Feb. 12
Dt 30 not too hard life and death-choose life-sees two basic paths, orientations in our lives. In some ways, the bible is a commentary on this verse. The arc of its movement tells and re-tells this basic truth.
Ps 119-torah, teaching, instruction, direction
I cor 3-milk not solid food -God works with different agents to help nourish and create conditions for growth We are content to stay with the milk of children in religion and not move to the sophistication to develop toward a heavier menu. I just read a theologian at the national level support writing at a third grade level.But in declaring that God “was giving the growth,” Paul uses a verbal form that stresses God’s ongoing, continual action. The labor of Paul or of Apollos would have been fruitless if God had not been at work all along. we can engage in ministry only in the trust that God is going to be at work, in and through what we do, to bring the growth that God wants.(.Peterson The Cross, Our Canon) -And, even more challenging: when we or our people are pitched against another person and his or her followers, are we willing to step back so that everyone can look at the other as "sister," acknowledge that the other is "brother," and see the work that each is engaged in as an indispensable aspect of the work of the Kingdom of God?
Our understanding will grow by God’s action and in God’s time. We are called to nurture and water that mercy with compassion and love and justice, and leave whatever growth, in whatever form, to God.. Paul had addressed the Corinthians right away as “the church of God” (1:2), but they had failed to realize the implications of that claim.
Mt 5:21-37-This part of the sermon on the mount is certainly directed not as milk but solid food for ethics. Jesus re-examines the commandments with stunning results-he seems to see them as a baseline not an aspiration, not a moral horizon-I wonder why we don’t have a clamor to set these up in public forum? Jesus' reframing of righteousness exposes the easy truces we make. We can pat ourselves on the back. It is a difficult task to reconcile with anyone who has something against us before we can give our gifts to God; this stops us in our tracks. The quality of relationships is connected to our worship of God, just as the tablets of the 10 Commandments are bound together.. Jesus splits our attention from particular behaviors we must avoid to particular interior orientations we must cultivate. Right relationship saturates our life together. In essence jesus does not regard the 10 Commandments that he expands as that difficult to follow. He goes after the seed that impels us toward those great sins.
In other words, the offenses seem to be increasing in severity, but the same standard applies as to the 10 Commandments.. Hostility that results in verbal abuse is damaging and just as worthy of punishment as murder. The alternative to acting in anger is to seek reconciliation (5:23-26) Jesus wants his disciples to be people of integrity, people who are faithful to their promises. They should be people who honor their commitments in marriage and who respect the commitments of others. They are among the ones who are now blessed by God’s reign. (Oden)
Walk away from that helps to stifle the best parts of your life. Notice what diminshes your relationships. Choose life for relationships. Choose life in the public sphere. What is life-giving according to our readings this morning? What nourishes your relationships?
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