Reflection 1/23/13

"Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God burst out against us, because we did not give it proper care."(1 Chronicles 15:13)

My church has been engaged since September in a program called "The Bible Challenge."  It is a year long program of actually reading the whole Bible.  Each week we copy and send out the readings assigned for this week. 

At the beginning of the year, many of my colleagues started their churches on this program.  One of my colleagues the Rev. Marshall Shelly, Rector of St. Peter's Spotswood, started blogging on a passage from each days reading, or at least when he had the time.  I thought this was a great idea so I decided I'd find a passage from today's "assigned readings" and see what spoke to me.

You might think this is a weird passage to quote out of context, so here's the context.  The folks are carrying the Ark of the Covenant, yes that ark,  and it started to look like it might fall and someone reached out to steady it and got killed on the spot.  This event led David to consider a better way of transporting it and handling it.

I heard a bizarre explanation of this event involving static electricity, but I leave such modernist questions to the modernists.  What I found myself pondering was the last part of the quote, "because we did not give it the proper care."

We often see a label on a package saying "handle with care."  Warning us that something breakable or fragile is inside.  We know that if living things are not given the proper care they will not flourish or perhaps even die.

And of course there are parts of our own lives that if we don't take proper care of, that will come back to haunt us.

What in your life has not been given the proper care?  Is it too late or can with the right attention and care it be fixed?  I know that I've become more attentive to the proper care of my physical health and I try to maintain the proper care of my spiritual health also.  And while nothing has knocked me dead literally or figuratively, there have been occasional jolts that get me back on track.

Peace,
Ed+