Father Dave's Preach and Punch fest - 12 & 13th June, 2021

There were no shortage of young bucks wanting to teach me a lesson last Saturday night. I gave each of them the pre-match talk about how we didn’t want to hurt each other and it seemed to register with each of them, at least until they actually entered the ring. Something then seemed to take over (most probably the jeering of their mates) and they suddenly seemed determined to hurt me, meaning that, unfortunately, I had to dish out a few strong shots in return.. I did a total of nine rounds with my three opponents that night but I only included the most entertaining four for you on today’s video.

Unfortunately, the sound recording for this one did not work at all. I have no idea why. I suppose I should be thankful that we get any reception in the middle of the bush. Anyway … we’ve overlaid some music over the bouts. Perhaps it improves the experience?

As to the Bible discussion for this week, our readings were from 1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13, 2 Corinthians 5:6-17 and Mark 4:26-34

Our reading from the Hebrew Bible relates that well-known story of young David being anointed as king over Israel. If you were with us last Sunday, you might not have expected that to happen this soon, as Saul was only anointed king last week! Evidently, it didn’t take long for Saul to show that he was unfit for the job. Samuel the prophet grieves over this but, surprisingly perhaps, God does not, and pushes Samuel to get on with the job of organising Saul’s replacement!

Probably the most memorable part of this reading is the description of the presentation of Jesse’s sons to Samuel, who sees kingship material in each of the strapping older brothers, but he is chastised by God and told, “the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). This theme is taken up again by Saint Paul in our second reading, where he says “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Both readings give us a sobering reminder of how hopeless we can be as judges of character. So often we choose our leaders, and even our partners, based on their good looks and sophisticated style. God sees the heart. We too must pray for the wisdom to see beyond the glitter and tinsel.

Our Gospel reading today is from Mark, chapter four, where Jesus is giving the last two of a series of parables, all of which are farming stories. Whereas the earlier parables focus on human interaction with the Gospel message, these last two parables remind us that the Kingdom of God is at work even when we are sleeping, and when miracles happen, it’s often not because of anything in particular that we did!

Martin Luther said, “While I drink my little glass of Wittenberg beer the gospel runs its course and overthrows empires.” I was trying to remember that quote during the stream today and I think I almost got it right. Either way, it’s a good one.

Father Dave
http://www.fatherdave.org
http://www.fighting-fathers.com

#boxingtraining​​​ #preaching​​​ #punch_fest