Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."
Vessels of clay! Saint Paul described himself and his colleagues as they raced through the Roman empire announcing the Gospel. After all the setbacks he'd faced and overcome, he recognized the power of God which drove his aging human body from synagogue to market to jail cell to seaport, and back again. He was the Lord's energizer bunny, an unstoppable force that just kept speaking, teaching, and preaching about Jesus.
He saw the desperate need for the Gospel everywhere, first among his own Jewish people and then among the gentiles with all their strange beliefs. Their need and their eager welcome drove him. He had only to control his own sinful desire to exploit their vulnerability. He might have cashed in on their joy as they responded with admiration and generosity. He felt the temptation but, in the brilliant light of Jesus's cross and resurrection, he had better things to do. He had no time for the encumbrances and security of wealth.
He was surely put off by unanswerable questions from skeptics, and embarrassed by the scandalous lives of some of his colleagues -- whom he mocked as "super apostles." He felt his weariness, especially when he'd been beaten or scourged. If today's critics point out his irritability and impatience, he knew his faults. He was a sinner, no better than anyone else. All that reminded him of clay vessels. "You are dirt!" the LORD had said, and to dirt he would return. And still, to his own amazement, he persisted.
He was called as a sinner and that credential gave him the authority to speak to the nations about Jesus. He met many righteous people who could not be bothered, and he let them go. The Spirit of God was gathering a harvest of sinners into the Kingdom of God. The harvest of the righteous would come later.
During Lent, we turn back to our religious practices and we gather more often for prayer. Our Catholic churches offer penance services, Stations of the Cross, bible classes, and days of prayer as we turn our backs to the world and our faces toward Holy Week. Earthen vessels, unworthy but elect, we come to God to repent, atone, make reparation, and ask forgiveness once again. It is good that we are here.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.