I Sam. 8, Samuel fails with his children as did Eli, and his sons are corrupt. Assumptions and expectations may deceive .The desire for a king emerges from a desire to replace Samuel and God with a leader such as others have.People who were under the thumb of a pharaoh who have been warned want a king.
Ps. 138, 2 Cor. 4:13-5:1 Sometimes I have heard people say that they do not understand how people face death with their faith. Today Paul has us consider that face sufferings in this life. Many of our co-religionists do not touch Paul here, because it doesn't fit on a bumper sticker.. They hold that bad things are deserved punishment from God, but they hold without blinking an eye that they deserve only blessings as Christians. In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul acknowledges the frailty of our human existence. The "outer nature" is subject to all the sufferings of this present age -- beatings, shipwrecks, afflictions, and trials. This outer nature parallels earthen vessels, so it can hold junk or a treasure. Jesus dealt with an outer physical nature of a hard life too.
The "inner nature" is what God is doing in us that makes the "life of Jesus" also "visible in our bodies" (4:10). This "inner nature" is God enacting transformation (3:18), bringing life (4:12), and shining light in our hearts (4:6). God's work is ongoing -- renewing everyday, even when it is not immediately apparent (4:18).
The frailty of humanity is not newsworthy. What is truly amazing is that Paul can say in the midst of hardship that there is hope. Whatever happens to the body,the "inner nature" is what God is doing in us that makes the "life of Jesus" also "visible in our bodies" (4:10). God will rectify his body. It is in this God whom Paul places his unwavering hope.Amidst real hardships , Paul hopes in God's work. He knows that the God who is at work in his mortal body is the same God who resurrected Jesus from the dead. Hope is not optimism. It is a conviction that things will improve despite evidence ot the contrary.It is a faith pinned on the future being different.Carla Works |
Mk. 3:20-35 Stamper-Jesus is coming to plunder Satan's household and bring about his end, crowd is pressing in to see him and touch him, urgently and desperately.The ones who should be in the best position to see Jesus as himself fail to see it and attribute it to evil.the family of Jesus is alarmed at his message and mission and fear for him.Apparently they were not prepared for this shift in a life’s work that occurs after his baptism by John. Jesus recasts family into the new movement.His family may well be pushed from the center of his life..We also are claimed by him as his sisters and brothers and mother, no longer outsiders at a distance, but holders of the secrets of the kingdom, drawn into the inner circle of the mystery and love of God. In an early episode of Mister Rogers King friday decides he needs a wall for security. He almost misses out on a birthday cake as he has the chef cut it into little pieces.King Friday fears people are out to get him.Early in PBS, he was asked to testify before the imperious John Pastore. He had been elected to congress in the Depression, served as an attorney general office and the governor’s office in RI and had been a Senator for years.Inner nature and outer nature the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment