I have come as a light into the world.

 

Saturday, August 12, 2023


Psalms 99; 100

2 Samuel 16:20-17:14

John 12:36b-50


Observances: Muredach (Murtagh), bishop (d. c. 480); Blane, missionary (d. c. 590); Ann Griffiths, poet (d. 1805)


I have come as a light into the world.


Everyone loves giving advice. This is how you should vote in the referendum; that is how you should invest your money; you should check your car engine oil more often; you shouldn’t put that in your mouth. What is infinitely more difficult is taking advice.


There are plenty of good reasons for not taking the advice of someone else. On political issues, there is the healthy suspicion of the lust for power. For issues with a commercial element, there is the risk of not behaving as a good steward. But on spiritual issues, such as with Absalom’s search for counsel, and the people of Jerusalem who Jesus taught, taking advice is impossible under our own strength.


We read two reasons for rejecting sound spiritual advice today; two dangers we should be aware of in our personal search for God. The first is the danger of pride: many who would like to follow Jesus did not do so because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Who is greater than God? Why would anyone think more highly of other men than of God? This attitude might seem confusing and at odds with our own situation, but pride can sneak through when we least expect it.


The other reason is far more terrifying: the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom. God has a free will of His own. God can do whatever God wants to do. And God had made a covenant with David, and was rejecting Absalom’s bid for the throne. It is a timely reminder that we do not get to decide how the Holy Spirit works among us. The Holy Spirit is doing what the Holy Spirit wants to do, and it is up to us to decide if we are going to get on board or not.


So how to get in the spiritual place that will most help us follow God’s advice? Psalm 100 is a good place to start. Ancient Jewish rabbinical teaching recommends to recite it every day. Our own Book of Common Prayer also has that Psalm set to be read every morning, following the New Testament reading. The late Queen Elizabeth II liked it so much she had England’s premier composer at the time, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, arrange the old Reformation-era tune for that Psalm for her coronation. The Lord is good: He has come as a light into the world.

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