THE BIBLE – TODAY’S TREASURE HUNT
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 2 - 18-06-06
1 Samuel 15: 34 – l6: 13
About 1020 BCE King Saul had become a tragic figure. The aged prophet Samuel. guided by the spirit of God, rejects the sons of Jesse with all their strength and potential for military style leadership. Note the delightful description of young David in verse 12 as he is chosen and accepted. We might ask what were the cultural/social imperatives operating at the time and what were the decisive spiritual opportunities for growth.
Psalm 20
King David is generally accepted as being the author of this psalm, but it was probably added to in order to include petitions for the grace of kingship. It would have been used in the Covenant festivals in dangerous times such as those of Hezekiah and the Maccabaean wars, as people cast themselves on the care and mercy of God.
2 Corinthians 5: 6-10, 14-17
Paul had an uneasy relationship with the church in Corinth, and is forced to explain himself and his motivation in his ministry. He explains that Christ is the one supreme judge of what he is doing, and that goes for all of us. Secondly he argues that it is the love of Christ shown in his life and death that creates a new person for a new world. This is what drives him in his ministry.
Mark 4: 26-34
Jesus could have been more politically strong and strident. But here he gives a fascinating picture of the spiritual power of God at work in the human heart and in the everyday world. It is God’s mysterious power working through the miracle of growth that we need to watch for and expect. In practice that means we should try and provide conditions in which that growth can take place
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