On Good Friday I gave a short meditation on two passages - the story of Jesus before Pilate as told in John 18 and 19, and for a bit of background the story of David's plan to build a temple from 1 Chronicles 17. David certainly had plenty of faults, but he is often protrayed as the archetypal King of the Jews, the man who first established them as a secure, powerful nation. 1 Chronicles 17 recounts how, after fighting various wars and establishing his kingdom securely, David had the notion to build a temple to Yahweh. Even his household prophet Nathan thought it was a good idea. Yahweh disagreed, and sent David a message. The essence of it was that he didn't need a house, and if any house-building was to be done he, Yahweh, would do it. He would establish Israel in their home, and build a house (that is, a dynasty) for David. David was put firmly in his place. He may have had a household prophet, but he didn't have a household God. He served Yahweh, not the o
'Contemplating the teeming life of the shore, we have an uneasy sense of the communication of some universal truth that lies just beyond our grasp.' - Rachel Carson