Wednesday, March 1, 2023

 

Wednesday, March 1, 2023


Psalms 1; 2

Genesis 41:1-36

Luke 11:45-12:7


Observance: David, bishop of Menevia, Wales (d. 601)


When Jesus went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward Him and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say.


One thing we could do this Lent to take advantage of this season of spiritual development is to honestly reflect on what we think of Jesus’ words as recorded in the Bible. Over the last couple of days, He has really demonstrated just how powerful a public speaker He was. All this talk of unmarked graves and murdered prophets, a return of the Queen of the South, the sign of Jonah; it really is quite powerful stuff. In addition to His excellent rhetoric, Jesus is also crystal clear in His message: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.


There are plenty of people around today who don’t like Jesus’ words. We don’t have to look far on the internet to find them. But what about ourselves? What of our own response?


One of the ways Jesus is described by modern theologians is that He is a “multi-faceted gem”. The idea is that there is plenty to learn about Jesus; plenty of ways He reveals Himself to us. There are indeed plenty of facets we love to gaze upon when we come to adore Christ. But what about the ones we don’t?


All of Christ is beautiful and glorious. All of His teaching is true and trustworthy. The bits we find less comfortable we can love, too. The core of Christ’s teaching is to repent from our evil and trust in Him. Through this gate He opens up all the secrets of God to us.



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