Friday, July 27, 2007

Building on the Past

Jim:

1 Samuel 31:1-13
I did my readings today with our son, William, who was most impressed with portions of verses 12 and 13: “They came to Jabesh and burned (the bodies of Saul and his sons) there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.” It was the seven days of fasting that caught William’s attention, I think. Say what you will about Saul, he was the king of Israel, and much of the negative image we have of him probably comes from later editors who wanted to make David look better by comparison. (The Oxford Annotated Bible makes the point that David himself never seems to have denigrated Saul. It also makes the point that Saul died trying his best to defend Israel from her enemies; a noble end.) So fasting for seven days is very appropriate for a man who, despite his faults and regardless of his short comings, served God and God’s people in a difficult role and at a difficult time. May we all strive to serve God as best we can, and may we all honor the efforts of others who seek to do so.

Acts 15:12-21
As is so often the case, events in this passage are guided in part by an understanding of the Old Testament. In verses 16 and 17, James quotes from Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah in establishing a protocol for receiving Gentiles into the church. This is a clear indication of how the early church saw itself as living in faithful obedience to God’s will.

Mark 5:21-43
These two related stories appear in all three synoptic gospels and show Jesus’ regard for the lowest and least important members of society, women, children, and those who are ritually unclean. In return, many found faith in Jesus. Verse 34 says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.” Not only does Jesus express a close connection to the woman with the flow of blood (calling her daughter) but he acknowledges that her faith had led her to take the unprecedented step of coming in contact with him while she was unclean. There is a kinship here, a coming together of two figures who are not readily accepted by the culture at large and who will (or would have) found a less than hospitable welcome among the most powerful of their day. Jesus, despite being the word make flesh, is clearly one of the people.

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