Sunday 19 March 2023 (’02) • 4thSUNofLENT: A
1 1SAM16:1, 6-7, 10-13
- Read 15.1-16.23!The dark violent king-making charism of Samuel!
- How did Samuel (or the others around) know that it was ‘Yahweh’ who moved him?
- When Yahweh/Samuel ‘looked at David’s heart’, what did they see?
- On balance, is my local church ruled by intuition, caprice, custom, or dialogue?
- Is 1it noteworthy that there are no women visible in this important narrative?
2 THE PSALM: 22:1-6
- What makes this song such a favourite of so many adults?
- Do I experience ‘Yahweh’ as 1SolicitousShepherd’ or ‘GenerousHost’?
- ‘Yahweh’sHouse!’: TheTemple? Heaven? Or arguably, wherever ThePoor are?
- Isn’t this more likely to be a song sung by the king? Or do all expect such privilege?
- If Yahweh were my ‘provider’, what else would I ‘want’, not mentioned here?
- ‘Cos Yahweh may be an ‘undeveloped divinity’, not resourceful-enuff for now’
3 EPH5·8-14
- Read 4 1- 5.20! Some ramifications&corollaries of the new ‘christian’ lifestyle?
- Which ‘secret aspects’ of the local church should be uncovered&shaken-out?
- In a ‘christian perspective’, what ‘works’ of IrishSociety must be deemed ‘futile’?
- What of the claim that ‘ModernSociety’ is more dynamic than ‘TheChurch’?
- Far from ‘waking up’, will any of us acknowledge, even realise, that we’re asleep?
4 JN9:1-41
- Isn’t this one of the most picaresque narratives m TheTotalB1ble?
- As regards a ‘spu1tual meaning’, whom TheChurch seriously thinks they’re ‘blind’?
- Isn’t it still a widespread thought, that ‘misfortune’ is due to ‘sin’?
- How did the man (&his parents) survive the officious questioning of ‘authority’?
- “What is the equivalent in my local church of ‘KeepingTheSabbath’?
- In what ways are ‘disciples’ being trained to ‘see’ more-truly&more-deeply?
5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?
How is seeing different from blindness, if the one with sight is yet blind to pattern&hue&nuance? How is blindness different from seeing, if one born-blind has yet become unimaginably skilled like a hunter & a dowser, sensitive to every tremor, every ripple, in the accompanying web? Sha’ul my name, after the first & greatest of all the kings! Speak not to me of David&Solomon, for all their boastful exploits, they saw nothing of Heaven’sTruth’ Sha’ul my Master, for all that the storytellers have devalued his greatness, saw clearly Heaven’sTruth, but was pulled down by envy of Samuel-the Begrudger’ Sight of the eyes, sight of the heart, sight of the breath’ As with myMaster, all of these have ebbed&flowed for me m the accompanying web! Yet with this difference I was never king, nor called, nor aspired to be!But I was never overwhelmed by my darkness-of-the-eyes, nor was I inflated With boastfulness because of my many skills & many threads-of-power! Rather, I ruled my dark scintillant world by the harvesting of aptitudes sown by Heaven in my humble soul&body!I was truly agreeable to live&die in this way, moving modestly&invulnerably among the myriad sons&daughters of David (peace be upon him).. Until the blessed day I was approached by another who also was unmistakeably of the lineage of Sha’ul’ Now my life is utterly ablaze, praise-TheMaster!!
6 RIDDLE What is it most important to see?
The limitations of the professional zealots?
The presence of Yahweh/Jesus in the oppressed?
The new opportunities being provided by the modern world?
Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie