Jerusalem, Praise for ever, Disciple travels & teaching
AM Psalm 87, 90 • PM Psalm 136
2 Samuel 12:15-31 • Acts 20:1-16 • Mark 9:30-41
Today’s readings were instructive but required research to fully understand their meaning. They take us from joyful psalms of praise to Luke’s Rick Steves-like travelogues of Paul and Christ. They culminate with Mark’s telling of Christ’s teaching his disciples of his impending death and resurrection and their need for humility.
These five readings added depth to my growing understanding of the travel and challenges that Christ and his Disciples faced as they undertook in their ministries. Nothing was simple nor without challenge.
Psalm 87 is a song of praise written by the sons of Korach. It describes Jerusalem as the center of the world where God placed the Torah. It launches our Biblical tour.
Psalm 136 is Song of Praise for a vast inventory of God’s Biblical highlights. The refrain, “God’s mercy endureth for ever (not forever) is repeated for each highlight-twenty-six times.
2 Samuel tells stories of King David. David’s child dies despite his intense fasting and prayer. After the death David moves on (“But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”). He comforts Bathsheba and fathers Soloman with her. David ‘s army overtakes the pagan Ammonites in their capital, Rabbah, (near Amman, Jordan). David’s Hebrews siege and sack it. They put its people into bondage. Then they all return to Israel with considerable spoils.
Luke summarizes Paul missionary travels (similar to Rick Steves) around the Aegean. Paul remains in Ephesus to overcome the crisis of strong Jewish opposition to his ministry similar to the earlier conflict in Corinth over his demand for moral purity. We find that Paul’s letters to Corinthians and Romans were written around this time. He travels from today’s Turkey on Aegean through Greece to Macedonia and then to Jerusalem. Paul raises Eutychus from the dead after he falls three stories.
Mark shares Christ’s foretelling of his approaching sufferings— “The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.” Christ explains his death and resurrection to the disciples. He later rebukes them for their dispute on the road to Capernaum. They argued about which them is the greatest. Jesus teaches them and us, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Today we celebrate the works of Catherine Winkworth, an English hymnwriter and mid-1800s advocate for broader educational opportunities for girls. She translated German chorale into hymns for the Episcopal and Lutheran Churches.
We also celebrate John Mason Neale, an 1800s Anglican priest. He co-founded the Society of Saint Margaret, an order of women dedicated to nursing the sick and the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association. The 1906 English Hymnal contained 63 of his translated hymns.
Written by Walt Eilers
Walt Eilers continues his connection with St. Paul’s through the online services and Reflections.