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One mustn’t make the Christian life into a punctilious system of law, like the Jewish, for two reasons. (1) It raises scruples when we don’t keep the routine. (2) It raises presumption when we do. Nothing gives one a more spuriously good conscience than keeping rules, even if there has been a total absence of all real charity and faith.
… C. S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady
(“Love fulfills the law.” Rm. 13:10)
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HEB 3:7-14; PS 95:6-7C, 8-9, 10-11
MK 1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down
begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The
man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
USCCB Lectionary
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Mark 1: 40-45 (Jesus cures a leper)
The gospels do not include a single instance when Jesus refuses to heal someone who requests wholeness. The prayer of the leper in
today’s reading should be a model for all of us because the leper makes his request in great humility and leaves the matter in Jesus’ hands.
¥ Do you believe that God answers your prayers? What kinds of prayers do you find answered most often?
¥ What are some reasons why you are usually afraid to reach
out to others? Pray for the grace to overcome these resistances.
Paperback, Kindle
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) ____________ Chapter 1: God (excerpts) We have already made the leap from existence to God, even though we could have spent much more time reflecting on the various properties of existence
-- its omnipresence, for example, or indescribable quality. The perceptive and intellectual power of the human mind can take us only so far, however. If there is such a being as God at the heart of existence (or beyond), then It/He/She/Them/Whatever must come forward to address us in a manner that our human consciousness can comprehend.
This is not so very different as with any of our human relationships. Granted, we can notice others walking around, talking, working, playing and so forth, and we can learn something about a person by observing them and their actions. But let’s suppose the individual you’re studying kept a private
diary, and you got hold of it. Would you not, then, have access to a dimension of the other’s life that you might have never come to know by studying them from a more external perspective? Indeed, you would now have information about their inner thoughts, feelings, desires, and so forth; you would know more of their inner self. If, in addition, this person voluntarily shared some of these private matters with you, and you shared something of your own inner life in return,
a different kind of relationship would be formed -- one that is intersubjective, or interpersonal. We all most likely experience this type of relationship to some degree with at least a few people in our lives, and we know how important this kind of intimacy is. Without it, our relationships are shallow, or functional, at best. When we do experience interpersonal intimacy, we feel a sense of belonging, even love. We become part of a community, even if this includes only two. We also become
“known” by the other, and somewhat vulnerable to them in their knowing things about us that we would not want the whole world to find out. Interpersonal relationships entail risk, trust, and faith in the integrity of the other.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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