Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 97; Genesis 7:11-24; Matthew 20:17-28; Romans 2:25-26; Psalm 114
We live in a society where folks like to display their association with winners. For the past 20 years, for instance, Boston Celtics jerseys were a rare sight on the West Coast. That’s because the Celtics were a bad basketball team for many of those years. Now that they’ve made the NBA Finals, however, you see Celtics jackets or jerseys everywhere. Same thing goes with politics. Fifteen months ago it was rare to see a McCain or Obama bumper sticker on a car. That’s because Romney and Clinton were perceived of as the frontrunners of their prospective parties. Now that McCain and Obama have wrapped up their nominations, however, you’re bound to spot several of McCain or Obama bumper stickers on a simple trip to the corner grocery store. Today’s passage from Romans reminds us that this behavior isn’t a recent phenomenon; people have been eager to associate themselves with what they perceive as winners for centuries. In speaking of the men’s preferred way to show their allegiance to one of the dominate faiths of their time (i.e. circumcision), Paul wrote: “Don’t you see: It’s not the cut of a knife that makes you a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes you a Jew” (Romans 2:26 – The Message). Paul’s words remind us that when it comes to living out our faith, there is no such thing as jumping on a bandwagon. For embracing one’s faith requires more than wearing a cross or sporting a trendy fish bumper sticker on your car. Truly embracing your faith means you to live it: 24/7. May God’s grace empower us to do just that. Til next time…
We live in a society where folks like to display their association with winners. For the past 20 years, for instance, Boston Celtics jerseys were a rare sight on the West Coast. That’s because the Celtics were a bad basketball team for many of those years. Now that they’ve made the NBA Finals, however, you see Celtics jackets or jerseys everywhere. Same thing goes with politics. Fifteen months ago it was rare to see a McCain or Obama bumper sticker on a car. That’s because Romney and Clinton were perceived of as the frontrunners of their prospective parties. Now that McCain and Obama have wrapped up their nominations, however, you’re bound to spot several of McCain or Obama bumper stickers on a simple trip to the corner grocery store. Today’s passage from Romans reminds us that this behavior isn’t a recent phenomenon; people have been eager to associate themselves with what they perceive as winners for centuries. In speaking of the men’s preferred way to show their allegiance to one of the dominate faiths of their time (i.e. circumcision), Paul wrote: “Don’t you see: It’s not the cut of a knife that makes you a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes you a Jew” (Romans 2:26 – The Message). Paul’s words remind us that when it comes to living out our faith, there is no such thing as jumping on a bandwagon. For embracing one’s faith requires more than wearing a cross or sporting a trendy fish bumper sticker on your car. Truly embracing your faith means you to live it: 24/7. May God’s grace empower us to do just that. Til next time…
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