Old Testament: 1 Samuel 1:4-20
Gospel: Mark 13:1-8
Epistle: Hebrews 10:11-14, 15-18, 19-25
This week we have the longest Psalm of the year from the
Lectionary readings, I believe. It is 50
verses long, so be thankful I’m not taking it verse by verse. But, Psalm 16 is a desperate plea for the
Lord to deliver David from the hands of Saul.
He writes that the Lord is his strength and rock and the one who rescued
him when he cried out. The great thing about the Psalms is that they are
collected for us to pray as well. Most Psalms
don’t give a context like this one does and that is because they don’t really
need one. They are powerful prayers and
with 150 of them, there is more than one for every season of our lives. In that sense, these Psalms are the prayer
book of the Church and of each one of us who chooses to pray them. As a side note, Psalms and songs can mean
more when we do have the context in which they were written. A professor at seminary has put just such a
book together about some of the great hymn writers and I encourage you to check
it out. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Birth-Hymn-Biographies-Publications/dp/083419645X/)
The Psalm presents our theme this week of people desperately
crying out to the Lord in their distress. 1 Samuel 1-2 tells the story of the
birth of Samuel. His mother, Hannah, was barren. So she went to the temple during one of the Holy
Days and cried out the Lord. The Lord
heard her cry and gave her a son. She
declared that if the Lord heard her prayers, then she would dedicate the son
back to the Lord. Normally, a priest
would serve from around the ages 25-50 and the Nazarite vow, which she
essentially has placed on his life, would normally just be taken for a brief
time. We have already spent a lot of
time earlier in the year on the life of David, but we can’t forget that Samuel
was integral to the story of Saul, David, and Solomon. The cries of Hannah and the faithfulness of
Samuel led to Samuel being the mouthpiece of God at the very founding of Israel
as a nation with kings.
We’re going to skip over the Gospel this week from Mark, but
it contains Jesus preaching about the end times. I will only say that Jesus was so vague here that
virtually no time in human history have these verses not been true. The information age has only increased the “rumors
of wars” and reports of earthquakes that we now have access to from all over
the world.
Hebrews chapter 11 declares that Jesus is now the great High
Priest who sacrificed himself, once for all, for the forgiveness of our
sins. God has provided the answer to our
deepest need before we even knew we needed it.
When we cry out to the Lord, we know he has already answered us through Jesus
and by his Spirit. I know this might not
seem like it connects to us praying to God for our needs, but think about
it. We know longer have to go to a
priest and offer yearly sacrifices. God
lives in each one of us and fills us with his Spirit. Now that is Good News!
I wish I could end things here, but strangely that is not
where the writer of Hebrews leaves it.
He goes on to write these two verses:
And let us
consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving
up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one
another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (24-25)
I’m not quite sure what this has to do with Jesus being the
High Priest. But, I will be thinking
about that this week as I enjoy my turkey and long weekend. Perhaps it has something to do with comparing
the assembly of the Israelites before which the priest offered his sacrifices
and the new assembly of the Church.
Maybe someone can offer some suggestions.
If you are going through some tough things, remember that
God is able and willing to help you and walk along side you. I think it is helpful to remember that Hannah
waited a long time to have Samuel born to her.
David suffered a lot of rough things even after he was made king. But still God was with them and was faithful
to answer their cries. I think the best
way to end this week offering up the words from Hebrews as a blessing. Keep them on your heart and mind this week.
“Let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds.”
Grace and Peace.
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