Still Haven't Found What We Are Looking For - August 7, 2010

Daily Lectionary Readings for August 7, 2010
Psalm 63
Judges 9:22-25, 50-57
Acts 4:32-5:11
John 2:13-25

Psalm 63
v.1  "O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
U2 made an anthem out of the words, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".  Partly because it's a great tune and partly because most of us, one way or another, haven't found what we are looking for.  Like the psalmists awareness of what the real need is in this passage.  A lot of our frustration - a lot of my frustration I think - is the realization that we (I) have these moments where we KNOW we are in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  What we (I) are often less aware of is what the water is for which we are thirsting. The psalmist nails it - our souls thirst for God.  Try what we like nothing but God will satisfy.

Acts 4:32-5:11
Acts 4:32-37 followed by 5:1-11 make a jarring pair.  The first gives the ideal picture of the early Christian community.  Everyone shared everything, no one was needy, Barnabas ("son of encouragement") sells his field and gives the proceeds to the Apostles.  It's all good.  Chapter 4 could end with, "And they lived happily ever after..."  Except they don't.  Chapter 5 begins with the story of Ananias and Sapphira who keep back some profits from selling a piece of land.  And then they lie about it.  Storm clouds show up quickly in this new community.  To their credit just as they didn't live happily ever after, they now don't disband the whole thing as a failed project.  So it is in our faith communities now as well.  We have moments of excellence and bask in God's glory.  And we have moments of something less than excellence and things fall apart.  God sustained the community then and God sustains us now.

Thanking God for...
A beautiful morning.  After the heat, it was almost a fall morning.  Okay, it's August 7 so the heat isn't going anywhere just yet, but what a welcome touch the sunshine and light, nearly cool, breeze was this morning.