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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Imperfect Faith and Perfect Forgiveness Bible Verse:Matthew 9:18-26 (ESV) "While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district." Message:
This is a little confusing, because two miracles are intertwined. The passage begins with a ruler asking Christ to heal his daughter. As he walks to the ruler’s house, a woman suffering, apparently, from a gynecological problem, touches his hem and is cured. Then we return to the first story, as Jesus comes to the ruler’s house and heals his daughter.
Both stories are told in more detail in the other Synoptic Gospels: Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56. The ruler’s name is Jairus and he is a Pharisee, the head of the synagogue in (most likely) Capernaum — for Christ, remember, crossed the Sea of Galilee to cast out the demons into swine, and then returned whence he had come.
Thus, the man had more reason to oppose Jesus than almost anyone, at this point. His city has been the center of Christ’s revolutionary teaching, and Jairus is the very man most responsible for maintenance of the orthodoxy.
But his faith saves his daughter. It is an imperfect faith; Jairus has not listened to Christ and cannot have been converted in his heart: his request is more the last resort of a desperate father. The bleeding woman, similarly, has not truly been converted; it is something closer to superstition that leads her to Christ. She has not taken his teachings to heart or become a follower, but touches the hem of his robe as if it is some sort of magic.
good shepherd
Imperfect faith but perfect forgiveness: that is the message. When our own faith waivers and we are critical of our own devotion, this passage teaches us that we can be led to Christ by even shaky or questionable beliefs.
There is also something to be said about the two people, a 12-year-old girl (one or two years from marriageable age) and a woman with chronic vaginal bleeding. Many modern feminists bristle at Christianity because of two teachings: that wives should be subject to their husbands, and that women should not teach in church. But the truth is that Christ, for the first time in history, treated women as fully equal to men. The Bible does teach some gender differentiation in roles, but not in status.
To a Jew, a woman became unclean simply by menstruating. The wretched woman in the street would have been the equivalent of a leper. Christ, allowing himself to be touched by her, becomes her servant as much as when he will wash Peter’s feet.
One could write a Ph.D. dissertation on Jairus’ daughter, for there are several potent subtexts in the awakening of a 12-year-old Jewish girl. She is, for example, “asleep” in a religious sense, as the daughter of a Pharisee; Christ thus awakens her, not only to consciousness, but to the true and eternal life of salvation.
She is, furthermore, pubescent and thus at the age of sexual awakening; one could infer that Christ turns her, as a symbol of womankind, from a child to a woman. Like all girls of her day, her powers as a human being are “asleep” due to the status of women in ancient days (and, we should note, that Judaism itself was much enlightened compared to most other cultures of the time).
One might also tie this to the deeply rooted iconic myth of a prince awakening a sleeping princess. Christ often called himself the bridegroom (very much in a figurative sense); many nuns wear a wedding ring.
Meditation : Prayer : God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make me and all who confess your holy name people of this light. Make me faithful to your Word that I may bring your life to the waiting world. Grant this through Christ our Lord. .....Amen |
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