david – onewhoponders

Pondering for Friday, August 8, 2025

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 13: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 88; Evening, Psalms 91 and 92;
2^nd Samuel 12:1 to 14; Acts 19:21 to 41; Mark 9:14 to 29:

“You are the man!” (2^nd Samuel, 12:7)

When Nathan, the Prophet of God, came and told David the metaphor about the rich man who took a poor man’s only little lamb to slaughter for his guest rather than slaughtering one from his own of many sheep, David was furious and said, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity:” (2^nd Samuel 12:5 and 6).

This is when Nathan breaks out of the metaphor and informs David that, “He is the man!” and then explains how God has looked after him all his life and has given him much including many wives and yet he saw fit to go and take Uriah’s only wife to bed, and then have him killed. So after hearing Nathan’s story, David realized he passed judgment on himself.

David was sorry for what he had done and said to Nathan, “‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die:” (2^nd Samuel 12: 13 and 14). The child dies. I have learned not to try to hold God in judgment. God will do what God will do. This is what it means to be the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

Perhaps the biggest take-away for me is not to put David, or any mortal on a pedestal. We all fall short, all that is, except our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And it is our Lord Jesus whom we go to for forgiveness for he is our Redeemer and Advocate. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Today we remember Dominic, Preacher, Friar, Missionary (August 8, 1221) and his information may be found at St. Dominic.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom.

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: Let us again confess our own sins against God and our neighbor. (BCP p.358)

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Pondering for Thursday, August 7, 2025

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 13: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 34; Evening, Psalms 85 and 86;
2^nd Samuel 11:1 to 27; Acts 19:11 to 20; Mark 9:2 to 13:

“In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die:” (2^nd Samuel 11:14 and 15)

What an evil sandwich this is. Because of the lust he had for a woman, and her subsequent pregnancy, the almost honorable David, king of all Israel, has stooped to the betrayal and murder of one of his own.

And, if this was not bad enough, he has enlisted the aid of Joab his commander, to assist him in this sinful act. In this case, the bottom and top pieces of bread for this sandwich are the evil parts. In the center, between the bread, is the honorable lamb, Uriah, who would not comfort himself while Joab and all his military peers were waging war and sleeping when, and where they could, on the ground. I have to say, as a U. S. Marine, a military man of thirty active years, I have the utmost respect and admiration for Uriah. And I recall from this scripture, they were fighting for God’s desires as they understood it.

I can remember when President Bush (41) was told by someone during the Liberation of Kuwait, that “God was on our side”: the President responded, “I pray that we are on God’s side.” I don’t think David was on God’s side in his self-serving lust and sinful murder of Uriah. I also hold Joab equally as guilty for his participation in the killing of Uriah. It’s too late for me now, but I pray that if I had any ungodly proposition presented to me while in uniform, I would do the honorable thing, and also, that if witnessing immoral and ungodly acts, that I would give it all up for the sake of decency and morality. As far as I can recall, no such dilemmas occurred with me during the time and places I served.

There is heavy sadness in this story. Uriah is given his own death certificate unknowingly. I ponder if any eye-contact was made between Joab and Uriah as Joab read the letter ordering him to leave Uriah unprotected. What kind of sick allegiance would have Joab follow this sinful betrayal of his subordinate? Did he not love his troops as he did his king? Real love forbids such acts of betrayal. I hope that if I was in Joab’s place, I would have hidden the letter and later faced David with it. The Love for those placed in our charge must be a greater priority than the love of those in whose charge we have been placed. We must love down in order to be lifted up.

Today we remember John Mason Neale, Priest, Scholar and Translator (August 7, 1866) and his information may be found at John Mason Neale. We also remember Catherine Winkworth, Poet (August 7, 1878) and her information may be found at: Catherine Winkworth.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: Let us confess our own sins against God and our neighbor. (BCP p.358)

Pondering for Monday, July 21, 2025

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 11: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 41 and 52; Evening, Psalm 44;
1^st Samuel 24:1 to 22; Acts 13:44 to 52; Mark 4:1 to 20:

“Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land:” (Mark 4: 1)

These teachable moments in the Bible are staying with me a little longer. I am starting to look at stories that are acts of teaching that I really didn’t see before. David teaches Saul in our 1^st Samuel lesson today.

David says to Saul, “This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, “I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed:” (1^st Samuel 24). David is showing Saul how important he, (Saul) is, because beside his faults, he was anointed by the Lord. The lesson here is to respect what the Lord has done even if you find it troubling in your life. There is also some responsibility for us who want to learn.

Saul reasons that David is the better person and a wise teacher. And he concedes, “When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day:” (1^st Samuel 24:16 to 19). Of course, the lesson here for all who are serious about their faith is not to return evil for evil. We are taught by a just God and we are better than that.

So my lens now is looking at my faith tradition, and scripture in particular, as it tries to teach us valuable lessons about how we are to live today. These teachings are timeless. They apply to us today. Our Lord Jesus taught from a boat to people more starved for Godly guidance than for bread. We have people around us today who are also starved for Godly guidance. You are their teachers. The lesson that Jesus teaches the teacher, from the lake, is to place yourself in such a way so as to reach as many as possible. And then teach with compassion. The people listening are like sheep without a shepherd. You, my beloved in the Lord, are their teaching shepherd. Love them, teach them.

Today we remember Maria Skobtsova, Monastic and Martyr (1945); and Albert John Luthuli, Prophetic Witness in South Africa (1967) and their information may be found at: Maria Skobtsova; and Albert Luthuli, respectively.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: (For schools and colleges; BCP p. 824)

O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pondering for Friday, July 18, 2025

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 10: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 31; Evening, Psalm 35;
1^st Samuel 21:1 to 15, Acts 13:13 to 25; Mark 3:7 to19a

“When he had removed [Saul], he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.” Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;” (Acts 13:22 and 23).

In Acts, Paul sums up all that we have been reading, and continue to read in 1^st Samuel. The Hebrew people demanded to be like the other nations even after God warned them not to be like them. But God was patient with them and allowed Saul to be their king. This worked until Saul became self-absorbed and God then moved the kingship to David, son of Jesse.

From the house of David God brought forth from Mary a Son, whose name is Jesus, the Savior of our souls from the temporal world. It is this Jew named Jesus who I believe was God Incarnate then, and maintains His Spiritual presence for the continual enhancement of human life on earth now, and more importantly, for all eternity.

The Israelites were called to spread the word that there is only one God. We, humanity, are to love God with all our being and also to love our fellow human beings as God loves each one of us. This was the message of God to all humanity that was to be carried out into the world by the descendants of Abraham. This was the message of love and inclusion that was supposed to be passed on to us by the Israelites to all nations, but the effort failed, until God gave us our Lord Jesus.

It is by the teachings and love of our Lord Jesus, that we still live and move and have our being. There is but one faith regardless of how it is understood. There is an almighty God. God is good. God is love. God desires peace to prevail among us. Let us not let the effort to get the word out about God’s desire for us to love one another fail again. God’s introduction, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus and the coming among us of the Holy Spirit is God’s final plan for us and our deliverance. We must not only receive this word, but pass it along as well.

Today we remember Benedict, Founder of Western Monasticism (July 11, 540) and his information may be found at: Benedict of Nursia.

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

O Lord God almighty, keep us ever mindful of our call to love You and to love one another and to teach others that there is only You, One God, who brought us into being and then set the example for us to live by through Your presence in Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Pondering for Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 9: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 5 and 6; Evening, Psalms 10 and 11;
1^st Samuel 15:24 to 35; Acts 9:32 to 43; Luke 23:56b to 24:1:

“As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” (1^st Samuel 15: 27 and 28)

There are three things for me to ponder in this 1^st Samuel reading for today. The first two are in the verses above.

Is this where the tearing of clothing began? Saul grabbed the garment of Samuel as Samuel had turned to leave and Samuel used this action as an explanation of how God is tearing Saul from being king over Israel. This tearing of clothing will appear elsewhere in scripture whenever someone is upset or angry about something that has happened, or was said. It’s just something to ponder.

The second thing to ponder is that sometimes people better qualified to do what I like doing will be chosen to do the work. Samuel tells Saul that, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” I don’t believe anyone is really “better” than anybody else, but some might be better at certain deeds than others, and the need of the community is what is most important. First comes the “what” that needs to be done, and then comes the “who” that is best gifted to do what needs doing. As part of my community I too benefit from the best possible person in the right position.

Lastly, I think Samuel is incorrect when he says that God will not have a change of mind. When Saul requests prayers in an effort to see if God will have a change of mind regarding his kingship, Samuel tells Saul, “Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind;” (1^st Samuel 15:29). However, when Moses engaged with God about God’s plan to destroy the Israelites because of their worship of an idol that they made with their own hands, he got God to have a change of mind. ^“And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.” (Exodus 32:14 NRSV). There are other places as well where God has a change of mind about what was planned. If God can have a change of mind, and we are created in God’s Image, can we not also have a change of mind? I think we should ponder this. We should especially consider having a change of mind if such a change results in a more loving response to life’s challenges.

Today we remember Priscilla and Aquila, Co-workers of the Apostle Paul, and their information may be found at: Priscilla & Aquila.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

O Lord, God Almighty, Help us, we pray, to not be so fixated in what we think and do that we can’t hear Your guiding presence in our lives. Open to us the sacred mysteries revealed in the early writings of our relationship with You in order that we might have a change of mind if necessary, and that such a change results in a more loving response to life’s challenges. In Your Name we pray; Amen.