Whose Side Would I Have Taken?

Monday, July 23, 2007 -- Week of Proper 11

"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

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Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 976)
Psalms 41, 52 (morning) 44 (evening)
1 Samuel 24:1-22
Acts 13:44-52
Mark 4:1-20

Sometimes I wonder which side I would have supported when I read of the great struggles and conflicts in the stories from scripture.

Saul was the establishment figure in the great Saul-David saga. Tall and distinguished, anointed Israel's first king by the prophet Samuel, Saul was a powerful leader, with an established royal household, army and the God-given authority to rule. David was one of Saul's generals, a charismatic leader but nevertheless subject to Saul's authority. The most conservative interpretation of the situation would be that David is acting in a treasonous or rebellious way against acknowledged authority. To the public, it might have looked like David fled following a failed palace coup. It's obvious to us today, reading the history written during the reign of David and Solomon, that David is the more attractive contender. Would I have perceived that and preferred David had I been living as these events were happening?

Paul comes to the Jewish synagogues of Asia Minor and is invited to speak and teach. The story he tells is pretty fantastic. The longed for Messiah has come, he says. But the expected messianic reign of peace and Jewish triumph is not part of it. In fact, the Jewish religious leaders accused him of blasphemy and turned him over to the occupying Romans for execution. He was "hanged on a tree," a sign of cursing from God. But these witnesses tell of seeing him alive, having risen from the dead. The effect of his death and resurrection is to open forgiveness to all. It is also to free everyone from the traditional obligations and practices of following the Torah and the Law, the fundamental identity that sets apart Jews from other peoples.

Had I been a member of the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, would I have been convinced by this story from Paul? The Jewish establishment and religious authorities disputed and rejected Paul's tenets. So Paul called the members of the synagogue "unworthy of eternal life," and turned toward proselytizing the Gentiles who attended synagogue but were not Jews. He invited them to join his movement, where they would not have to obey the Law or be circumcised. The Gentile "God-fearers", as they were called, responded. Some left their accustomed place of observation in the back of the synagogue, presumably with their money and considerable community influence. Paul's message provoked a challenge to the synagogue that was more than just a religious dispute. We're talking big pledgers and community standing. Would I have taken kindly to Paul's Gospel? Would this story of a crucified Messiah made sense to me if I had been brought up in that culture?

Part of the appeal of the parable of the sower that we read today in Mark is that the sower is so profligate with the seed. This is not efficient farming. The sower throws seeds everywhere -- on the path, in the rocks, among the thorns, in good soil. There are seeds of God's work everywhere. Some of it germinates and grows; some of it doesn't take root.

Imagining how I might have sided with Saul and the establishment in the Saul-David conflict or with the synagogue and traditional religion in the Paul-synagogue conflict makes me wonder what works of God am I missing today. How is God challenging what I think to be settled or stirring up new things that will upset the old things? Will I have the openness to be good soil for whatever God is sowing today?


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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