Intimately Entwined
How do we hold the weight of the stories in our history, with the reality of the present moment?
1 Kings 5:5; 13
So I intend to build a house for the name of YHWH, as YHWH said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name. ’
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King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel; the levy numbered thirty thousand men.
I did not want to get close to this scripture right now—of Hiram and Solomon as Solomon is crowned King.
I did not want to zoom into a scene of two men during this transfer of power and witness them planning a scheme that would call for exploitation of people for their labor—in the name of honoring their God.
I resisted imagining the people’s lives that are about to be disrupted. The families that are about to lose their source of security and be burdened with their own survival in the loss of that livelihood. The stress and pain of being stripped from their family lives and the anxiety that provoked in the people left behind—in the name of honoring their God.
I wished to zoom out and away from this scripture that believes in a God who does not care for the 30,000 people made to work and the 100,000 or more people it is about to impact as they are left behind.
I hold this scripture with the knowledge of a God who was intimately entwined with all of those in this story. Who is intimately entwined with each of us as we stand holding whatever is to come. The importance, for me, in this moment, is that I am not holding it alone. I hold it with each of you.
How do we hold the weight of the stories in our history, with the reality of the present moment? How can we hold that with one another so we do not bear this burden alone?
I stand with you, Dax!