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Next Sunday, many churches will reflect on some or all of these passages. Is there a common theme? I think there is. I’ll not reveal what I think it is, I usually do that annoying teacher thing and ask, “What do you think it is?”

Esther 4:1-17; 7:1-10; 9:20-22

Esther uses her influence in Emperor Xerxes’ court to save her people from a dastardly political plot that trumps any contemporary trickery to be found in Washington or Canberra today. Her story is celebrated annually at Purim, a Jewish celebratory festival. It is gripping reading, and the entire book never mentions God!

Psalm 124

“What a close call was that?” seems to be the prompt for this Psalm. People look back at a narrow escape from a dire consequence and remark “Someone up there was looking after us!” The Psalmist (David?) knows Who, declaring “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

James 5:13-20

How do we engage with each other when suffering? Here we have a cameo of how early church life might have been experienced if James’ exhortation was heeded. Mutual accountability, tapping into the practice of prayer and practical support are core and emulated in local church communities throughout the world today.

Mark 9:38-50

The urgency of Mark’s gospel extends to an inclusive rather than exclusive stance for Jesus’ followers. So serious is Jesus about breaking down barriers that separate us from each other that he proffers exaggerated measures to ensure that the faith he is passing on is kept undiluted. Love is unqualified and “salted with fire.”

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Another brief romp through the lectionary for next Sunday, September 23

Proverbs 31:10-31 

Where is wisdom to be found? I recall many years ago, in the last millennium, when we young bachelor ministers in training listened to a lecture on how to pick “a suitable minister’s wife.” Such was the swiftly changing generational aspirations and sensibilities of the time that the topic was swiftly dropped. We baulk at the language of patriarchy in this passage and, in so doing, put ourselves in danger of dismissing cultural intelligence. It is the wisdom of the time and place and reveals a picture of domestic poise, order and productivity. Where power and authority typically resided in the male, the text provides a counterpoint and maybe even a subtle counterpoint to such notions of male hubris.

Psalm 1 

Where is wisdom to be found? “In the law of God” – that is the Torah – the teaching of a way of life that emerged as a band of escaped slaves were formed into a community destined to be a blessing to all nations. Immersion, saturation, and marination in such teaching lead to strength and fruitful results. Otherwise, all fades and is blown away like dust.

James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a

Where is wisdom to be found? In you, says James – that is when you live the life to which you have been called, drawing on the “wisdom from above” which is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. This wisdom does not come gently, however – we are prone to be drawn into conflict and dispute against which God’s Spirit in us strives.

Mark 9:30-37

Where is wisdom to be found? Jesus contemplates and prepares his followers for his coming death as they journey through Galilee. He catches some of them discussing succession – possibly who’s going to be in charge when he’s gone. He brings a small child into their midst. Where is wisdom? Look no further than welcoming this child and serving the least influential of all.

A quick and necessarily brief look at next Sunday’s RCL texts before commuting to a three-day workshop on palliative care …

Isaiah 50:4-9

What it is to know your way! The prophet (the one who speaks forth YHWH’s message) reflects on his task. From his waking moments, the message consumes him, resisting all distraction and opposition. Nothing will dilute or deflect the words that have been given for him to convey. His outlook is crystal clear and his face is set towards the course that lies ahead.

Psalm 19

A celebration of orientation towards YHWH that becomes a joyful reorientation to the life we are given to live.

James 3:1-12

A timely warning for those who teach or “speak forth YHWH’s message.” Words are powerful and open to abuse. Always remember your orientation and stay centred, adopting the stance of the prophet in Isaiah’s text. Beware the sabotage of ego and the siren call of our surrounding culture in which we participate, sometimes critically but often uncritically.

Mark 8:26-38

The great “hinge” on which the door of Mark’s gospel swings. Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am”, posed to the disciples in an alien environment, pulls forth from Peter the only viable response he can make. From this time, Jesus turns his face to the inevitable Jerusalem climax, calling on his followers to take up the cross and follow him. One might reflect that the sacrifice we are called to is a “whole life event.”

A peek at what’s coming up next Sunday

Proverbs 22:1-23

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In these golden years of retirement with the spring sunshine streaming onto my desk, I hear this text as if the ruminations of a wizened old man in a rocking chair on his front verandah. In his reminiscing, he is reeling off all the life lessons he has learned and there is still fire in the belly. Suddenly (in the middle of verse 17), he sits up and leans forth, a fierce shimmering in his eyes! He is leading up to a summary life commandment for any who will listen: Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

Psalm 125

Here is an expression of confidence that the good and righteous will prevail. It has been an interesting week of debate over the role of the new Prime Minister’s personal faith in his public life and particularly as a head of state. As his position came about through a very non-edifying “ides of March” display that is still playing out and critics analyse previous cabinet minister policy formation in the light his faith stance, it is clear that this Psalm comes under the category of Walter Brueggemann’s “Psalms of Orientation” – not quite addressing the period of disorientation we are experiencing right now. It’s a psalm that tells us where we ought to be. We look to the psalms of “disorientation” and “reorientation” that will hopefully put us back on track. My wistful hope is that the church in this country will not delegate its responsibilities to elected public officials but instead adopt its correct prophetic stance as salt and light as participants in a robust democracy.

James 2:1-17

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In these early days of retirement and working out a reorientation to our finances, this passage throws down a fresh challenge. As I look at the spreadsheet indicating assets, including realised lifetime investments and dramatically decreased income, I realise two things. Although we have generally lived close to the wire, we dwell amongst the richest in the world, yet to manage this requires some astuteness if we are not to become a burden to others when the treasure house gradually depletes through the sheer cost of living.  Our donations to charity and regular church life are under review. James’ text, it seems, is mostly a warning against showing partiality according to wealth and influence, preferring the well-positioned over more dependent members of the community. Conversely, it is also a timely reminder to always prefer the option of serving the poor.

Mark 7:24-37

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Mark’s Gospel has Jesus breaking our expectations twice if we have not come across these two stories recently. On the surface, it seems he only reluctantly heals his foreign petitioner’s daughter after she chastises him with the depth of her faith. The same reluctance in the healing of the deaf stutterer, again in foreign territory, leads to  Jesus swearing his disciples to secrecy. Why does Mark’s gospel tell these stories in this way? Does it have something to do with the first hearers of this gospel finding themselves under great duress as they fled Nero’s persecution? Danger, risk, speed, furtive exchanges, and mistrust might have marked their habitual discourse. Does Mark’s gospel cast Jesus as a fellow traveller who does not abandon his followers in their emotional extremity?