Obeying God

Monday, July 9 -- Week of Proper 9

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

NEW-- Audio Podcasts of today's "Morning Reflection" and those from the past week are available from http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id244.html (go to St. Paul's Home Page stpaulsfay.org and click "Morning Reflection podcast")

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 974)
Psalms 1, 2, 3 (morning) 4, 7 (evening)
1 Samuel 15:1-3, 7-23
Acts 9:19b-31
Luke 23:44-56a


In the weeks following the attacks of September 11, I sought to learn more about Islam. I was helped by a teacher on campus who was Muslim and who taught comparative religion. He shared with me his faith and introduced me to portions of the Qur'an (Koran). My experience of him was so encouraging. He was a person of good heart and spirit, disciplined and compassionate. His love of God was evident and the scriptures that he shared with me were inspiring. We spoke somewhat briefly about passages of the Qur'an that were more troubling, implying the possibility of hostility toward non-Muslims. He balanced each of these readings with other, more compelling admonitions toward peace and compassion. His interpretation of the sacred Qur'an was always in the service of peace and compassion.

He said to me that my own scriptures in the Bible also have some violent and troubling passages. He asked me how I deal with those. Today's reading of the disobedience of Saul could have been one of those references.

The prophet Samuel sends Saul to fight the Amalekites in the Name of the Lord. "Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." Saul disobeyed the command of God. He killed all of the people, but took King Agag alive, returning him as a prisoner. Saul and his army also spared "the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed."

Samuel hears the following from God: "I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands." Samuel confronts Saul. This disobedience will cost Saul his blessing from God as King.

Does God command an army to annihilate a people, it's women, children and animals? I know conscientious Christians who uphold the authority of scripture and answer "yes." If God said it, it was just and right. God said utterly destroy; Saul was wrong to disobey.

I think they misunderstand God. I think Samuel got it wrong.

Today we also read of Jesus' death on the cross and his burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Rather than conquering by violence, Jesus conquers by love, absorbing the violence and death into his own body rather than striking out militantly. I think Jesus understands God. I think Jesus got it right.

Some months after September 11, I was with some other pastors. One was telling of his series of sermons against Islam. He spoke of our calling to undertake a holy war against their falsehood on behalf of God in the name of Jesus. When I shared with him my conversations with my Muslim friend and what I had learned from him about the Qur'an, the other pastor said, "Well, let me show you what the Qur'an says." He began to turn to the Qur'an's most extreme passages of polemic against non-Muslims. Passages not unlike our own Biblical word of the Lord to Saul about the Amalekites. "That's what we're fighting against," he said. "It's us against them."

I suggested that Christians have similar passages in our scriptures, and we have learned to moderate our reading by the application of the more compassionate and peaceful commandments. I suggested that Muslims have the same options. Wouldn't we do better by joining those like my friend who work within Islam to promote a moderate expression of their tradition. "It's us with them. Both of our traditions need to read our scriptures with eyes of compassion and peace." His answer was "no." Our scriptures were right when they reveal God's calling to Saul, he said, and their scriptures are wrong because they are not the revealed word of God in the Bible. We are in a holy war, he said.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
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