Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson I Samuel 16:1-13   A New Beginning   This is a story of new beginnings: a new beginning for a young shepherd boy; a new beginning for a nation; a new beginning for an old weathered prophet; even a new beginning for God.   But in this story, like in most stories, new beginnings don’t come easy.   They are shadowed by endings.   And they rarely emerge from anything other than at least a touch of grief.   It was Samuel who had, years earlier, anointed a gangly kid from the tribe of Benjamin.   Saul was tall and handsome – so he had the look – but he was from a poor family, and a bit awkward, certainly not the most obvious royal choice.   But he was the one God chose.   And Samuel was in the business of hearing and doing God’s word and so he anointing him as king – the first king of Israel.   And so you can perhaps understand that the prophet, Samuel, was invested.   Long before he met the young Saul, he had warned the people that a king was

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Psalm 121   Pilgrim Psalm   The journey was dangerous.   And the way was not safe.   So common and pervasive was the peril that it served as the backdrop for the well-known Parable of the Good Samaritan.   That story, told by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, begins with an unnamed traveler being stripped and beaten by robbers.   The man is left for dead on the side of the road, the road that leads to Jerusalem.   Psalm 121 is one of the best known psalms in the entire poetic collection.   It has for centuries lived in the hearts and souls of the people of God.   It is a song that instills comfort and confidence.   For centuries it has been prayed in moments of anxiety and insecurity and has been a remarkably effective conveyor of peace and tranquility.   The psalm is one of fifteen psalms grouped and categorized as Songs of Ascent, part of a collection within the larger collection.   These psalms are pilgrim songs.   They were the songs prayed by t