Epiphany 5 / Ordinary Time 5
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:11
It is difficult in our media- and personality-obsessed world to keep in mind what is important is that a person comes to believe and not by whom they have come to believe. It is equally important to keep in mind that how another person comes to believe is beyond our control and often defies our explanation. The core of Paul's understanding of the gospel centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus. He showed very little interest in the life and even the teachings of Jesus. He marveled at the transforming power of God's love. If Jesus was raised and was to appear to only a select few, it would be natural that he would appear to those who had been his companions during his ministry. And while he did do that, "last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me," Paul declared.
God's choice could hardly be explained either by previous relationship with Jesus, of which he had none, or by his behavior. He had, after all, "persecuted the church of God." The only explanation is this totally unexplainable and utterly mysterious grace of God. When you think of your own journey, can you identify totally unexpected events or people who profoundly affected your personal journey? In some cases the event may have seemed entirely negative at the time or the person may have been some person that you have a great deal of difficulty admiring. Yet, by the grace of God, that experience or encounter has utterly transformed your life.
It is somewhat humbling to consider that someone else may have been utterly transformed by an act or a comment you made that you have long since forgotten. Can it be that one of the manifestations of God's grace is God's ability to work within the church, even when it appears dysfunctional, to transform the lives of others? Perhaps we need to spend at least an equal amount of energy noticing the presence of God's transforming grace within the church as we spend criticizing its failure to live up to our expectations. After all, it is not as important who or what brings a person to belief as it is that they have come to believe.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:11
It is difficult in our media- and personality-obsessed world to keep in mind what is important is that a person comes to believe and not by whom they have come to believe. It is equally important to keep in mind that how another person comes to believe is beyond our control and often defies our explanation. The core of Paul's understanding of the gospel centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus. He showed very little interest in the life and even the teachings of Jesus. He marveled at the transforming power of God's love. If Jesus was raised and was to appear to only a select few, it would be natural that he would appear to those who had been his companions during his ministry. And while he did do that, "last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me," Paul declared.
God's choice could hardly be explained either by previous relationship with Jesus, of which he had none, or by his behavior. He had, after all, "persecuted the church of God." The only explanation is this totally unexplainable and utterly mysterious grace of God. When you think of your own journey, can you identify totally unexpected events or people who profoundly affected your personal journey? In some cases the event may have seemed entirely negative at the time or the person may have been some person that you have a great deal of difficulty admiring. Yet, by the grace of God, that experience or encounter has utterly transformed your life.
It is somewhat humbling to consider that someone else may have been utterly transformed by an act or a comment you made that you have long since forgotten. Can it be that one of the manifestations of God's grace is God's ability to work within the church, even when it appears dysfunctional, to transform the lives of others? Perhaps we need to spend at least an equal amount of energy noticing the presence of God's transforming grace within the church as we spend criticizing its failure to live up to our expectations. After all, it is not as important who or what brings a person to belief as it is that they have come to believe.
