Hard verse, Mt 11.12. But Jesus wants us to know the conflict is fierce. I mentioned it yesterday in Corollaries: http://wp.me/pIFLD-6sD I think I'll use it Sunday for my guest sermon at Jd Esplanada.
I asked sr. Benedito if he had something he wanted me to preach on. He mentioned John the Baptist. So this is close.
The author of the Book of Wisdom, faced with a paganism in which God envied or despised humans, puts it clearly: how could God have created all things if he did not love them, he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis 11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings if he did not wish to take care of them? God is the origin of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its opponent. How can mortal man build a firm foundation and how can the sinner be reconciled with himself? How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows? We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness? This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.
OK, so he quotes the Apocrypha and his phrasing a bit differently, but his point is much the same, that God has been crowded out of culture, and needs to be reinserted, not only as a part of the conversation, but as the basis for civilization.
Word Cue: Isolated (Gr., eremos). Often translated as wilderness or desert, the term indicates an uninhabited place, hence, the NET translation as “isolated.” “The New Testament usually refers to the desert as a solitary place. Jesus repeatedly withdrew from the large crowds (Luke 4:42; 9:10-12) to these places for privacy and a time of prayer with His Father” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary 1995: 349).
Click on the link above for the chapter text, the specific verse (also for memorization), the meditation, the prayer, and the action question.
Word Cue: Hide (Gr., krupto). “… God Himself judicially hides the knowledge of salvation from those who do not seek it seriously. … Jesus extols the divine direction even in its paradoxical character, which sets in the wrong all human arrogance.” (Oepke, TDNT III: 973)
Who said academic reference works weren't quotable? Read the whole devotional by clicking on the little link right above.
The military is a hierarchy. Boot camp ensures that the recruit obeys his superiors immediately, without question.
The centurion, an important officer in the Roman army, knew that his authority over his soldiers came from his own obedience to his superiors. He saw this same truth in Jesus. He knew that Jesus had the power to heal his servant with a word, because he saw the same rigorous submission in Christ to the Father that he had to his superiors.
Read the whole devotional at the tiny link above.
We live in a region with a lot of military installations. I'm supported by a number of churches near military bases, Abilene TX and North Little Rock AR among them. And, of course, we know friends and family members who serve or have served in the military. So this thought with a military background comes at a good time.
you must R.S.V.P. In the parable, Jesus said about those invited, “But they paid no attention and went off…” (v. 5). The height of ingratitude! A king’s invitation should not fall on deaf ears. When God invites, it demands proper response. After all, the invitation also brings obligation. “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Weylan draws great lessons from the parable of the king who throws a wedding feast for his son, in Matt. 22. God's invitation differs from the one we extend, to "drop in sometime." It has a time, place, and address, because full preparations have been made. Don't stand him up!