God did not make death,
And he does not delight in the death
of the living.
For he created all things so that
they might exist;
the generative forces of the world
are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in
them,
and the dominion of Hades is not on
earth.
For righteousness is immortal.
Wisdom
of Solomon 1
If I but touch his clothes, I will be
made well.
[ the woman with 12 years of bleeding
]
"Why do you make a commotion and
weep? The child is not dead but sleeping."
Mark
5
[ The Readings for this Sunday, July 1,
Proper 8, Year b, can be found at:
Well,
it’s Monday. Sunday is over, and those of you who go to a place or a group to
“worship” have done so. I hope it was a useful, uplifting day. Dennis and I
were away in Santa Fe, and spent the day driving back to Silver, reflecting on
things as the amazing landscape that is the NM southwest floated by.
I was also
thinking about the Readings for the Liturgy for yesterday. The Readings are …
are we surprised … about Life. The Wisdom called after wise King Solomon has
always been a favourite of the Hebrew Scriptures for me … a collection of many
centuries of wise and useful thought. This reading reiterates the Message: “God” is always about Life … What is
the meaning of Life? to Exist … as richly as possible. Even
from “Solomon” we have the core:
Death is not of God … and we are to deny Death power. And, we are to
remember every moment of our Life:
“the generative forces of the World are wholesome … it is we who introduce the deathlike aspect.
That
wonderful woman who reached out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment … she minds
us (as my dear and valued priest friend Donna Ross said in her sermon
yesterday) that we all seek wholeness/healing … and it happens in the context
of our communities of Love.
And
finally: Jesus “raises the synagogue
official’s daughter from death” … and here the Gospel reminds us that if we are
not awake to the fullness of Life, if we are not seeking wholeness and healing,
then we are “dead”. One of the
central works of Jesus … and of so many powerful and wise Teachers … is to “raise
us from the dead”, to wake us up, to open us up to wholeness, found principally
in loving each other.
Blessings
of Wholeness today!
Brian+
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