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SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

This Sunday's texts deals with a variety of spiritual topics--the advancement of God's Kingdom among us in the gospel lesson, some practical advice on Christian living and perspective in the Epistle reading and a story of calling and anointing in the first lesson. You get to pick from any of these texts or you can try to weave all of these themes together into a masterpiece, perhaps under the umbrella of God working among us, imperceptibly.

 

Mark 4:26-34

This passage deals with the idea of God's Kingdom growing organically among us--whether we perceive of it or not.  The mustard seed adds to this the message that God's work may not look like much now, but it is bound to become bigger than anyone would expect (as the tiny mustard seed becomes the biggest shrub).
 

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17

The apostle Paul appears to be concerned about his protégés' this-worldly attitude.  he emphasizes the higher path of faith and evokes even the Last Judgment scene in his audience coupled with the otherwise rarely used "fear of the Lord."  The bottom line is that we are essentially different once we become Christian believers, a truly new creation; so our lives better testify to this inner reality.
 

1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13

An amazing story of calling and anointing. The Lord chooses the one whom humans might consider least significant.  But Samuel's mission is not unambiguous;  Saul was still King--anointed by Samuel himself, when he hesitantly obeys God's orders to make another king--a move that led to years of civil unrest as the two kings and their followers struggled for power.