Author: Charlotte Vaughan Coyle

“When we were children, we read the stories of David like children’s stories. But now when we let these sacred stories intersect our own stories, we recognize how The Story, God’s Story is rich with complexity and ambiguity. Now we can see how God’s Story has always been moving, growing, becoming more than we ever imagined….”

We will be reading from two different traditions: the Samuel tradition and the Chronicles tradition. Here is a good opportunity to observe some of the ancients’ ways of interpreting their own story. Each has its particular perspective and purpose. Each comes from its own set of historical sources and interprets the past in light of their experience in the present. Some Bible students talk about the “contradictions” between the stories of the Kings, Samuel and the Chronicler. I prefer to think of the various presentations as representative of the rich, complex story of Israel and YHWH. Enjoy these David stories this week.

2 Samuel 1-10

1 Chronicles 1-19

Psalms 115

Psalm 122

Psalm 144

John 7-8

1 Thessalonians

As You Read resource: David

https://livinginthestory.com/2017/06/as-you-read-david/

Living in The Story blog for Week 29

https://livinginthestory.com/2016/05/the-house-of-david/

Notice how the Psalms echo the laments of David the fugitive. The stories from the Samuels and the Chronicles help us glimpse some of the trials he must have endured. But the laments are not only from David – they are the laments of us all. Nearly every human emotion I can imagine is expressed here in the hymnal of Israel. Praise. Celebration. Thanksgiving. And also Anger, Frustration and Lament.

Most all the Psalms of Lament – even as they chastise YHWH for the pervasive injustices of the world – finish with hope: hope in the arc of justice. Hope in the Creator of justice. If things are not “right” then there is still a constant hope in the One-who-makes-all-things-right.

The blog for this week focuses on symbolism; the symbols in the gospel of John. Train yourself to see the symbols. Literalism skims the surface; symbolism goes to the deeper levels.

Keep reading. Keep discovering.

1 Samuel 21-31

Psalm 18

Psalm 64

Psalm 142

John 6

Acts 24-28

Living in The Story blog for Week 28:

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/08/rivers-of-living-water/

Now begin the famous stories of David. Take time this week to read Charlotte’s intro blog for David (below). He is a larger than life figure and a pivot of Israel’s history.

As we continue to make our way through the highly symbolic Gospel of John, we get to meet the gutsy Samaritan woman; one of my favorite characters in the Bible.

Enjoy these intriguing stories this week.

1 Samuel 15-20

Psalm 20

Psalm 35

Psalm 38

John 4-5

Acts 19-23

As You Read: David

https://livinginthestory.com/2017/06/as-you-read-david/

Living in The Story blog for Week 27

https://livinginthestory.com/2016/05/this-takes-courage/

Our Old Testament reading this week continues the story of Samuel, one of Israel’s great leaders. We met his faithful mother, Hannah, last week and saw how she had dedicated this child to the service of YHWH. Samuel is the last judge of this tribal people and shepherds them through the transition to a royal kingdom.

We also continue the rich stories of the Gospel of John. This work is highly symbolic; almost everything points to something larger and deeper than the surface stories.

The stories of Acts continue Luke’s theological history (or historical theology) within the early church among the earliest believers. These chapters herald the expansion of The Faith through Paul’s missionary journeys. The church transitions from local geography and Jewish identity to a multicultural, far flung community of Jesus.

1 Samuel 4-14

Psalm 59

Psalm 61

Psalm 71

John 2-3

Acts 16-18

Living in The Story blog for Week 26

https://livinginthestory.com/2016/06/a-whole-new-thing/

Last week we looked at Job and Cornelius, faithful Gentiles. This week we meet Ruth and Hannah, quintessential faithful women.

It’s important to read Bible stories about women with a keen eye since their time and place and culture were so very different than ours. The Bible was authored by men and – even though I trust their integrity – male bias is obvious and inevitable. From the Old Testament all the way through the New Testament, women lived in a hierarchical, patriarchal society and their stories are related to us by the men who sought to give them voice and presence. I often wonder what these stories would say if the women themselves were able to tell them.

It’s important for us to read with open minds (as much as possible). How men and women related to one another in this ancient day was their own reality. It’s tempting for us to judge them according to our own reality but that is a futile exercise. Avoid judging but watch and see what they have to teach you.

Also, as you read, remember that millions of women still live similar lives in many cultures across our current world.

Our reading for this week has us begin again in the Gospel of John. We read John earlier this year but now we will take our time and soak it in. Chapter 1 is the rich and profound prologue. See below Charlotte’s overview on John’s Jesus.

Ruth

1 Samuel 1-3

Psalm 41

Psalm 72

Psalm 113

John 1

Acts 13-15

As You Read: John’s Jesus

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/07/johns-jesus/

Living in The Story blog for Week 25

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/08/faithful-women/

When we read about “Gentiles” in Scripture, understand that word means “everyone who is not a Jew.” The Greeks did something similar within their ancient culture; there were Greeks and then there were Barbarians. I suppose many cultures have thought this way throughout history: Us and Everyone Else

I call Job a “faithful Gentile” because he is not named as a Jew in this ancient story – even though this is a famous book long established in the Jewish Scriptures. The tale may be set in the days even before Abraham, before the earliest beginnings of the Jewish people. So it’s interesting to have this glimpse into ancient pieties and spiritualities.

It’s a long book (42 chapters) but well worth your time to read it this week. The other readings are all shorter and lighter to make up for your concentrated effort in this fascinating novella of Job.

Job 1-21

Job 22-37

Job 38-42

Psalm 34

Psalm 43

Psalm 67

Luke 24

Acts 10-12

Living in The Story blog for Week 24

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/08/faithful-gentiles/

June 4, 2017 is Pentecost. If you missed Charlotte’s Pentecost blog you can read it here. And/Or explore this website I found: My Jewish Learning. Here are some articles on this ancient Jewish festival still celebrated as Shavuot.

In the meantime, Living in The Story finishes our reading in the book of Judges. Hero tales of the infamous Samson. Super human strength and a secret that becomes his Achilles heel. Classic storytelling about a tragic hero, deeply flawed and conflicted. Lust and violence and the subversive power of women. It’s all there in our Scriptures. These books contain some of the stories that feminist scholar Phyllis Tribble calls the “texts of terror.” Again, remember to ask yourself not: did this really happen? Rather ask: what does this mean?

Living in The Story continues in Luke and Acts as we follow Jesus to the cross and follow Saul/Paul on his road to Damascus.

Judges 14-21

Psalm 6

Psalm 31

Psalm 85

Luke 22-23

Acts 8-9

Living in The Story blog for Week 23

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/04/damascus-roads/

Reading these stories from Joshua and Judges reminds us again to read these  texts as stories, not as history.

The ancients who gathered and edited Israel’s memories committed themselves to recollecting the tales and events that created the people of Israel. These remembrances name the national identity of a people. How we tell the story of our past origins can influence how we understand our shape and purpose for both the present and future.

The writers of Joshua craft a story of a unified, coordinated effort by a united people to follow Yahweh and claim the Promised Land. The writers of Judges describe a hodge podge tribal people led by various local judges. Each book is written from a particular perspective for a particular purpose. But woven throughout both are tales of faithfulness and unfaithfulness, of obedience and arrogance, of peaceful cooperation and inhumane warfare.

Since none of us knows what really happened so many centuries ago, we must read these stories with both eyes open. Instead of asking: what happened, we do better to ask: what does this mean? What does this tell us about the people and how they understood the God in Whom they believed?

Keep reading, my friends. This is well worth your effort.

Judges 1-13

Psalm 5

Psalm 121

Luke 19-21

Acts 6-7

Living in The Story blog

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/04/jesus-wept/

As You Read resource Weeks 20-23

https://livinginthestory.com/2017/05/as-you-read-for-weeks-20-23-joshua-and-judges/

Pentecost  comes on June 4 this year (2017). The date is set for 50 days after Passover. Within the Jewish cycle of festivals, Pentecost celebrated the first harvest.

Pentecost is the old Greek and Latin name for the Jewish Festival of Weeks which can be found in Exodus 34:22 and Deuteronomy 16:10. It is also called the Festival of Reaping in Exodus 23:16, and Day of the First Fruits in Numbers 28:26.

Jews traditionally read the Book of Ruth at Pentecost, as the story links with the grain harvest theme of the festival.

Another Jewish Pentecost tradition commemorates God’s giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, 49 days after the Exodus.

As we continue to read across the centuries of our Scriptures, we see again and again how interwoven The Story is.

Joshua 13-24

Psalm 7

Psalm 118

Luke 16-18

Acts 3-5

Charlotte’s Living in The Story blog for Pentecost

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/03/pentecost-people/

Living in The Story blog for Week 21

https://livinginthestory.com/2015/04/the-cosmic-cornerstone/

Some information here was gleaned from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost