What kind of actions of leaders do you think God blesses?

Psalm 106:3/ Psalm 118:9/Matthew 5:1-12

I suppose the answer is

an action

that serves

the common good

of all.

As the psalmist wrote:

“Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.”

But can a God

who is uncompromising

in His love

of the world

and

His expectation

of His people

to return His love

with

all their being

bless

a political act

that requires a

dance of egos

agendas

and

the give and take of

compromise?

As the psalmist wrote,

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.”

O Lord,

on the mount

You told us

who were

to be blessed.

The meek.

Those seeking righteousness.

The pure of heart.

The peacemakers

and

the persecuted.

Help me

understand

the actions

of Your Kingdom.

The Bramble King

 

Parable of the Trees

Judges 9:7-15 NIV

The trees hoped

they could be

ruled

with honor

by the olive tree.

Or

with the sweetness

of good times

by the fig tree.

Or

comforted

by

the strength of

the vine.

But to

the olive tree,

the fig tree,

and

the vine,

governing

the forest

was

beneath them.

It was

effortless

for them

to produce

what

the world wanted.

But to

deal with

their community

with its

petty squabbles,

their

problems,

and

divisive

politics,

they worried

it would

sap all

their strength.

　

　

　

So,

after being rejected by

the olive tree,

the fig tree,

and

the vine,

the trees of the forest asked

the bramble

“Why should you be our leader?”

“First,”

the bramble said,

“Unlike

the olive tree,

the fig tree

and

the vine,

I produce nothing.

I must rely on your support.

“Next,

unlike

the olive tree,

the fig tree

and

the vine,

whose roots grow deep and stubborn,

my roots are shallow.

You must allow me to

compromise

so we can survive.”

“And finally,

unlike

the olive tree,

the fig tree

and

the vine,

you can

live under

my thorns.”

“And if push comes to shove,

let my branches

become the

tinder

to start

the fires of war.”

So began the reign

of the Bramble King.

　

Justice versus Mercy

2 Esdras 8:37-45 CEB

The angel said:

A farmer sows

many seeds

in the ground,

yet not all that

was sown

will take root

or be harvested.

So all that were

sown to the world

will not be saved.

Ezra replied:

If a seed does not come up

because of drought

or deluge

it perishes.

But Lord,

people are created by Your hands

and are made in Your image.

The question I ask is:

Have You made them

like the farmer’s seed?

Please, Lord!

Surely not!

Spare Your people!

Please have mercy

on Your own creation.

James, John and Bartimaeus

Mark 10:35-52 NIV

They drew close to Jesus

to make their request.

He shouted at Jesus

to make his request.

They drew close to Jesus

so the others couldn’t hear.

He shouted at Jesus

and didn’t care about those

trying to silence him.

They addressed Him

as Teacher.

He called Him

Son of David.

They asked their question

in confidence that it would be answered.

He asked only

to have mercy on him.

And Jesus asked the same question
to each of them:

“What do you want me to do for you?”

They asked for glory.

He asked for his sight.

Jesus answered James and John,

“Even though you will follow Me

till the end,

Remember:

The greatest of you must be a slave.”

Jesus answered Bartimaeus,

(one of the least of the town)

“Through your faith

you will see.”

James and John endured

the others

giving them the business.

And the crowd

at Jericho

wondered

what kind of business

Jesus was in.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

2 Samuel 21:1-14

I

What do you want me to do for you?”,

David asked the Gibeonites.

“Saul who has destroyed our people,

has left us homeless in the midst of famine.”

“So, what do you want me to do for you?”,

David asked again.

“Give us seven of Saul’s descendants.

We will kill them and leave their bodies

in the sight of Saul’s God.”

And David selected the men

and allowed them to be killed

and to be left hanging on a cross.

Rizpah

the mother of two of the men,

came up the hill.

Spread out a sackcloth for herself

and protected all the bodies

from the birds of the air

and the beasts of the land.

And while the festival of harvest

was going on below,

God saw what was happening

on the hill

and

answered the prayer of land

by opening a cloud

of His tears.

　

　

(continued)

　

　

　

II

Mark10:32-45

“What do you want me to do for you?”,

Jesus answered their request.

“We want to be next to You

when You come in glory.”

“Can you follow the path

I AM going to take?”

“No problem.

So how about those seats in the suite?”

“You will follow Me

this is true.

However those places

have already been reserved.”

And before the rest

of the followers

could start speculating

on who would have

those great seats

The Master said,

“The weak that move against

the powerful

in their own small ways,

They will see the Kingdom of God.”

Learning How to Kneel

On my knees,

beads in hand

for the last six weeks

reciting the old prayers

of childhood.

Sometimes

remembering things

forgotten.

Recalling people

of the past.

And

meditating on the

mysteries

of Jesus

and my life.

This should be

boring as hell,

repetitively stating

my status as a sinner.

Asking the Father

for my forgiveness

as well as others.

Requesting Mary

fifty-three times

to intercede for us sinners.

Instead when finished

I sense

an unrecognizable boredom,

not because I’ve practiced it

many times before,

because I haven’t;

not because it’s old hat,

but because it’s still too new.

Lot’s Daughters

Genesis 19:30-38(NIV)

 

If we could text,

We’re sure we would type:

WTF! WTF! WTF!

If any of our friends,

were still alive.

Mom’s dead.

Dad didn’t like the new town.

Instead we

headed for the hills.

and are living in a cave.

WTF! WTF! WTF!

And we’re wondering

about Dad’s uncle and aunt

Abram and Sarai.

It appears from here,

we three are the last of the tribe.

WTF! WTF! WTF!

And remembering how they

went on and on

how our tribe was going be

as numerous as the

grains of sand

at the beach.

Yeah, sis.

As many as the

stars in the sky.

WTF! WTF! WTF!

What were they thinking?

That Hagar scheme didn’t

work out at all.

And even though

Old Aunt Sarai is a hottie,

(Can’t imagine Abe pawning her off

to a king twice)

Two words: Ancient Sex

OMG! OMG! OMG!

Eew! Eew! Eew!

So sis,

It looks like it’s up to us.

Good thing we grabbed

the bottle

from Mom’s purse.

The double neat for Dad

and small one for us

I’ll go first

and you can follow me.

What?

No sloppy seconds for you!

WTF! WTF!! WTF!!!

OK

You can have him tomorrow.

OK sis,

A toast before we start.

May the one God of

Great Uncle Abram

and Great Aunt Sarai

remember us

in His book of Life.