Solomon Prayed for God to Answer the Prayers of Foreigners

In his prayer dedicating the Jerusalem Temple, King Solomon recognized it as extending the promise God had made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God’s intention is to include all people in steadfast love, so Solomon prayed in 1 Kings 8:42-43, “When a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you.” We who follow Jesus recognize no distinction between nationalities, races, genders, classes for all are one in Christ. (Romans 10:12; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28) This is not limited to those who share our faith in Christ but included even those who would consider us to be enemies, as Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 and Paul affirmed in Romans 12:14-21. By extending the love of Christ toward those who are different than we are, perhaps even feared or despised by some, we begin now to experience what we anticipate when we will gather with those from every tribe and language and people and nation around the Throne singing praise to Christ. (Revelation 5:9)

This is not to say that differences of culture, ethnicity, background, etc. don't matter but they are not to disrupt either Christian unity or our common humanity as we live out the love of Christ.

My Soul Cries Out

Last week I wrote how singing Robert Lowry’s hymn My Life Flows On in worship with Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church shaped my meditation, which persisted through the week. http://nstolpepilgrim.blogspot.com/2018/07/above-earths-lamentation.html Then we sang it again in worship with Milwaukee Mennonite Church yesterday afternoon (August 5, 2018). I had been singing it each morning between my lectio divina and Prayer Psalms, listening as intently as possible for the “sweet though far off hymn that hails a new creation” and attending to the faint echoes of the music in my soul. I know I sang it in snatches and in entirety both mentally and vocally through the days of the week. I believe it was beneficial and sustaining for me, even if incrementally, as I continued to wrestle with both internal and external lamentations, tumult, and strife.

For a long time that hymn/folksong has strengthened me and guided me when the path ahead seemed dark and uncertain. I used it for an important turning point in the lives and relationships of a couple in my unpublished novel The Ghosts of Mystic Hills Cemetery. I went back and reviewed that chapter and posted it in my Writing Workshop blog at http://nstolpewriting.blogspot.com/2018/08/nils-from-ghosts-of-mystic-hills.html. Having it come back in worship again a week later, was like bringing the sweet but far off hymn a little nearer and intensifying the echoes in my soul. Not just an affirmation of my meditations this week, it was as though I was hearing the assurance that the hymn that hails the new creation will indeed drown out, indeed drive out, that cacophony of the earth’s lamentations, tumult, and strife that had been weighing me down recently.

The singing of it in worship yesterday came in the context of 16 year old Soraya Keiser’s worship message (sermon) of her learnings from a double pilgrimage she took this summer. First was to historic civil rights sites in the southern US. Dare I call them shrines? Second was to violence torn Guatemala to by sharing life with its victims. Not only was I amazed at the profundity of her insights, but it was the sweet song of the new creation being sung aloud in our very presence.

We ended that worship by singing My Soul Cries Out, with its plaintive refrain of hope that “the world is about to turn.” Again, I was prompted to sing along with the great chorus, confident that “the poor will weep no more, for the food they can never earn; there are tables spread, every mouth be fed,” and God “wipes away all tears for the dawn draws near.” Despite appearances to the contrary, the largely hidden turning of the world is relentless and ultimate. Thanks, Soraya for affirming this with your words and these two songs!

Terminal Symptoms

The intentional pursuit of happiness is a sure sign of terminal hedonism. The intentional pursuit of greatness is a sure sign of terminal hubris.

 True greatness is the byproduct of humble service. What Jesus said is not specifically religious but dependable for all humanity. “Whoever wants to be great must be last of all and servant of all.” Matthew 20:26-27; Mark 9:35; 10:43-44.

 True happiness is the byproduct of the blessedness Jesus illuminated in the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-22. This is not pious sentimentality but radically countercultural. Imagine the reaction if this was posted where posting the Ten Commandments is sometimes advocated.

·         “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

·         “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

·         “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

·         “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

·         “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 

·         “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

·         “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

·         “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

·         “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”