{"id":13,"date":"2013-04-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/06\/sunday-17th-june-2012-3rd-sunday-after-pentecost\/"},"modified":"2013-04-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-06T00:00:00","slug":"sunday-17th-june-2012-3rd-sunday-after-pentecost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/06\/sunday-17th-june-2012-3rd-sunday-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday 17th June 2012 &#8211; 3rd Sunday After Pentecost"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div id=\"590446727588894000\" align=\"left\" style=\"width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;\" class=\"wcustomhtml\"><!-- Begin clixGalore Code--> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.clixGalore.com\/PSale.aspx?BID=19198&#038;AfID=253291&#038;AdID=1680\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.is1.clixgalore.com\/cgd.aspx?BID=19198&amp;AfID=253291&amp;AdID=1680\" border=\"0\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" alt=\"VistaPrint Australia\"><\/a> <!-- End clixGalore Code--><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><font size=\"4\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The Word This Week<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<ul style=\"\">\n<li style=\"\"><a title=\"\" style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=206#hebrew_reading\">1 Samuel 15:34 &#8211; 16:13<\/a> and <a title=\"\" style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=206#psalm_reading\">Psalm 20<\/a>\u00a0 OR<\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a title=\"\" style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=206#hebrew_oth_reading\">Ezekiel 17:22-24<\/a> and <a title=\"\" style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=206#psalm_oth_reading\">Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15<\/a>\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a title=\"\" style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=206#epistle_reading\">2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0<\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a title=\"\" style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=206#gospel_reading\">Mark 4:26-34<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font size=\"4\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Thoughts on the Word:<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><span>It has been another of those weeks for me! I haven&#8217;t had a chance to write a sermon or reflection for this week, so I have provided below a fantastic reflection on this week&#8217;s readings from <\/span>Dr. Bruce Epperly, which was originally posted <a title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2012\/06\/the-adventurous-lectionary-the-third-sunday-after-pentecost\/\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.\u00a0 In big news though I will be moving into full time theological study in July as I discern a calling to ordained ministry &#8211; your prayers during this time would be greatly appreciated!<br \/><span><\/span><br \/><span><\/span>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p>This Sunday\u2019s lectionary readings describe the surprising and  unexpected revelations of God.\u00a0 God is not a homogenous force, evenly  distributing revelation across the universe.\u00a0 Rather, divine revelation  and inspiration are contextual, historical, and personal.\u00a0 God has a  vision just as we do.\u00a0 While no one is left out in the interplay of call  and response, God\u2019s revelation is always personal and variable.\u00a0 A  shepherd boy is chosen as king; a mustard seed grows into a great plant;  and a small child grows into the Christ.\u00a0 God takes initiative, but our  response and a supportive environment help God\u2019s dreams come to  fruition and new dreams emerge.\u00a0 Where is God moving uniquely and  intimately in your life?\u00a0 What is God\u2019s dream for you, right now and  over the long haul?\u00a0 Moreover, what are God\u2019s dreams for you and for  your congregation, and loved ones?\u00a0 How can we open to God\u2019s dream for  ourselves and God\u2019s dream for others?<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>The reading from I Samuel  describes Samuel\u2019s covert operation to choose a new king.\u00a0 Saul has lost  the spirit and the people need a new spiritual-political leader.\u00a0 The  choice will come from one of Jesse\u2019s sons.\u00a0 The most likely candidates  are passed over until Samuel comes upon the youngest and least equipped,  David, who becomes God\u2019s choice for king.\u00a0 God sees deeper into the  heart than humans do.\u00a0 Beyond appearances, there are deeper gifts and  possibilities, hidden to the untrained eye.\u00a0 God uses small and  unexpected events \u2013 and unlikely people \u2013 to be great agents of  revelation.\u00a0 Where might you discover God\u2019s hidden work in your life in  your community, and among your acquaintances?\u00a0 Could you be \u201cchosen\u201d or  \u201ccalled\u201d for a particular divine task?\u00a0 What great calling are you  hiding, even from yourself?<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Psalm 20 is a hymn of protection and  affirmation of the king.\u00a0 God chooses, supports, protects, and guides  the nation\u2019s leader.\u00a0 While we no longer live in a monarchy or  theocracy, we can honor our leaders, praying that they are guided by  divine wisdom.\u00a0 Yet, in light of the universalism of revelation, is it  possible that this Psalm relates to everyone?\u00a0 Is everyone anointed in  some way?\u00a0 If so, this has profound spiritual and ethical  consequences?\u00a0\u00a0 On the one hand, we need to awaken to God\u2019s anointing of  our lives \u2013 where is the King David or Queen Esther hidden in our  lives?\u00a0 Further, we need to care for all whom God has anointed.\u00a0 That  means doing the impossible \u2013 seeking the well-being and spiritual growth  of all of God\u2019s anointed ones \u2013 that is everyone, friend and foe?\u00a0  Where are leaders, teachers, mentors, healers hidden \u2013 in the generosity  of revelation, everywhere!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>The passage from II Corinthians is  complex and can be problematic, if taken literally and, frankly, as Paul  may have intended it!\u00a0 The good news in this passage is that we walk by  faith and not by sight: we are called to awaken prayerfully to a deeper  realism, undergirding the obvious.\u00a0 God is at work \u2013 seeking in all  things, God\u2019s vision \u2013 despite appearances.\u00a0 No one is God-forsaken.\u00a0  Possibility is present even in the most dire circumstances, but we need  to open to it and to cultivate a deeper vision and, then, faithful  action to bring forth divine possibilities in unexpected and adverse  contexts.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>There is a touch of otherworldliness in the passage that  can tempt the listener to turn away from the responsibilities of  embodiment and earthiness.\u00a0 Our true home is elsewhere, Paul claims.\u00a0 We  would rather be away from the body than alive in this world.\u00a0 Perhaps,  like Socrates in Plato\u2019s <em style=\"\">Phaedo, <\/em>Paul is yearning to escape the  burdens of aging, imprisonment, or the infirmities that have come as a  result of previous beatings.\u00a0 Yet, if taken literally, this \u201cGnosticism\u201d  is not helpful in a world of mass starvation, political conflict,  economic inequality, and global climate change.\u00a0 While it is true that  we live by ideals, by a vision of Shalom and personal and planetary  healing, experiencing God begins right where we are as concrete persons  in concrete situations with concrete responsibilities.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>We do not  need to flee the world but transform it! Our calling is to be spiritual  explorers, looking for more than meets the eye, discovering treasures in  unlikely places.\u00a0 We are called to be new creations, and to bring  together old and new, tradition and novelty, heaven and earth for the  transformation of ourselves and the world.\u00a0 As theologian John Cobb  says, Christ is the principle and source of creative transformation.\u00a0  Christ is already here working within us, but if anyone is \u201cin Christ,\u201d  that is, aligns her or himself with Christ\u2019s constantly living and  evolving vision, he or she is a new creation.\u00a0 \u201cNew things have  arrived,\u201d as the Common English Bible proclaims.\u00a0 Keep awake for the new  things coming!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Serendipity and synchronicity abound in the  parables of the scattered seed and the mustard seed. (Mark 4:26-34)\u00a0  Seed is scattered and its sprouts, growing into a great harvest.\u00a0  Beneath the randomness of life, there is a gentle providence seeking  growth, new creation, wholeness, and transformation.\u00a0 Possibilities  appear to emerge from nowhere \u2013 a way is made where is no way forward  -and chance encounters change lives.\u00a0 This is the often unseen and  subtle of God who works for good in all things.\u00a0 Even the least obvious,  the mustard seed, can grow into great things, bringing sustenance and  comfort to all around.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>There is a quiet movement of grace in our  lives. Unheralded, and mostly unobserved, changing the world not by  bravado or coercion, or even celebrity status or miraculous  demonstrations, but by constantly growing grace and emerging presence.\u00a0  The miracle is in the moment \u2013 every moment.\u00a0 Mustard seeds abound,  seeds of grace are scattered broadly, children grow into leaders, and  new creation bursts forth out of ashes.\u00a0 Look deeply, feel sensitively,  and pray constantly.\u00a0 Awaken your heart, train your senses.\u00a0 God is  moving providentially in subtle moments of growth and surprise.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><em style=\"\">Bruce  Epperly is a theologian, spiritual guide, pastor, and author of twenty  two books, including Process Theology: A Guide to the Perplexed, Holy  Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living,\u00a0 Philippians: An Interactive  Bible Study, and The Center is Everywhere: Celtic Spirituality for the  Postmodern Age.\u00a0 His most recent text is Emerging Process: Adventurous  Theology for a Missional Church. He also writes regularly for the  Process and Faith lectionary. He may be reached at  drbruceepperly@aol.com for lectures, workshops, and retreats.<\/em><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span>This reflection was originally posted at <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2012\/06\/the-adventurous-lectionary-the-third-sunday-after-pentecost\/\">http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2012\/06\/the-adventurous-lectionary-the-third-sunday-after-pentecost\/ <\/a><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div>   <script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/www.weebly.com\/weebly\/apps\/serveAds.php?type=adsense&amp;elementid=128113726799799642&amp;ineditor=0&amp;subdomain=www.thewordthisweek.com&amp;pubid=ca-pub-7110765324531468&amp;adformat=468x60&amp;adtype=text_image&amp;bordercolor=FFFFFF&amp;bgcolor=FFFFFF&amp;linkcolor=0F53FF&amp;textcolor=000000&amp;urlcolor=008000\"><\/script><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Word This Week 1 Samuel 15:34 &#8211; 16:13 and Psalm 20\u00a0 OR Ezekiel 17:22-24 and Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15\u00a0 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Mark 4:26-34 Thoughts on the Word: It has been another of those weeks for me! I haven&#8217;t had a chance to write a sermon or reflection for this week, so I &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/06\/sunday-17th-june-2012-3rd-sunday-after-pentecost\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Sunday 17th June 2012 &#8211; 3rd Sunday After Pentecost&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}