Devotion
I know that you fear me
David Jacobs
This story is probably familiar to most Christians: Abraham takes his son, Isaac, up the mountain because God asks that he make a sacrifice. God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham builds an altar, ties up his son, raises the knife to kill Isaac, but is stopped at the last second by an angel. After this episode, God knows that he can trust Abraham completely, and their covenant is strengthened further.
As I previously stated, the actual events in these verses is hotly debated amongst Biblical scholars. In the oldest variations of the text, Abraham seemingly does kill Isaac. In those versions, Isaac is not mentioned again. In other versions, Abraham is stopped. This story fascinated me and sparked my interest in understanding who wrote the Bible.
Whether or not Abraham killed Isaac is something we will never know. However, without these verses, I never would have dove so deeply into Biblical literature. This verse changed my life and was the first time I learned about the "J, E, P, and D" texts (I suggest all Christians research this on their own time). It opened my eyes to a new understanding of the Bible: who actually wrote it, why it was written, and explains much of the political and cultural references that I was unaware of previously.
Prayer
Who were the authors of the Bible? If you are anything like I was, you assume that it was the actual word of God. The Old Testament was written by humans. Learning about the writers and translations of the Bible opened a door to a world previously unknown to me and only deepened my fascination and love of the Bible even more.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
