Devotion
Is the end nigh? Who cares?
David Jacobs
In 70 A.D., the Jews saw their revolt against the Romans as the Battle of Armageddon. 300 years later, the Bishop of Tours claimed that the end times were going to be arriving any day now. 1,000 years later, The Black Plague was making its way around Europe, as the world proclaimed that this was certainly the end! 500 years down the line, hundreds of thousands of American Christians lined up for an event that would later be known as 'The Great Disappointment'.
Had they read 2 Peter 3, they would have realized that God takes no joy in destroying His creation, and is certainly not as fickle as the false prophecies like to imply.
Many have lived in their idea of 'end times', and have been convinced theirs will be the last. Yet God has stated that only He knows. Our job is not to be obsessed with Mayan calendars or British star maps. God has reserved the difficult task of judgment for Himself. All that is asked of us is that we come to repent. Everything else is but an egotistical distraction.
Prayer
Only God decides when this day will come; it could be tomorrow; it could be a thousand years later. But He has made His promise, and so He waits. 'For what?' We might ask. We do not know. We do not need to. But we know it will come, and we know God does not delight in denying His own children into His Kingdom, so make the Lord happy; repent! Repent while you still have today.
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...
