Sun. July 28, 2013 (Andre Pekovich)

Andre Pekovich used the lectionary texts for the day to investigate the purpose and meaning of consequences as they apply to God’s design. In Hosea 1, Andre noted that though Hosea promises consequences to Israel, it takes more than a century for them to come about; meanwhile, his children live with unpleasant names. Meanwhile Israel, though successful historically, failed to follow God spiritually and relied on its own power and might for its own salvation, eventually leading to its own destruction. In Psalm 85, salvation seen to be not once and for all, but a continuous process of anger and separation followed by revival, sometimes years or generations between. Luke 11, though more often used to describe how we should pray, also shows how the persistence of prayer may bring about the consequences we desire. And Colossians 2 insisted that we follow our own call of the spirit when discerning the right way to follow God’s direction; heeding the instructions of others may lead to separation, anxiety and sin, and again bear consequences of separation of the Body from God. Andre noted that consequences are neither logical, rational or immediate, and sometimes they don’t appear to take place at all. Since we have no control over the consequences, we are called to live purposeful and devoted lives, as a training for when consequences that we do not expect eventually arrive to test us. [AP]

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