Devotion
Saul/Paul
Frances Taylor
Saul's eyes have been blinded physically and I believe that this is a metaphor for his spiritual blindness in persecuting the Christians. For three days he neither saw nor ate, nor drank. Again, I think of this as his time in a tomb. During this time he prayed and saw in a vision a man coming to him who would lay his hands upon him and give him back his sight. Now, Ananias was the man Saul saw, and God asked Ananias to go to Saul. Needless to say he was reluctant but he did do as the Lord asked and Saul received his sight, rose, was baptized, ate and was strengthened. Once he had come to know Jesus he began to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. I'm sure you can understand why the Christians in the area were afraid of him and didn't believe his transformation. Saul/Paul became the "apostle to the Gentiles" and without him, we would have so much less knowledge of the early church and the teachings of Jesus. We, too, can be suspicious of a person's transformation. I wonder sometimes why we can't believe that God can still change the heart of a person and bring him or her to faith. I think it may come from a desire for punishment of someone who has behaved badly. But we are not the judges of a person's heart. That's God's job. I for one am happy to leave it to him.
Prayer
Loving God, you want all your children to be with you in heaven. You give us all opportunities to come to know and believe in you. Let us not be suspicious of those who come to you later in their journey, but be grateful that we have come to know of your love at an early age. Amen.
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...
