August 03, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 81, 116, 143
Judges 4:4-23
Acts 1:15-26
Matthew 27:55-66

II. Selections
Psalm 81:5c-6
I hear a voice I had not known:
"I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket. ... "

Judges 4:18
Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear." So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.

Acts 1:16
"Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus ..." [ Peter, to the believers]

Matthew 27:55
Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him.

III. Meditation: A voice we had not known

We hear a voice we had not known,
a voice that promises relief from our burden.
What voice is this?

Is it like the sugary voice of Jael to Sisera,
who offered the warrior a rug to hide under and warm milk to ease his fear,
then while he slept hammered a tent stake through his temple?

Or like the voice of Judas, whose love for Jesus
did not preclude his serving as a guide
for the arresting party?

No, it is more like the voice of women who followed Jesus
and provided for him all the way from Galilee to crucifixion,
then stayed with him even after.