Devotion
Protecting the culture
David Jacobs
I am Caucasian. My wife is Asian. Nobody in my entire family has ever married a non-Caucasian person, so when I brought my then girlfriend home to meet my family, I was met with some scrutiny. "Why can't you marry a white person?" I remember my family asking. My family is very tolerant and open compared to most, and I can assure you my wife's family had more suspicion towards me than my family did. Both families feared that part of their culture and heritage would be lost.
The people of Israel were exiled from their homeland for generations. In the book of Ezra, they were allowed by Cyrus the Great to return. In these verses, Ezra makes a decree: the men that have taken "strange wives" have badly transgressed against Israel and against God. They must repent and get rid of these non-Jewish wives in order to satisfy their Lord. Not too different from what my and my wife's families said!
Ezra and the leaders of Israel feared to lose their culture and their identity. If they mixed their bloodlines with people of other nations, they would be unable to preserve the culture that they were proud of. More importantly, they were worried that they would lose their people to other gods.
Prayer
I am sensitive towards these verses because of my situation. While I can understand the position of Ezra and the leaders of Israel at the time, the notion that God will abandon the people of Israel because some people have married wives during the period of exile seems wrong. Nowadays, basically everyone has taken "strange" husbands or wives. What do you think: has God abandoned us for this? I know my answer. What is yours?
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...
