Thursday • 8/24/2023 •
Thursday of the Twelfth Week After Pentecost (Proper 15)
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 131; Psalm 132; Psalm 133; 2 Samuel 19:1–23; Acts 24:1–23; Mark 12:28–34
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 8 (“The Song of Moses,” Exodus 15, BCP, p. 85); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3–4, BCP, p. 94)
Welcome to Daily Office Devotions, where every Monday through Friday we consider some aspect of that day’s Scripture readings, as given in the Book of Common Prayer. I’m Reggie Kidd, and I’m grateful to be with you. On this Thursday in the Season After Pentecost our readings come from Proper 15 of Year 1 in the Daily Office Lectionary.
Mark: love God and love neighbor. A dense moral fog descended upon us as soon as our forebears tasted the fruit that promised godlike knowledge of good and evil. As a result, our motives are mixed when we’re at our best, and unalloyed evil when we are at our worst. Jesus cuts through the fog: we are put here on this earth to love God and to love our neighbor. In doing so, Jesus confirms and furthers the message of the law and the prophets. But over the course of his whole mission, he adds a power to love that only his death, resurrection, ascension, and indwelling presence can provide.
Image: "No way out" by Vincepal is licensed under CC BY 2.0
2 Samuel: David emerges from his grief. In today’s account of David, we see the king begin to grope his way back from his dysfunctional love for his wayward son Absalom. David’s love for God and neighbor is mixed with an instinct for self-protection and a calculus for political survival.
Thanks to wise counsel from Joab, his general-in-chief, a measure of equilibrium returns to David. He comes out of his grief and focuses on the people who still expect him to lead them (2 Samuel 19: 1–8a). The rebellion, largely based in the northern tribes of Israel, dissipates with Absalom’s death (2 Samuel 19:8b–10). David prompts the priests in Jerusalem to recall him as their rightful king (2 Samuel 19:11–12). In a complicated move, David invites Amasa, his own nephew and the former general of Absalom’s army, to replace Joab as his chief general. (Joab, remember, had killed Absalom in violation of David’s orders; moreover, Amasa is popular enough with “all the people of Judah” to win back the disaffected there. Stay tuned, however, because Joab is not going to accept his demotion — see 2 Samuel 20:10). Magnanimously, David extends mercy to the man Shimei. As David fled Jerusalem, Shimei had cursed him and thrown rocks at him. Now he is asking for forgiveness (2 Samuel 16:5–14; 19:16–23). (Nor is this the end of the story for Shimei. David senses Shimei is untrustworthy and will advise Solomon to eliminate him — see 2 Kings 2:8–9).
Acts: Paul before Felix. In today’s account of Paul, we see aspects of love for God and neighbor brilliantly on display. Paul stresses the peaceability of his manner and the continuity of his worship of the God of his and his opponents’ ancestors (Acts 24:10–14, 16–20). Love for God and neighbor gives Paul the courage and the equilibrium to keep the focus on the critical issue that Christ’s coming raises: is there a resurrection of the dead? “It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today,” he proclaims (Acts 24:21). Christ’s own resurrection creates a pressing reality that calls for allegiance to Him and to the new order he has inaugurated. Love for God and for neighbor calls for the truthful telling of this wondrous thing.
A takeaway. Sometimes life feels like it’s “death by a thousand decisions.” Especially under uniquely trying circumstances where there seems to be no owner’s manual at hand to guide your choices. Can you relate? Sometimes the answer is to slow down … seriously, slow down … and ask one question: “What, right now, would it mean for me to love God and my neighbor?”
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+