Feb. 25-I think it’s important to realize this about
God–something probably only knowable through His revelation in the Incarnate
Son–that His deepest nature is life-giving, expressed in the Gospel, and that
His wrath, while very real, being a function of His holiness, is somehow alien
to His nature, though something He uses to bring us to Himself. I think some
people have the opposite idea, that God is intrinsically wrathful, though He
makes exceptions to some. Douglas John Hall
Gen. 17, Webb
Christians are also marked, named in our flesh, as God's
own. Baptism is a physical sign, invisible apart from the moment that it takes
place, of our true identities. Our names are stated at our baptism, and are
written in the book of eternity. And how does God name us, all of us, each of
us, who stand in the line of Abraham? According to some biblical passages in
which God is said to know our names, God names us as creatures in whom God
delights (62:4), as precious (Isaiah 43:4), as utterly known and loved (Isaiah
49:1; John 10:14-15)baptism as related to circumcision as a Christian sign. We
make the sign of the cross at baptism, but we are part of god’s own, just the
same.
Ps22, Maybe Lent is a special time to work with the lament psalms.
I scarcely need to remind us that this is a psalm that is on the lips of Jesus
at the cross. Perhaps Peter could have lamented when he heard the prediction of
Jesus. Laments are remarkable as thye show us that suffering can be place din
an envelope of prayer.
Mk. 8:31 Rogness-Luther
rejected this “theology of glory” in favor of a “theology of the cross.” To
follow Jesus is to live lives of service to others, to serve rather than to
control and dominate. It means the opposite of being proud of station and
status for ourselves at the expense of others. The “theology of the cross” or
“to deny oneself” does not mean a contrived kind of humility. We do not follow
Jesus by demeaning ourselves. We are called upon to do the very best we can
with the talents and abilities God has given us. To “deny oneself” means to
keep one’s priorities in harmony with what Jesus told us in the two “great
commandments” -- love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:28-31).
There was, to be sure, a ray of hope in what Jesus said that
day, although the disciples may not have heard it. Jesus will be killed, but he
will also rise again (Mark 8:31). Furthermore, those who lose their lives for
Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel will save it (Mark 8:35). But at this
time the disciples would not have known how those promises would come true. God
is veiled in the opposite of what we would expect. Traditions abound with Jesus
being manifest in the poor. Here the beloved one is subjected to torture, for
our sake but also revealing the suffering heart of God as God sees what we do
to each other. Jesus is in solidarity with that pain.
Peter may be linking the prediction of Jesus and the death
of the disciples by the cross as well. No wonder he is alarmed.I really feel
for Peter as many of us wonder about the perennial issue of god and suffering.
Here it is a different issue: why does god’s own say it is necessary to suffer
and die? That seems to me to be a task
of 21st century Christian faith to work with. I wonder if Peter
heard the rise again part or only the prediction of suffering and death.
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