Week One - Day 5
Today's Reading -- Matthew 12:33 to Matthew 14:36
With the disciples sent off for awhile on mission work, Jesus begins to face opposition from several directions. He is confronted on the religious level by scribes and Pharisees who demand a sign (12:38) of his authority to teach, to forgive sins, and to heal. He is challenged on a personal level as the people who purportedly know him the best, his friends and neighbors of the town where he grew up, take offense at his teachings in their synagogue (13:54-58). Then finally, Jesus is confronted by the power of the state as the imprisoned John the Baptist is disposed of by King Herod in a gruesome tale about keeping one's word (14:1-12).
The message of the kingdom of God does not so easily work its way into the heart and mind when we so firmly hold onto our notions of how the world operates. The rules, the traditions, the teachings that we have received and assimilated become a part of who we are, and our inclination is to resist any hint of change. Were our earlier understandings incorrect or flawed? Had we been misled or mistaken? Perhaps what is needed are constant reminders that God does not remain static; that totally unexpected understandings emerge as God revels new ways we are to live and proclaim the message of redemption and reconciliation; that how we relate to God and to one another needs to be handled with the greatest of openness and humility.
The heart of today's reading is a variety of parables, a favorite teaching method that Jesus employed to push the boundaries of our understanding and acceptance of the current state of the world. As Matthew so often does in his gospel account, he is ready with a 'fulfillment' quotation from the Hebrew scriptures: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world" (13:35 -- reflecting the thoughts of Psalm 78:2-4, and Isaiah 48:6). Let them challenge you, and see what new understandings for your life and faith might just be lying beneath the surface.
The message of the kingdom of God does not so easily work its way into the heart and mind when we so firmly hold onto our notions of how the world operates. The rules, the traditions, the teachings that we have received and assimilated become a part of who we are, and our inclination is to resist any hint of change. Were our earlier understandings incorrect or flawed? Had we been misled or mistaken? Perhaps what is needed are constant reminders that God does not remain static; that totally unexpected understandings emerge as God revels new ways we are to live and proclaim the message of redemption and reconciliation; that how we relate to God and to one another needs to be handled with the greatest of openness and humility.
The heart of today's reading is a variety of parables, a favorite teaching method that Jesus employed to push the boundaries of our understanding and acceptance of the current state of the world. As Matthew so often does in his gospel account, he is ready with a 'fulfillment' quotation from the Hebrew scriptures: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world" (13:35 -- reflecting the thoughts of Psalm 78:2-4, and Isaiah 48:6). Let them challenge you, and see what new understandings for your life and faith might just be lying beneath the surface.
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