1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13

If there was ever any question that God sometimes just completely screws up, this passage should put an end to that. If you have ever wondered where those horrible parts are in the Bible, the parts about genocide, read this whole chapter. I find nothing here that is morally redeemable. Or, if you're too busy, here's the line just before this Lection starts:


Chapter 15 begins with God's command to destroy everything in Amalek. Warfare at this time in history was brutal. It involved what would today be considered war crimes. One of those crimes is to profit from it, to conquer a nation and take the spoils. This is allowed in Deuteronomy, but in Samuel, God says to practice herem, translated from Hebrew as "ban". That is, destroy everything including killing children, so the enemy is wiped out and everything they had is given up to God. This is considered progress. Saul fails at this. He spares King Agag and some livestock. Samuel has to correct that and dethrone Saul.

In the verses provided for today, Samuel is playing out the actions of selecting a king and we see it's not his stature, but what is in his heart that is important. God is right there whispering in Samuel's ear to make sure he picks the right one. As events play out, we'll see David wasn't the perfect choice either. There are many variations of reasons given for these flawed characters that are chosen by and possessed of supernatural forces. None of them are satisfying if you ask me.

Ezekiel 17:22-24

This sermon helper is definitely not for those seeking clues to the end of days. Ezekiel is a go to prophet for that. His allegory can be hard to follow, although sometimes he is nice enough to offer explanations. Not for this verse though. Speculation is that he is referring to Zerubbabel, a leader who would hopefully restore the fallen throne of David. So we get the before and after story in these two Old Testament selections today. Zerubbabel later shows up in the ancestry of Jesus. Clearly though, the message here is that the LORD is behind it all. Never mind though that the kingdom has been divided and conquered with two other kings chosen directly by God.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17

I sometimes hear people say Roman Hellenization corrupted the Judaic culture. A few times I've been able to ask what they mean and received a non-answer and have been referred to a book by a higher level scholar. From what I have managed to research, it seems they want to say this so they can dismiss a few verses here or there, but they aren't really interested in uncovering the full history of 1st century Palestine. Part of the change that was going on in Hellenistic Rome was the change from local gods who supported a kingdom through blood lines to gods that can be found wherever you are and followed by declaring your belief in them. This is the pattern of Mystery Religions. As we follow the story in Samuel, it's pretty clear why this change was needed to keep the idea of belief in gods alive.

Mark 4:26-34

The Lectionary usually focuses on the parables and not so much on the explanations or the surrounding details of where they are being told or why. I guess that's up to the preachers. If you don't understand the parable, look back to verses 9-14. It tells you that you they are supposed to be unclear. It tells you the secrets are given to the disciples but not to be spoken in public. The danger is in hearing the word and it not taking root or being misused. It's almost as if the word doesn't have any real power but that human beings have instincts that come from our animal origins and we are still struggling to figure out just what it means to be a thinking animal in a natural world.

As far as I have found, Jesus, or whoever wrote these words down, only ever tells us that there are secrets to the meaning of the parables. We are told that the disciples heard more explanations and more truths, but we don't get to read those. The communities then were just like the communities now. You would go and discuss these parables and add further insights, but it's hard sayin' who was actually right about what they meant.

The parable of the mustard seed expresses the danger in another way, depending on how you interpret it. If you see it as a statement on how to build a church, and I have heard it preached about in this way, it's saying be careful because that can get out of your control, and you might have all sorts of odd birds landing in your pews. Or a more inclusive interpretation would be that you have planted something welcoming and protective.

If you see it as a statement on the larger community, more of a political statement, it's saying community is messy. In "Was Jesus a Muslim" by Robert Shedinger, he takes the interpretation from Pliny the Elder, a contemporary of the gospel writers, that a mustard plant is hard to control. Once it gets big enough, seeds keep germinating and spreading. Looking at today's world, I would compare this to the modern world of democracies and scientific methods. Dominic Crossan thinks Jesus is saying the Kingdom is not like the mighty cedar of Lebanon that Ezekiel talked of but not like a weed either. Mustard has benefits but it's difficult to control. The Roman version of a peaceful society was the Pax Romana, an ideology of order and control. The Jesus movement was a threat to that. This debate continues today. Just what should we control and what should we let flourish?