A Virtual Church

In the presence of holiness

Today

The room fills with Presence as a holy friend sits and talks. She is gentle in spirit. We talk all things faith – Julien of Norwich, Teresa of Avilla. We talk of the church and of the culture, and cultural trends. We talk about how we see the world living out the imperatives of justice and love. How are we failing? What is the state of things we see happening around us?

Martin Luther King spoke of the long arc of justice, sure that we were moving along that arc to that land of milk and honey, where the lamb and the lion rest together.

Judeo Christianity, beginning with the Hebrew texts, tells the story of good kings and bad kings. If you have a decent study Bible, the glossary has a page listing them.

The United Monarchy - Saul, David, and Solomon - ruled from 1020 BCE until 922 BCE, when the kingdoms failed. The kingdom divided into two branches, Judah and Israel. Even the most biblically illiterate of us know some of the names of the kings -  Asa and Jehoshaphat of Judah, Uzziah, Ahaz, Amon, Josiah.

“Oceans rise, empires fall,” so King George sings in Hamilton. The kingdoms existed until the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and the fall of Samaria in 721 BCE. Disarray and confusion ensued

Vacuums of leadership are readily filled with leaders who either think they can do better than the guy before them or those who seek power for power’s sake and run the ship like pirates and thugs.

In America, we have one of those kings now. Power hungry and ever more ready to self-aggrandize than serve the people he leads. Ours is not a new story. Our is a story etched in time eternal. People have itching ears and are eager to see how their own story ends.

“Give us a king!”  The people demand. The messiness of prophetic leadership, judges, and prophets is hard work. It’s easier for the guy at the top to make all the decisions. We will ride along with that until we can’t anymore. 

How long, O Lord, are we willing to endure?

Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist and host of the blogsite www.avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com 

 

 

 

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