A father's grief

After 2 Samuel 18 

Even after his kingdom

is almost lost, his family

torn apart, his country

sundered in two, his

throne threatened, 

the man grieves 

the loss of the one

who set near-destruction

into motion, the son,

the favored son,

the golden child loved

and followed and

praised by so many,

he grieves what might

have been, he grieves

the tearing of,

the cost to

his own soul.

 

Photograph by Noor Hossain via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Sunday, Feb. 1

 

When Peter Walked the Stormy Sea – poem by Esther Roth.

 

5 Reasons You Need Sabbath Rest – Megan Hill at The Gospel Coalition.

 

Beauty Will Win – Trevin Wax at Story Warren.

 

I Stepped Outside – Melissa Edgington at You Mom Has a Blog.

 

“Day by Day,” song by Stephan Schwartz from Godspell – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

The forest consumes

After 2 Samuel 18 

The slaughter of battle

is great that day,

thousands falling

to sword and lance

and knife. The dead

lie in heaps, wasted

piles of life destroyed.

And yet, in spite of

sword and lance and 

knife, it is the forest

that consumes more

than the battle, 

the forest with

its trees and logs and

pits and ditches and 

streams and rivers,

the forest capturing

warriors and showing

no mercy.

 

Photograph by Sebastian Unrau via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

Who Is Rich and Who Is Poor? – Eric McLaughlin at Mere Orthodoxy.

 

Chilling Time – Kelly Keller at Story Warren.

 

It Doesn’t Matter What You Remember – Tim Challies.

 

Where is God’s Love When Life Goes Wrong? – Seth Porch at Desiring God.

 

The Burial of the Faithful – poem by Benjamin Myers at First Things.

A Bible Verse and a Fictional Scene

For the past few months, our church pastors have been preaching a series on the Gospel as seen in the life of David. We’re nearing the end of the series. The sermons have focused on some of the highlights of David’s life, including his anointing by the prophet Samuel, the confrontation with Goliath, the growing animosity of King Saul, the friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan, David becoming king, and Bathsheba.  

Last Sunday, the sermon centered on the end of the rebellion by David’s son Absalom (2 Samuel 18). The army gathered by Absalom has been defeated and scattered; Absalom himself, trying to escape, is caught by his trademark flowing hair in the branches of a tree. He’s dangling there when found by David’s general, who wastes no time in ignoring David’s earlier command to spare Absolom’s life and putting the young man to the sword. 

 

I’m familiar with the account. I’ve read it many times, my attention caught by the image of Absalom dangling from the tree limb. It is a truism that you can read a book of the Bible, a passage, a chapter, and even a verse scores of times and not see something that will suddenly catch your attention during an additional reading.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.

Photograph by Filip Zrnzevic via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Wednesday Readings

 

Wendell Berry and what it means to love a place – Fr. Michael Rennier at Aleteia. 

 

At Abbey Wood – Spitalfields Life.

 

Is offshore wind really cheaper than gas? – Steve Loftus at The Critic Magazine.

 

Ray Bradbury Unbound – Bradley Birzer.