I remember the first of our 42 Valentine Days, when I slipped into your mobile home and cleaned it up a bit, washed some dishes and then squeezed rose blossoms and scattered red petals all over the floor. Postscript: Today Margaret is in Austin and I am in Illinois, and we miss each other. (Leviticus 13, Psalm 32, 1 Corinthians 10, Luke 7, Mark 1) And that’s what Jesus gives us back, right now, right here. That faith and experience of God’s presence in every instant … that’s what we lost when we ate the apple. Or even better, can I trust/believe/have faith that God is doing exactly the right thing in my life at every instant of it? Can I be patient with this? Can I stop thinking of myself as the center of God’s universe and let him pay attention to me in his time? When I try to do the work, I get in his way and get really frustrated. He has two responsibilities, to confess his failure and weakness and then to ask God to do the work he cannot do for himself: I ate from the tree and thought by knowing that I could control good and evil, but I can’t. It tells me that I am not as strong as I think I am, and that I don’t know nearly as much (even about myself) as I think I do. God’s patience wins the day.ĭo you notice how when God speaks, people listen? Or when God touches you, you feel deep healing even if your illness remains? And on the other hand, do you notice that when you talk to yourself, you don’t really listen? Or when you touch yourself, you feel nothing? Jesus says things like, “Do you still not have faith?” He calls us “ye of little faith.” But then he turns toward us, not away. Well, we kind of do, some of us, sometimes. Then he turns, looks into our eyes, and beckons. With a word he set the cherubim aside and opened once again the gates. But you could look at it the other way and say that Jesus stopped our evil evolution in its tracks and turned us straight around to look once again to the Tree of Life. You could say that human culture evolved over the centuries from Yahweh’s command to shun the lepers to Jesus’ command to heal the lepers. He touched him and said, “Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. Jesus was moved with pity and stretched out his hand. “I turn to you Lord, in time of trouble.” Does this man’s salvation also include the touch of Jesus and his physical healing. Be imitators of Christ …Īnd what will Jesus do? He knew Psalm 32. I turn to you Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation …īrothers and sisters, whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God, and avoid giving offense to anyone. If someone has leprosy he is in fact, unclean, and he shall dwell apart outside the camp … Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Febru(today’s lectionary)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |