• Fr. Billy's Column
• Giving blood
• Daughters of the King to Meet

Some of my favorite moments of the week are during our bible study at the Genuine Joe's coffee shop.  Recently we have read all of 1&2 Samuel and 1&2 Kings.  It was an arduous process to read through the stories of Israel's monarchy and relationship with neighboring tribes.  Death, greed, power, and sex formed the common thread. Some kings did "What was good in the sight of the Lord" and others not so much.  

I bring this up because our lectionary reading from I Samuel this Sunday is the beginning of Israel selecting their first king. God, time and time again warns them that they do not want an earthly king for a multitude of reasons: death, power and sex covers many of them.  In the end Israel does select a king and has to navigate its relationship with God, neighbor, and enemy. The temple gets built with King Solomon and is ultimately destroyed by the Babylonians.  

Sometimes it's hard to understand why these texts would have any impact on us now, but I remain faithful that they are robust and informative about the human condition.  Truthfully, we all struggle with putting things before God, just as our ancestors did. I imagine that this will always be something that causes us problems, letting material things and wants get in the way of our relationship with God and each another. 

And this is why I love that bible study so much.  It is a prayerful time to read and ponder our lives and relationships. Good coffee and jokes don't hurt either. 

Let the summer begin,

Billy+