Jonathan has much to gain if his father kills David. He will be the next king of Israel rather
than David. In spite of this, Jonathan
is willing to risk not only the potential kingship but also his life to ensure
David’s safety. David knows what Saul
has on his mind and knows also that Saul no longer trusts his son in the
matter. Jonathan does not know his
father’s mind nor his distrust of him vis a vis David. Jonathan sets David’s interests above his own
from love for David. We don’t see that
often in our friendships any longer.
People have suggested that there is something romantic in this love
between friends and I believe that has more to do with the devaluation of friendship
than anything else. In our society we
substitute social media and quality time for the notion of real
friendship. I don’t think we even long
for such friends, much less to be such a friend. If the world saw Christians committed to one
another in this way they might be more attracted to the church. Jesus agrees, “Greater love has no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
When Jesus calls Matthew to be a part of the team He takes a
great risk. No one, especially Jews,
wanted to hang out with tax collectors who were also Jews. They were seen as collaborators with the
enemy, they not only collected the tax for Rome, in order to make money they
also had to overestimate the value of assets taxed. They remitted Rome’s share to Rome and kept
the rest. To call Matthew as a disciple
meant everyone else raised eyebrows and had to make a decision whether to
remain in the group. We are called to
love others in the name of Jesus and to accept and welcome all who come into
our churches. It is always difficult to
make room for new people when they aren’t like us but the reality is that we
share a commonality in creation in the image of God and one whom Christ loves
in spite of ourselves. The church is
constantly making room for new people who bring their own individuality into
the mix.
Herod blamed the sentries for Peter’s escape and ordered
them put to death, the same punishment he intended for Peter. Do you see why the Philippian jailer, who we
will meet very soon in our readings, was prepared to put himself to death when
he saw the cell door open? He knew what
his punishment would be if the prisoners under his care escaped and decided the
best thing to do was get it over with and perhaps spare his family some
embarrassment, maybe make it look like the prisoners killed him. Herod took leave and went to another part of
his reign where the people were in need of grace from him so were willing to
flatter him to gain his favor. His
reception of their praises as though he were in fact a God becomes the reason
for his demise. All kings have dominion
from the Lord, good and bad. If He does
not allow it, they will not reign.
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