

On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

+ + +

Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory. “There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail. The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed.”

+ + +

Mark 13:1–8  

 

New Birth

 

These days,

The cult of personality,

—Like those days—

Purports to be reality,

With many taken in

By blasting hype and rumored spin.

 

But Jesus knew,

That those with his mentality,

Would rage eschew,

Since every nationality

Someday will grin

To see in neighbor, kith and kin.

 

Scott L. Barton

As [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

 

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 27 (B)—Hebrews 9:24–28; Mark 12:38–44 and Ruth 3:1–5; 4:13–17

 

Hebrews 9:24–28

Rembrandt: Boaz and Ruth

Pen and brush, ca.1637-40, Berlin

Christ Carol

 

Perhaps the people who await the Lord’s return—

To deal with sheep and goats, and think he’d sinners spurn—

Should take a look at such a text as this and note,

Salvation comes to those who wait! The antidote

To fear and sin is Christ who saves, who does not hate,

Who is, for all of us, the certain advocate!

So put off fear of what’s to come in death—and life—

And put away the worry that provokes the strife

That some create o’er immigrants, or even Jews;

Because in Christ we have the sure and certain news

That no one is outside what Christ for all has done,

So, say with Tiny Tim: God bless us, every one.

 

Scott L. Barton

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

+  +  +

Mark 12:38–44 and Ruth 3:1–5; 4:13–17

 

Not Ruthless!

 

Beware of those who like the part,

who like the way they look in robes,

perfecting every day their art.

This is the same all o'er the globe.

 

If I forget, pull out this text;

remind me of the widow, poor,

who gave—not knowing what came next—

from trust that, on her, love still poured.

 

An earlier widow used her wits

to snag a man for Ruth (and her!)

while knowing all along, grace is

the gift of what could be, conferred.

 

Thus, Obed, David's grandpa, born

to one who served Naomi dear,

was named for service, like that sworn

by One who, in his line, appeared.

 

If Boaz didn't bite, the Christ

we know might never have been born;

This widow's trust in God sufficed;

Not ruthless, we're by love adorned!

 

Scott L. Barton

(The name "Obed" can mean "worker" or "servant.") 

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

+ + +

As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

 

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 26 (B)—Ruth 1:1–18; Mark 12:28–34

 Ruth 1:1–18

        William Blake: Naomi Entreating Ruth and Orpah to Return to the Land of Moab

Ruthful

 

Three times it’s “daughters” that Naomi calls them,

And urges they turn back, and not proceed;

But step-mothers, such daughters still might turn from,

And for a family of their own be freed.

 

Blood's thicker, say, than water, but I wonder:

By care for this, her in-law, Ruth did feed,

And let not lack of blood tear them asunder,

But showed a greater love, more true, indeed.

 

The love she didn’t have to give, she rendered,

Perhaps to all her offspring down the line;

And Joseph, generations later tendered

This quality his son’s life would define.

 

(Dedicated to Naomi Ruth Cassidy)

 

Scott L. Barton

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

 

So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

 

“Do not press me to leave you

or to turn back from following you!

Where you go, I will go;

Where you lodge, I will lodge;

your people shall be my people,

and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die—

there will I be buried.

May the Lord do thus and so to me,

and more as well,

if even death parts me from you!”

 

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 12:28-34

A Saint of a Different Color

 

We like to paint the Pharisees and scribes

With one broad brush, as if they're all one tribe,

And think alike!—'til such a text reminds

Us even Jesus would not have us blind

To God's salvation in some faithful soul

Who, by our standards, doesn't fit the role.

Thus, those who follow Jesus dare to see

One never knows who's in the family tree.

 

Scott L. Barton

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 25 (B)—Job 42:1–6, 10–17; Mark 10:46–52

Job 42:1–6, 10–17

William Blake: Job and His Daughters (1800, Butts set)

Job’s Non-Hollywood Ending

 

First, Job is told to say his prayers

for his annoying friends;

It must be prayer's required for

the Lord to make amends.

Next, sympathy and gifts turn out

to be Job's grieving need,

Since kindness, not explaining,

all our hurting spirits feeds.

And now we know Job's daughters' names!

And they were given land!

Who knew that such catastrophe,

such progress could command?

These things we need to see, to keep

the blindness from our eyes,

About old Job's disaster which

resulted in surprise;

Not just that all was well again,

but life was fully new;

Thus, grace which always looks ahead

is what will see us through.

 

Scott L. Barton

Then Job answered the Lord: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children’s children, four generations. And Job died, old and full of days.

+ + +

Mark 10:46–52

 

                       El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos): Christ Healing the Blind

                           ca. 1570  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

 

No Scarcity

 

I see just why they tried to hush him up,

To make Blind Bart pipe down, and make no noise;

A guy like that is apt to take away

Attention one might otherwise enjoy.

 

But Bart, who did not see the way I do,

Knew Jesus was the answer to his prayers;

That is, he knew he had the right to love—

Which no impediment can e’er impair.

 

And so, he bravely called out, “Help me, too!”

And, sight regained, then joined with leaps and bounds

The movement pledged to show, that with good things,

There’s always plenty more to go around.

 

Scott L. Barton

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 24 (B)—Hebrews 5:1–10; Mark 10:35–45 and Job 38:1–7 (34–41)

Preference Requested for James and John in Martin Luther:

Biblia, die Ganze Heilige Schrift Alten und Neuen Testaments, / 

verteutschet durch Doctor Martin Luther . . .

Hebrews 5:1–10

 

Obedience to Whom?

 

Obedience is not a word

We’re apt to throw around with praise,

Unless some Christian, misinformed,

Thinks women still should spend their days

In service to their married man.

They use, as Christian “evidence,”

A view in scripture that proclaims,

To God, our Lord’s obedience.

 

Good grief! This text says he obeyed,

But thus, we’re called to do the same—

Obey the one who gave his all,

And follow he whom we proclaim!

Obedience to love’s the rule,

Not to authority, or man;

This is the news that pastors ought

To preach as gospel—and God’s plan.

 

Scott L. Barton

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. 

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 10:35–45 and Job 38:1–7 (34–41)

Perception Turned Right on Its Head

 

They thought, perhaps, that they might sit,

One on the left, one on the right,

Which would the best positions be

To serve him, in that long, good night.

But he reminded them he lived

To serve—as well, when he was dead,

Which made them scratch their heads, while their

Perception turned right on its head!

 

It wasn't his to grant, which meant

He couldn't even start to say

Just what some life beyond could be,

That he, to them, might then portray.

It's like our cat, who looks to me

And must think that I know it all;

He doesn't have a clue about

The things by which I am in thrall.

 

Thus Job, when daring to complain,

Out from the whirlwind heard the voice

Of one who understood it all,

And, in the end, made Job rejoice:

The point's to know that you are loved,

It doesn’t matter one bit how,

Or what might happen up ahead;

Just shout for joy. For love. Right now.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
 

* * * 

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
“Who is this that darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 23 (B)—Hebrews 4:12–16 and Mark 10:17–31

Hebrews 4:12–16 

Hold Fast (A Lesson for the Pastor)

 

One cannot find a better line

Before the church confession time:

“Since, then, we have a great high priest . . .”

[And read to] “. . . help in time of need.”

 

Fear not to use the scriptures more,

Not just in “lessons;” but restore

The sense, that more than that day’s crowd,

We worship with a witness cloud.

 

Your creativity that day

Cannot compare to the array

Of ways, time-tested, that express

How words, so old, still richly bless.

 

Remember that the gathering

Needs less pastoral blathering,

And more the church’s history

For bringing folk to Mystery.

 

And if this sounds curmudgeony,

Since I’m retired and fancy-free,

Perhaps I wish I could do o’er

The times I fear I must have bored.

 

Scott L. Barton

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

+  +  +

Mark 10:17–31

Present Tense, or Eternal Now

 

The man ran up, and then knelt down

before the Lord could next leave town;

He asked with some anxiety,

while demonstrating piety,

just what he had to do to get

the big brass ring, through legal writ.

How would the LORD grant such a thing

to this child, so aspiring?

To which the son, who knew the ways

His father worked, then next amazed

the man, who walked away in grief

since offered grace gave no relief.

 

Why grace, you ask, since such a thing

proposed by Jesus seemed to sting?

Just this: That we might realize

eternal life is not some prize

which Jesus by and by suggests

should be his followers' big quest.

The more you have, more you perceive

you have to do, and not receive.

Not camel nor the rich go through,

but love is what threads through to you;

Thus, be not tense, or worry how,

but trust, and live eternally, now.

 

Scott L. Barton 

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

 

A Picture I Can't See

(A poem inspired by a conversation with the Rev. Sarah Buteux, as we were discussing, after a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in 2015, the idea espoused by some in Roseburg, Oregon, that more people need to carry concealed weapons.)

 

I do not think they understand

Propensities the good guys have

To carry evil in our hearts

So sometimes, even we can't save.

If good guys carried guns, they say,

The bad guys couldn't kill as much;

But don't we think we all are good?

And sometimes, can't we all be touched

By what could crawl up from the depths

And do us in—and others, too?

No one is good, but God alone,

Said Jesus then, to me, to you.

 

Or put it this way: if the good

Alone be armed, then that leaves One;

The One who is all good in love

Who'd be the One to hold the gun!

Is that what God is all about?

Would this God kill for you or me?

Pull out his gun from cloak, concealed . . .

 

This is a picture I can't see.

 

Instead of taking life into

God's hands, God goes and lays down laws

Whose purpose is to help us through,

When we, from what is right, withdraw;

A country's laws, as well, seek to

Prevent the harm some might commit

(Including us, none "Good!") that thus

Society and lives not split.

 

Meanwhile, God goes and lays down life,

A giving that we can't control,

So we might follow in his way,

And value each and every soul.

 

Scott L. Barton

  

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone . . . ."

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 22 (B)—Hebrews 1:1–4, 2:5–12; Mark 10:2–16

Hebrews 1:1–4, 2:5–12

 

Remember!

 

I like how the author remarks he remembers

That somebody, somewhere, said humans are rendered

Just lower than angels, since God is so mindful

Of those whom God cares for—a fact that’s delightful!

 

I think there’s a argument here for the present,

That Psalm 8, to memorize, really is pleasant,

And serves to remind you, whenever you wonder 

If anyone cares when the world’s weight you’re under.

 

And Christ who knew suff’ring, injustice and dying,

Despite what I see as a lifetime of trying,

A brother who actually cheers on your giving,

Reminds us all still, by his love are we living.

 

Scott L. Barton

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere,

“What are human beings that you are mindful of them,

or mortals, that you care for them?

You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;

you have crowned them with glory and honor,

subjecting all things under their feet.”

Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying,

“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 10:2–16 

Jesus welcomes the children

Vie de Jesus Mafa (Cameroon, 1973)

I Never Liked to Preach This Text

 

I never liked to preach this text,

What with divorcées in the fold,

Perhaps cast out by their home church—

Which marriage two would not extol—

They came for grace, not for a word

Of judgment on what had to be;

What's past, is past, we said; and who

Were we to judge such returnees?

 

There was a time when our church, too,

Frowned on divorce as that day's sin,

Espec'ally for the clergy, who

Were barred from past'ring church, therein.

What changed? The word of God? Or what

Our Lord said plainly to those men?

(I use that word deliberately,

Since they were wondering for their ken.)

 

"Can we divorce, like Moses said,"

—they asked to set him up—"or not?"

To which he noted such a rule

Protected women from their lot;

Then his disciples wanted more

In terms of what was wrong and right;

I now believe his twinkling eye

Caused them their wagging tongues to bite.

 

For though he says adultery

Comes when divorced man marries wife,

He said it's true the other way,

Which must have caused a lot of strife.

"What woman could divorce a man?"

That such a thing could never be

Thus prompted them to turn away

From rules, so they might better see—

 

The children!—so they'd reassess

The nature of their need for law;

Except ye be as one of these,

You'll lose capacity for awe!

Try not to say who can or can't

Find love anew (or in some form

back then unknown), so you'll be blessed,

And each day's joy will be your norm.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 21 (B)—Esther 7:1–6, 9–10, 9:20–22; Mark 9:38–50

 Esther 7:1–6, 9–10, 9:20–22

Rembrandt: Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther

Pushkin Museum, Moscow (1660)

 

Inside Job

 

Funny how sometimes

Someone on the inside

Can make a difference.

Can stand up to tyranny.

Can be publicly brave.

Can risk her own life.

Can expose resident evil.

Can save her people.

 

Oh, Esther, wherefore art thou?

 

Scott L. Barton

(Admittedly, this poem was written during the Presidency of Donald Trump.)

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?” Esther said, “A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.

Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 9:38–50

 Tasty

 

He says that I should be at peace,

and look to my own salt;

That is, my flavor should increase,

and be less apt to fault

the faith of others doing good,

as if their recipe

is somehow poison, and not food

that helps some child to see

that she is loved by God no less

than any I might feed;

Remember, that it's God who blesses—

Let none this love impede.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”