June 29, 2008; Proper 8

The Scriptures Jeremiah 28:5-9 Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 Jeremiah 28:5-9 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD; and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet." _________________ This is prophet vs. prophet. The optimistic Hananiah has prophesied "peace," saying within two years the vessels of the Temple will be returned from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Jeremiah has prophesied bad news (as, he says, the prophets of old). Jeremiah snarls that it would be nice if Hananiah's happy words would come true, but he is skeptical. How much easier is it for you to hear good news, or news that matches your expectations? When have you heard bad news that yet rings true? What did you do in response? Who are the "bad news" prophets in our time? __________________________________________________________ Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 Misericordias Domini Your love, O God, for ever will I sing; * from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness. For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever; * you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens. "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; * I have sworn an oath to David my servant: 'I will establish your line for ever, * and preserve your throne for all generations.' " Happy are the people who know the festal shout; * they walk, O God, in the light of your presence. They rejoice daily in your Name; * they are jubilant in your righteousness. For you are the glory of their strength, * and by your favor our might is exalted. Truly, God is our Ruler; * the Holy One of Israel is our Sovereign. (St. Helena Psalter) __________________ In this portion of Psalm 89 we rejoice in the rule of God accomplised through the faithful monarch. (Later in the psalm, we learn that the Davidic line has been defeated and cut off.) For what do you express hope and thanks for your nation? For what do you cry out in anguish and supplication for your nation? _________________________________________________________ Romans 6:12-23 Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. _______________________ What is your motivation for doing what is right? The avoidance of punishment? An attraction toward the good? Your sense of identity? How would you describe your motivation? __________________________________________________________ Matthew 10:40-42 Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward." ____________________ Imagine who might be a prophet, a righteous person, and a little one in our society? How might you welcome them? How is that a way to welcome Jesus? __________________________________________________________ For a way to Pray with these scriptures, go to the following link for instructions about how to use Lectio Divina with the Sunday readings: Praying the Scriptures with Lectio (http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id272.html)