Tuesday, March 07, 2006
From AscensionNYC
Tuesday in the First Week of Lent
Psalm 47, 48
Genesis 37:12-24
1 Corinthians 1:20-31
Mark 1:14-28
Chronologically, these texts reveal a nice progression. God is present in this segment of the Joseph story only in that Joseph's life is saved. The psalms are, as one might expect, hymns of praise to God, "king of all the earth" (47). Mark, in this first episode of Jesus' ministry, reveals the power of God as, at Jesus' behest, an "unclean spirit threw [the] man into convulsions and with a loud cry left him."
The final text, from Paul's letter to the Corinthians, is the most striking. It is a diatribe against wisdom, against "the wise man, the man of learning," and at first reading I found the text offensive. I spent many years acquiring knowledge of a foreign language, literature and culture and attempting to convey its values to students. I realized later, however, that not only were knowledge, understanding, the beauty of the texts, and perhaps the wisdom of their authors involved, but that these texts had become sacred texts for me, and that my own role was in a sense sacerdotal. This may explain, in part at least, why I was not confirmed until after I retired from teaching.
So it is perhaps not surprising that, after further reflection, I found this text not only understandable, but eloquently convincing, if we consider its context. Paul is writing to a Christian community in Greece that has apparently been beset by divisions and quarrels, and he exhorts them to remain united and steadfast in their faith against the Jews, who "call for miracles," and the Greeks, who "look for wisdom." Christians believe "the folly of the Gospel," Paul says. "We proclaim...Christ nailed to the cross;...he is the power of God and the wisdom of God." And Paul concludes that "God has made [Christ] our wisdom." In the last analysis, this is a very compelling text.
Genesis 37:12-24
1 Corinthians 1:20-31
Mark 1:14-28
Chronologically, these texts reveal a nice progression. God is present in this segment of the Joseph story only in that Joseph's life is saved. The psalms are, as one might expect, hymns of praise to God, "king of all the earth" (47). Mark, in this first episode of Jesus' ministry, reveals the power of God as, at Jesus' behest, an "unclean spirit threw [the] man into convulsions and with a loud cry left him."
The final text, from Paul's letter to the Corinthians, is the most striking. It is a diatribe against wisdom, against "the wise man, the man of learning," and at first reading I found the text offensive. I spent many years acquiring knowledge of a foreign language, literature and culture and attempting to convey its values to students. I realized later, however, that not only were knowledge, understanding, the beauty of the texts, and perhaps the wisdom of their authors involved, but that these texts had become sacred texts for me, and that my own role was in a sense sacerdotal. This may explain, in part at least, why I was not confirmed until after I retired from teaching.
So it is perhaps not surprising that, after further reflection, I found this text not only understandable, but eloquently convincing, if we consider its context. Paul is writing to a Christian community in Greece that has apparently been beset by divisions and quarrels, and he exhorts them to remain united and steadfast in their faith against the Jews, who "call for miracles," and the Greeks, who "look for wisdom." Christians believe "the folly of the Gospel," Paul says. "We proclaim...Christ nailed to the cross;...he is the power of God and the wisdom of God." And Paul concludes that "God has made [Christ] our wisdom." In the last analysis, this is a very compelling text.
Charlie Hill
