Words

Imagine the "words" that must have been spoken by Judas Barsabas and Silas at Antioch:

"And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words..." (Acts 15:32)

Silas, Apostle from Wikimedia Commons.

The human condition and its salvation in light and darkness

The readings from Job are relentless and vast in their articulation of the human condition.  "And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me." (Job 30:16).  And consider how Job takes up the theme of light and darkness:

"When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness." (Job 30:26)

The Psalmist addresses this point:

"If I say, surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night," darkness is not dark to thee, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light are both alike." (Psalm 139:10,11)

And from the Gospel of John:

"Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Image of the Dividing of Light from Darkness, Sistine Chapel fresco, Michelangelo from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

A light of the Gentiles

The appointed New Testament reading today is from the Acts of the Apostles wherein Paul and Barnabas were preaching at Antioch:

"...I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." (Acts 13:47)

Look at the light in this rose window from the church of the Ebrach Abbey in Bavaria - this just happens to be the picture of the day from Wikimedia Commons, and understandably so.

We are blessed

It is a little tempting to review the beautiful and simple homily from the preaching at the Rite I mass this morning - the meaning of the book of Philemon, practical examples of how to live a Christian life: The example of "radical reconciliation" (Saint Paul); the example of "radical trust" (Onesimus); and the example of "radical grace" (Philemon).

However, the Psalms, as always, provide the overarching theme for the day:

"But the merciful goodness of the Lord endures for ever on those who fear him..." (Psalm 103:17)

David between Wisdom and the Prophets, from Wikimedia Commons.

Another well known phrase - something of a diversion

It is remarkable to note how many of our common phrases and ideas come from the books of the Bible.  For example, from today's Psalm:

"Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:6)

 Morning glories from Wikimedia Commons.

Skin of your teeth

The phrase so familiar to us, "the skin of my teeth," seems to originate with the trials of Job:

"My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth." (Job 19:2)

Image of Job from the Salisbury Cathedral from Wikimedia Commons.

Day and night

The narrative is breathtaking if you think about it.  Jesus passes a blind man; the presence of this blind man invokes a theological discussion with Jesus and his disciples over sin; Jesus rapidly moves through the issue of local culpability (the man or his parents), dismisses it; then in a sudden, startling, revealing burst of truth declares that this situation, this confluence of circumstances is intended for the purpose of making "manifest" the "works of God!"  It does not stop there, but continues with the charged and urgent declaration of the significance of time:

"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4)

And then - he cures the blind man!

Dusk in Herzliya, Israel, from Wikimedia Commons.

The Devil's Mousetrap

Job asks a fervent, but leading question:

"If a man die, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14)

 Although I am perhaps guilty of taking things slightly out of context, I cannot help but make the connections I see within the day.  I read in Os Guiness, The Last Christian on Earth, of a reference to St Augustine referring to the cross of the Lord as the Devil's Mousetrap (Sermo 130.2).  And of course the answer (not entirely to Job's point) - yes...and it caught the Devil in the bargain.

Image of a mousetrap from Jacob Cats' Emblems, from Wikimedia Commons, complete with moral and scripture references!