Friday of the Fifth Week Integral 2026
Today our readings begin with a verse that is often ignored in celebration, but which clergy are directed to pray first thing every day. It is a verse from psalm 95, “O come let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for He is the Lord our God.” That one line of Scripture is literally a wake-up cry, because it helps all of us, whether ordained or not, to do a daily “reboot” of our minds and hearts. God made us, so we owe Him worship and obedience of faith. We bow low because He made us, body, mind and spirit, and it is every facet of our existence that owes right praise.
To understand Jeroboam and Israel we have to recall that during King David’s lifetime, his own son, Absalom, rebelled and took most of the Israelite tribes into that rebellion. David was chased out of Jerusalem across the Jordan river, and a great battle ensued, during which Absalom was murdered by David’s own general. That left simmering resentment here and there among the leaders of the people. Then Solomon acceded to the throne. It was bad enough that he increased taxes, but he had to support a grand Temple and a list of bureaucrats. He was so famous that other nations curried his favor by proposing new wives for Solomon. And these women brought their own false “gods” with them so they wanted at least a chapel for their worship, and they took Solomon with them. The Lord told him in prophecy that because of Solomon’s infidelity, there would be rebellion and his own servant would lead it. That is the setting for today’s OT reading. Infidelity to the covenant with David led to disaster for his grandson, Rehoboam.
Thus our psalm today begins with the original Jewish covenant with Moses: “There shall be no strange god among you, nor shall you worship any alien god.” The psalmist leads us in affirming that, directly or indirectly, all our problems stem from running after some pleasure, some honor, some power that has nothing to do with the one, true God.
So let’s not ignore the words of the Gospel. Jesus healed a man who could not hear and did not speak. He then ordered the man and all the observers not to tell anyone, probably because the tale of miracles would come to the attention of both Jewish and Roman authorities. Jesus was the Messiah promised by all the prophets from Moses on down to John the Baptist. But He would not be the Messiah they expected, not a military leader who like David would subdue their enemies by force and violence. The true Messiah would conquer by changing minds and hearts. We have to ask, has Jesus changed my mind and heart, so that I hold Him above every other claimant to my affections? As we look toward Lent, that is the primary question to answer, and answer today, not in the sweet bye and bye.
