Reflection on readings for June 6

Our help is in the name of the Lord
who made heaven and earth.
(Psalm 124:8)

1 Kings 1:1-53

Acts 4:1-37
Peter, a religious man, has been acted on his religious training and experience, is now called to account by religious authorities.

"Who gave you the authority to do this?"

Holly Hearon  asks: "When have you experienced a life-giving event in your life that has been viewed with suspicion by others? When have you found yourself suspicious of what someone else has identified as a life-giving event? What criteria should be used in assessing such moments?"

More disturbing to us may be verses 32-35. We Americans complain that our government wants a lot. Then, the church wanted it all.

Remember, no social security, no medicare, no unemployment insurance. How were people who needed help to be cared for?

Giving everything seems hard--and it seemed hard to them, too. Keep reading in this chapter.

But, back to this lesson: Luke has emphasized that discipleship to Jesus involves one's possessions. See Luke 6:20-26; 12:13-21; Acts 11:27-29, among others.

Is there a conflict between being of one heart and one mind (v.32) and having private ownership? Even if we cannot imagine common ownership, is there any way we can accept a modification of this principle?

How do you find a connection between verses 33 and 34? What is our responsibility toward the needy (v.34)? Does this responsibility leap across national borders?

Psalm 124:1-8
I'm trying to imagine the original setting for this psalm. Everybody is grateful. Everybody is traveling to a great festival. Which is harder for me to imagine happening in my time--that they are on a pilgrimage, or that they are on it together?

This psalm gives us words to express gratitude and reminds us to whom we owe our rescue.

If God had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed up by enemies--human ones and ones of nature.

We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.

Although this psalm is written for a community, individuals can also find solace and suggestion in it. When you have escaped from whatever snare had trapped you, you can pray these words. When you are still entrapped, you can use them as a reminder that help does come.

Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Prayer for Today: Choose a prayer from Joan Stott's website The Timeless Psalms