ISSL December 10 2023 1 Samuel 17:31–37, 45, 48–50 Post 3

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VII.
As you reread this passage use the words of David as your lens through which you hear and see the scene,

“The Lord who saved me … will save me …”

VIII.
1 Samuel 17:31-37, 45, 48-50 (NRSVue)

When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.

IX.
It seems David is convinced about The Lord’s abiding presence with him.

Can you identify with David’s words?

Can you find those occasions about which you would be comfortable saying, “The Lord who saved me …”?

Are you comfortable saying “… The Lord … will save me…”?

Why are you comfortable or uncomfortable living into David’s claim?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL December 10 2023 1 Samuel 17:31–37, 45, 48–50 Post 2

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IV.
The other day I asked “What kind of person do you take David to be?”

What progress did you make with that question?

Let’s take our time today reading this passage once again, and look for any clues you see that gives you some insight on who David is.

V.
1 Samuel 17:31-37, 45, 48-50 (NRSVue)

When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.

VI.
What did Saul say to David?

“Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

Did Saul have some insight into David’s character?

Before Saul spoke those words, David had said,

“The Lord, who saved me … will save me …”

What do you think? Did David’s apparent self-confidence in whole or in part lead Saul to that comment?

Was Saul convinced that The Lord had been with David and did his words take on the character of prayer? Or, were his words without depth?

When we ask what kind of person David was, we also begin to ask how do others respond to David?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL December 10 2023 1 Samuel 17:31–37, 45, 48–50 Post 1

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I.
I suspect to many of us David is a familiar character from the Hebrew Scripture. Can I ask a favor of you today? As you read this passage, read it as the only acquaintance with David you have. If this were all you knew about David, what kind of person would you take him to be?

II.
1 Samuel 17:31-37, 45, 48-50 (NRSVue)

When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.

III.
The boy, David, tells the King, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

David is a youngster and he takes it upon himself to tell the King not to be afraid and that he will fight the Philistine’s champion warrior. What kind of youngster says that to any elder, especially to a King?

When the King doubts David is ready for such a task, David’s reply is to tell the King about the lions and bears he has killed to protect his father’s sheep.

Is David exhibiting self-confidence or arrogance?

And then, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Is this faith in The Lord, or confidence in David’s own strength and skill?

What kind of person do you take David to be?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections Ruth 1:6–18, 22 Post 3

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VII.
Today let’s focus on the conversation between Naomi and Ruth.

VIII.
Ruth 1:6-18, 22 (NRSVue)

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you,
     to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
     where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people
     and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die,
     and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
     and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

IX.
As I read and reread Ruth’s words they take on more depth for me than a mere conversation between the two. Should I call Ruth’s words a promise to Naomi? No. That still does not fully capture the spirit and depth for me.

Should I call it a covenant? That gets much closer to the force of the words for me.

What do you hear as the most central to the covenant? That they will travel together? That they will lodge together? That they will die together? That Ruth will identify herself as one of Naomi’s people? Or that they will share commitment to the same God?

Maybe we can hear this as Ruth’s commitment to walk the same path with Naomi even to knowing Naomi’s God as Ruth’s God. She is leaving all she knows to move into an unknown future trusting Naomi and Naomi’s God.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections Ruth 1:6–18, 22 Post 2

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IV.
Today let’s pay close attention to Naomi. What she says, what she does, and as best as you can tell, what motivates what she says and does.

V.
Ruth 1:6-18, 22 (NRSVue)

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you,
     to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
     where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people
     and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die,
     and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
     and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

VI.
If I follow this correctly, Naomi first starts on the way back to Judah with her two daughters-in-law.

“Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab … So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah.”

What happens then?

“Go back each of you to your mother’s house…. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.”

Does she have a change of heart? Does she begin to think it not in the best interest of her daughters-in-law to take them away from their homeland? Why?

What is the reaction of the daughters-in-law?

Read the passage once more and see where you find love manifested.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections Ruth 1:6–18, 22 Post 1

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I.
We start this week with, “Then she started to return …”

Why?

You want to take a extra moment to read the first five verses of Ruth 1, which sets the stage for the journey Naomi intends. There you read of Naomi, her husband, their journey from Bethlehem to Moab; of her two sons, the sons’ marriage to Moabite women, and deaths of Naomi’s husband and two sons. And then Naomi decides to ….

II.
Ruth 1:6-18, 22 (NRSVue)

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you,
    to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
     where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people
     and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die,
     and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
    and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

III.
Who is introduced to you in this passage? Where are they? Where does Naomi want to go? Why do you think she would want to begin such a journey?

When does she change her mind about her traveling companions? Why do you think that might be?

And then, how do her daughters-in-law respond to her request?

As you read this passage, notice the depth of feelings, of love, the three women have for one another.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections November 26 2023 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 Post 3

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VII.
This passage becomes (at least for me) an exercise in “if … then.” “If (A) is true, and if (B) is true, what THEN.”

Maybe we could think of this as some of the paradoxes inherent in discipleship. If “paradoxes” is too strong of a word for you, maybe we could say “contrasts” in the life of the disciple.

Let’s take a look at these paradoxes/contrasts.

VIII.
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 (NRSVue)

“All things are permitted,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are permitted,” but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage but that of many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

IX.

All things are permitted,
    Not all things are beneficial.
All things are permitted,
    Not all things build up.
Seek your own advantage,
    Seek the advantage of the other.
Eat whatever is before you,
    Do not eat for the sake of the conscience of the other.

Have you had the opportunity (challenge) to walk this line that Paul draws? If so, when was it? How did you walk it?

Sometimes the statement that, “… i try to please everyone in everything I do…” gives me trouble. It sounds like the opposite of “freedom.” It could sound like what I think doesn’t matter. Do you think that is what Paul has in mind here?

One more thing from this passage,

“… do everything for the glory of God.”

How can we live with the paradoxes Paul puts before us while seeking “the glory of God”?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections November 26 2023 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 Post 2

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IV.
After your initial reading (probably a re-reading) of this passage what freedoms do you hear Paul mention or imply?

V.
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 (NRSVue)

“All things are permitted,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are permitted,” but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage but that of many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

VI.
What does lead us to consider?

Certainly food, and food rituals. Of course that includes what we drink or do not drink. When he speaks of being invited to share a meal with an “unbeliever,” he addresses hospitality and friendship, I think.

All this with the underlying theme of “freedom.” It seems to me Paul takes our “freedom” in Christ seriously.

But then there is the other side of our freedom.

“Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other.”

How does he apply that to eating, drinking and hospitality?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections November 26 2023 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 Post 1

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I.
How free is the religious person?

Some folk think to be religious is to lose freedom. Others may think, to be religious is to find greater freedom.

This week let’s consider the perspective Paul brings to the discussion.

II.
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 (NRSVue)

“All things are permitted,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are permitted,” but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage but that of many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

III.
His opening phrase, “All things are permitted …” has to capture our attention. Right? Wait a moment. Then we hear, “… but not all …” Isn’t that so often the way things turn out. There is so often that “… but … “ which limits or even negates what we just found to our liking.

As you spend time with this passage, keep that tension of, “All … but …” in mind.

First, let’s notice what he identifies or implies is “permitted.” Look for parallels in your experiences of what he names for those first readers.

Let’s start our consideration of his words with getting a good handle on the freedoms that Paul considers available to us as disciples of Jesus.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

ISSL Reflections November 19 2023 Colossians 2:16–23 Post 3

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VII.
Today as we reread this passage, let this be our guide through the passage,

“… holding fast to the head.”

VIII.
Colossians 2:16-23 (NRSVue)

Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food or drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the body belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, initiatory visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with a growth that is from God.

If with Christ you died to the elemental principles of the world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

IX.
Paul had already mentioned in Colossians that Jesus Christ is the “head,”

“He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.” (Colossians 1:18)

… and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. (Colossians 2:10)

And in Ephesians he wrote,

And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, (Ephesians 1:22)

but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (Ephesians 4:15)

In this week’s Scripture passage he emphasizes some things that prevent one from acknowledging Jesus as our “head” but also prevents us from “[growing] up in every way into him who is the head.”

Take time today to reflect on what might hold you back from recognizing Jesus as the head of our life of discipleship and the model for our maturing in the life of discipleship.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}