September 20, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 27, 36, 80
1 Kings 22:29-45
1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15
Matthew 5:1-10

II. Selections
Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

1 Kings 22:39
Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

1 Corinthians 3:7
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Matthew 5:5
" ...Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ... " [ Jesus, sitting on the mountain]

III. Meditation: Not King Ahab, but the meek

The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel is gone,
along with its narration of King Ahab's accomplishments.
The cities Ahab built are gone; his ivory house is long gone.
What we remember are his evil acts and his ignominious death.

We are not so different from Ahab-our lives a mix of good and evil.
Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but only you who give the growth-our light, our salvation.

You are the stronghold of our lives, whom do we fear?
For it is not King Ahab who will inherit the earth;

it is the meek.