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I am a pastor and a clinical psychotherapist. My life's passion is defining healthiness from a human perspective and paralleling it to the holiness of God, divine perspective. Shifting perspectives creates a paradigm that is alongside of rather than over and against. The parakalein of God and the paradoxes of humanity are redefined. Humanity is all about winning and yet we are losing ground everywhere. Divinity is all about letting go of the desire to win and the fear of loss. The Divine embraces the world with loving care regardless of anything.

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Letter or Spirit, who takes the lead

Posted by Don Paine

I think Jesus taught that the letter kills and the spirit gives life.

Last Sunday the Old Testament Text and the New Testament texts created confusion unless we look at the letter and the spirit.

The account of Saul, Jonathyn and David in II Samuel 1: 1-27 presents the following narrative missing parts allow parts to add to the narrative that may or may not be accurate.  The basic story is that the armies of the Amelikites were devastating the armies of Israel.  Saul was left to die and was wanting to die in a merciful not merciless way.  The armies were coming toward him when a young brave Amelikite soldier stumbled on Saul.  Saul basically asked him to kill him to rescue the crown and get it to David and to rescue him from a vicious, vindictive death at the hands of ruthless soldiers who would stead and desecrate the crown then kill him in a mocking way.  The young soldier obliged.  After hiding out for some time in the village he came forth with fear but in faith to David with the story of Saul and Jonathyn's death.  When David asked how he knew this he took out the crown and handed it to David.  David proceeded to follow the letter of the law that anyone killing the Lord's Anointed must himself be killed.  He ordered the soldier to kill him for killing the Lord's Anointed.

On first reading and even second and third different thoughts emerge as part of the truth.  David could not let the act go unpunished or he sets up "it is okay to kill the King" which he would be in time.  He also had a royal dilemma:  he wanted to avenge the tragedy of the weapons of war but he also wanted to signal that Israel was not finished.  Another angle sassy that David needed to act in this way lest weakness be used against him.  Therefore he reasoned that if God wanted to intervene for the Lord's anointed and devastate the armies of the Amelikites then this act prevented God fighting for Israel and interfered with the same therefor was wrong. From yet another angle a new part emerges, a part of human understanding, a humble reality, and a horrific tragedy.  The metaphor of an eagle of creative and clear leadership strength and a lion of compassion and courage and a lamb of humble sacrifice and surrender inform a different narrative.  David was filled with anger, hurt, and grief.  We all as human begins have been overcome by anger, hurt and grief out ow which we have acted in a way that later on when in a calm, clear, compassionate place we see from a different angle.

When David put the King's Crown on his own head he realized that the Crown was rescued from sacrilegious plunder and to preserve the sacred crown.  At that time from a new perspective he, a compassionate man at heart, probably lamented his hasty action.

Years later Jesus the Lord's anointed was killed by invitation and choice.  While people in human reaction have wanted to blame a group for the killing and kill them the Lord's anointed offered pardon and mercy not judgment and wrath.  In fact Jesus embrace the violence and hatred down to him to preserve the sacred crown of Glory which was love adn honor from the core of the God of love.  God's love in Christ undaunted, unassuming and unfailing.  Betrayed by human hatred he could not betray the essence of God's being:  love and peace. The Lord's anointed gave love in exchange for hatred, life in exchange for death, and peace in exchange for violence.  The crown preserved, the sacred unaltered, and the serene un affected.  Anger hurt and grief were transformed into love, healing, and grace.

David was human and without the advantage of the message of Christ so it is easy to see how he acted out of anger and hurt and grief.  We have the perspective of the cross so are called to live in love, healing and grace toward all regardless of anything.

The letter of the law perpetuates human response the Spirit of the Law calls forth an anointed response of love and peace that itself is transforming and transformed.





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