The scriptures read are Judges 19-21, Psalm 78:40-72 and John 13.
Judges 19. This is the most disgusting story in Judges. It shows how low the country has sunk. What starts out as boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back, turns to some kind of horrifying story of callousness, gang rape and the worse way of calling attention to an outrage ever.
Judges 20. The bloody internecine war that followed. The Benjaminites fall for the old "chase the retreating enemy leaving your city undefended and running into an ambush" gambit.
Judges 21. As a result of the war there are no Benjaminite women left. Since the rest of Israelites swore not to let their daughters marry them, the tribe of Benjamin is in danger of dying out. The other tribes come up with two pretty bad ways to remedy the situation.
The book ends with the much repeated refrain, "At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing."
Psalm 78: 40-72. The psalmist recounts the plagues of Exodus, the rebellions of the Israelites, the rejection of Ephraim and the choosing of Judah, Zion and David.
John 13. The last supper recorded in John's inimitable way: no actual mention of the institution of Communion. John instead focuses on Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. For more on that, click here.
The announcement that "One of you will betray me" plays out much as in the other gospels with a few more details from John.
Jesus gives a new commandment. No longer is it sufficient to love your neighbor as you do yourself; we are to love one another as Jesus loves us. He's raised the bar. Especially once the disciples see just how much Jesus loves them.
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