THE BIBLE – TODAY’S TREASURE HUNT
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 11 – 20-08-06
1 Kings 2: 10-12, 3:3-14
Those forty years of David’s kingship saw change and growth for Israel. The sordid affair with Bathsheba is forgotten as she asks the dying David for their son Solomon to be his chosen successor. However he still has to beat off a challenge and kill to secure the kingship. Before his anointing, his dream clarifies his thinking and he asks for the Divine Gift to be wisdom.
Psalm 111
This hymn of praise would be a favourite in the autumn festival of the covenant. God is a power who acts in the nation’s history and is as dependable as the seasons, always acting with justice and faithfulness, So there is a dynamic, vital quality which can be understood by those who develop this fear of the Lord. That is the beginning of wisdom.
Ephesians 5: 15 – 20
Greek young people would remember the teaching of Epicurus three hundred years earlier. He advised seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. The Jewish young ones would remember the law of Moses and its rules. But Paul is arguing for the Jesus principle of seeking first the spiritual life. So today do we live for pleasurable sensations, following a set of rules, or do we search for the spiritual life through intuitive understanding?
John 6: 51-58
John ignores the popular gossipy sneers about cannibalism from those critical of the Christians Eucharistic Meal and are resentful of its popularity. So he repeats again and again those stark words to make sure we get the message. He insists that understanding the spiritual life with Jesus begins with the cruciifixion and goes on to other questions we might have for the Man from Nazareth.
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