Judges 4: Deborah and Barak
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Today’s story from Judges is different from yesterday’s, and it might show us that unity may be easier to achieve than the division into which we so easily slip.
The Book of Judges is good for us to read when we think we will never exit our cycle of sin and repentance; we see the Jewish nation struggle with independence just as we do when we mature in years.
We can find solid commentary in a good study Bible that will expland our understanding. Or we may explore http://www.Chabad.org http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/463964/jewish/Deborah-and-Barak.htm?gclid=CjwKEAjwvYPKBRCYr5GLgNCJ_jsSJABqwfw7AVII8ddJeZB3EcomDvzeudwTLpnQUYcxSrdGaV5jFBoCp0vw_wcB
We might also enter a discussion or ask questions on this site.
The stories in Judges are so often cited as a justification for holy war; yet as Christians we know and try to understand that retaliation has no place in the New Law. As believers living in exile, we know that the faithful need not fight. We have learned that God will make way for the faithful, and that God will be a refuge for those who try to follow in God’s Way. As Jesus people, we will follow the voice where it leads, and we will put hands, and feet and words into the Hope that Christ calls us to live out.
From MAGNIFICAT today: The unity for which Christ lived and died is not an abstract ideal. It is the result of hard work: suspending judgment, choosing others before self, forgiving, seeking reconciliation rather than nursing hurt pride. In other words, it requires that we die to self in Christ. The fruit? The blessing of God’s peace!
This is followed by Jeremiah 31:10-14 – A canticle of celebration . . . the virgins will dance and strike their tambourines, young men and old will be merry, and God’s people will be filled with God’s blessing.
The morning intercessions reflect on a message of healing the world through devotion, a message we can well use today.
Let us pray according to Christ’s will: Make us one in mind and heart.
For all the church: in the midst of difference and diversity: Make us one in mind and heart.
For all who believe in your name: in the midst of our divisions: Make us one in mind and heart.
For all who live in opposition to one another: in the midst of our conflicts and misunderstandings. Make us one in mind and heart.
Amen.
Adapted from a reflection written on June 10, 2008.
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 10.6 (2008). Print.
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salomon_de_Bray_-_Jael,_Deborah_and_Barak_-_WGA03141.jpg
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