Now it is Jerusalem which is admonished to wake up. In the previous lesson, the Lord was implored
to rouse up. The time of judgment has
ended, the day of restoration has come.
The city has been devastated and famine has overtaken her but this is
the day the Lord calls her to wake up, to begin the long journey of
reconciliation and restoration. This has
been the Lord's doing, it was for judgment, for the failure to follow Him, and
He has used other nations to exact the vengeance but these have not turned to
Him, have not recognized this as anything other than their own might. He has not received glory, in fact, His power
is questionable because He did not protect His people from their enemies. Reassurance then is given that these nations
were doing His will all along and the cup which His people drank will now be
given to their enemies. He has not
forsaken His people.
The Syro-Phoenician woman is an outsider, a non-Jew. Her faith in Jesus is amazing, but how did
she come to know of Him? What did she
understand about his provenance? That
had been the question in yesterday's Gospel reading, we know where He came
from, we know His parents, therefore we know everything we need to know and He
can't be who He seems to be based on evidence of His teaching and
miracles. This woman doesn't care about
such things, she cares about her daughter and she believes Jesus can heal
her. She isn't willing to be brushed
off, she persists in her efforts to get what she needs, like the widow in the
parable Jesus tells in another context.
Her faith is rewarded. As He
moves on, Jesus remains in Gentile territory and does yet another miracle,
healing a deaf and mute man. Here, he
receives acclaim for His works, not questions about His ancestry. Sometimes I can wonder if the outsiders are
more open to God's healing than church people.
It is a wonderful thing to be a child of God but we are also
heirs. What does that mean? We are heirs of life and we have received
that inheritance now in part with the Spirit of God being given to us. We are not only adopted into the family. In a human adoption the one adopted is
brought into the family but there is a DNA distinction. In our adoption into God's family we are also
given some new DNA as it were, we are given the Spirit of God to make it
possible for us to become more like Him.
The Law was an external adoption, the child brought into the family but
given only the rules, the child remained apart in some measure. In the new covenant we have been given a new
heart, and the Law is written on our heart, we want to keep it, It is a part of
our new DNA to desire to do what pleases our Father. Those who were far off are brought near and
the indwelling of the Spirit makes us new creations. Faith is the key, just as it has always been.
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