Reflection for Monday, Feb 11, 2008
I thought the concluding verse was very powerful "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."
This is a powerful message because it calls us to look within ourselves. We cannot act as like the Pharisees and create barriers between those of us in the Church and everyone else. We cannot be smug about the fact that we are Christians because our outward professions of faith are not what matters. Instead we are need to reach out and manifest the love in our hearts and our spirit.
It made me think back to the readings we did in confirmation class last year. Jesus was constantly struggling against the Pharisees who wanted to create divisions and advocated a strict adherence to the law even when it ran contrary to their spirit. For example, in the parable of the good Samaritan Jesus asked a lawyer "so which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" The lawyer responded "He who showed mercy on him". Then Jesus said to him "Go and do likewise". It didn't matter that the Samaritan was not a Jew, what mattered was that he showed mercy to someone in need.
by David Mulle
1 comment:
Good comparison, David.I heard a good speech on the Good Samaritan from AJ Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament. She pointed out that the Samaritan religion had the same law to help a stranger just as the Jewish lawyer and the Levite did. The law to help a person in need is ranked higher than the law to keep yourself ritually clean. The story is a good example of how it is the person who helps someone out because it compassion is the greatest calling of their faith is more faithful than the person who seeks to look more religious by appearing pure on the outside. This emphasis on compassion over legality is Jewish, Samaritan, and Christian (and Muslim and Buddhist) concept.
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