Tuesday, February 28, 2023

 

Tuesday, February 28, 2023


Psalms 143; 146

Genesis 40

Luke 11:29-44


The Pharisee was amazed to see that He did not first wash before dinner.


We humans are a rough-and-tumble bunch. We are like snotty boys who, in our interactions in the world, have gotten dirt under our nails and mud behind our ears. We Christians are commando soldiers, crawling through the bush as we lob grenades at the enemy in our daily spiritual warfare.


Our Captain is clean and immaculately dressed in finery as befits the One who holds the rank of Lord Commander. Even though He leads the battle from the front, no dirt can stick to His clothes. He charges forth, eyes flashing, blazing a clear path for us to follow.


All the mess of spiritual warfare, the dirt, the sweat – it is all superficial. Christ cleanses us from the inside out. We are beautiful in His sight. When the Father gazes upon us, He does not see the grime we have picked up; rather, He sees the glorious radiance of Christ’s beauty within us.


St Paul encourages us, by his example, to see ourselves as God sees us. In 1 Cor 4:3 he confidently asserts that even though he may be a sinner, he is not himself aware of anything he should be ashamed of. This is the spirit of Lent: to rid ourselves of anything that accuses us, because, in Christ, we are perfect, and because we are in Christ, God sees us as perfect, too.



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