Mighty Works (Matthew 11:21)

 


Tuesday, 7 October, 2025


Psalm 90

1 Kings 20:26-43

Matthew 11:12-24


Mighty Works (Matthew 11:21)


[Jesus said] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”


I find myself going back and forth between cold and warm when it comes to the idea that certain cultures valorise the holding back of emotional expression. Sometimes we ought to feel comfortable letting out our emotions. Other times it is more appropriate to keep them in check. Perhaps we are just yet to find the right balance.


Whether we express our emotions or not, being honest to them and living with integrity is probably more important. As physical pain draws our attention to issues that require medical attention, emotions can draw our attention to things in our spirit that need reflecting upon.


When Jesus pronounces his woes on certain cities, you have to wonder why they didn’t take him seriously. He refers to certain “mighty works” that he performed in them. Yet the response of those people was, apparently, a confident “meh”.


And so are we honest with how the Lord has worked mightily in our lives? Is our response commensurate with the mighty works Jesus has worked in us?


Son of Man, you have come to dine with tax collectors and sinners, working mighty works of forgiveness and salvation among us: teach us the repentance that leads to life, that we may dance when you sing, and mourn when you weep, that in all things we may grow to the fullness of human beings made in your image.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, July 25, 2022

  Monday, July 25, 2022 Psalm 62; 63 Hosea 1 Romans 4:1-12 He only is my rock and my salvation: my strong tower, so that I shall not be moved. The prophecies of Hosea are rich with vivid imagery. Look at these names: firstly, “Hosea” means “salvation”. So too do the names Joshua and Jesus. Then Hosea has three children: “God scatters”, “Not pitied”, and “Not my people”. This is because the children are part of the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which is an image God is showing to the nation. It is to our profit that God has used real-life events to communicate spiritual imagery and divine truths. We find it very easy to understand our relationship with God as being a faithful wife to a loving husband. We can reconcile this message with what Paul has to teach us today in Romans. He makes the very important observation that Abraham was given God's righteousness as a result of his faith before, not after, his circumcision. Again, this is God using real-life events...
Read more

For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32)

Image
  Monday, February 3, 2025 Psalm 78:16-38 Genesis 18:22-19:11 Luke 2:1-7 Observance: First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove, Conducted by Richard Johnson, Sydney, 1788 For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32) From this wonderfully pastoral tableau, of the old man and his wife entertaining three divine guests, comes a dark shadow. Approaching from the valley below them comes the cries of iniquity of the cities of the plain: Sodom and Gomorrah. Rising from their feast, the three men turn from blessing Abraham and Sarah to executing divine judgement. And the story just gets darker from here. But Abraham, in his boldness, has this immortal conversation with God, a conversation that uncovers for us whispers of Jesus’ words about people who are “salt” and “light”. God desires that none should perish, but that all should turn from their sins and live. And for the sake of just ten righteous people, the disaster about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah could be turned away...
Read more

We are all the work of your hand.

  Tuesday, January 2, 2024 Psalms 5; 6 Isaiah 64 Ephesians 2:1-10 Observances: Basil of Caesarea (d. 379) and Gregory of Nanzianus (d. 389), bishops and teachers; Eliza Hassall (d. 1917), pioneer of missionary training and CMS (Australia) We are all the work of your hand. If you know nothing about statues, you will at least know of Michelangelo's David . It seems strange that a piece could hold public fame for so long, but if we think about it theologically, then it’s endurance makes sense. Consider what the artist intended it to be: a display of pure Renaissance ideology. An era when men began to imagine themselves as artists and engineers, and their own being their life’s work. Anyone could be anything, and this is what Michelangelo is saying with his statue. Behold, the perfect man, formed from rough rock by the hands of a self-driven man. The irony here is the subject. While Michelangelo may have called his statue David simply to ensure prompt payment ...
Read more