Saturday, March 11, 2006
From AscensionNYC
Saturday in the First Week of Lent
Psalm 139:1-23
Genesis 41:1-13
1 Corinthians 4:1-7
Mark 2:23 - 3:6
The subject of friendship has been on my mind. And since I think of Jesus Christ as my friend when I am trying to get closer to him, I thought I would try to interpret my assignment in scripture as an expression of God's friendship for us.
In Genesis 41, Pharaoh is directed to consult David on his troubling dreams and David has the correct interpretation of them. We have all had the experience of going to a friend when we are troubled but, more to the point, David has the correct interpretation because he is closer to God than Pharaoh is. As it says in Psalm 139: "Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely." We have all had the startling experience, I think, of realizing that our friends sometimes know us better than we know ourselves. We are baffled when we try to understand God's ways. But, following Psalm 139, turn that around: God understands us -- and not just because he is wise but indifferent but because he is wise and loves us...like a friend.
In Corinthians 4, we read; "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or any human court. I do not even judge myself...It is the Lord who judges me." Isn't this the freedom that friendship grants us? That we don't care what everyone thinks of us but of what our friends think of us. And we do not even judge ourselves but rest in the security of knowing that we are loved? Finally in Mark 2 we read how the Pharisees, those great rule-givers, would impose a life-denying formality on Jesus during the Sabbath, objecting that work should be done to feed the hungry or cure the sick. And Jesus says: "The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath." It reminds me that our friends do not stand on ceremony if our hearts are in the right place. During this Lenten season, if we consider our Lord as our friend, indeed as our best friend and so much so that even if we never had another, his friendship alone would suffice then, if you had such a friend, wouldn't you want to stand with Him in his time of trouble? So let us stand with Him. Amen.
Genesis 41:1-13
1 Corinthians 4:1-7
Mark 2:23 - 3:6
The subject of friendship has been on my mind. And since I think of Jesus Christ as my friend when I am trying to get closer to him, I thought I would try to interpret my assignment in scripture as an expression of God's friendship for us.
In Genesis 41, Pharaoh is directed to consult David on his troubling dreams and David has the correct interpretation of them. We have all had the experience of going to a friend when we are troubled but, more to the point, David has the correct interpretation because he is closer to God than Pharaoh is. As it says in Psalm 139: "Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely." We have all had the startling experience, I think, of realizing that our friends sometimes know us better than we know ourselves. We are baffled when we try to understand God's ways. But, following Psalm 139, turn that around: God understands us -- and not just because he is wise but indifferent but because he is wise and loves us...like a friend.
In Corinthians 4, we read; "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or any human court. I do not even judge myself...It is the Lord who judges me." Isn't this the freedom that friendship grants us? That we don't care what everyone thinks of us but of what our friends think of us. And we do not even judge ourselves but rest in the security of knowing that we are loved? Finally in Mark 2 we read how the Pharisees, those great rule-givers, would impose a life-denying formality on Jesus during the Sabbath, objecting that work should be done to feed the hungry or cure the sick. And Jesus says: "The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath." It reminds me that our friends do not stand on ceremony if our hearts are in the right place. During this Lenten season, if we consider our Lord as our friend, indeed as our best friend and so much so that even if we never had another, his friendship alone would suffice then, if you had such a friend, wouldn't you want to stand with Him in his time of trouble? So let us stand with Him. Amen.
Dennis Haritou
