The charges against the nation are plain, they have
committed spiritual adultery. They have
done so in part by worshipping foreign gods.
They have worshipped idols, the gods of the nations around them,
particularly those who seem stronger than they.
They have strayed from the Lord's ways and done that which the other
nations did in acts of worship and sacrifice, in contradiction to the Law of
God. They have failed to be that kingdom
of priests they were intended to be. Why
would they have done such things? One
reason would seem to be that they reached out to other nations, made alliances
for protection with them when their command was actually to make no covenants
or treaties whatsoever because they were already in a covenant for their
protection and prosperity with Yahweh. They
had then become like the ones with whom they covenanted, they desired to become
like them, fearsome and prosperous. We
have that tendency when we have an idol, to covet their success and begin to
emulate them in all things. That
tendency always reveals our gods.
Jesus is able to heal this boy when the disciples
failed. The father had given up hope
that healing was possible, even in Jesus.
His faith was weak. Jesus does,
however, heal the boy from what would seem to be epilepsy. What does Jesus mean that this kind can only
be driven out by prayer? It would seem
that the disciples were working under their own power rather than relying on
the power of God. They had perhaps come
to believe that they were able to do wondrous things. We see some evidence of that in their
discussions about who was greatest. When
we fail to rely on Him we get ourselves into trouble and disconnect from power. In us there is no health or power.
Life matters. Life
together matters. Paul believed in the
body of Christ and its importance, not individual Christians disconnected from
the body. Each person had a load to bear
but they were to bear one another's burdens, the loads that exceed our
capacity. What he doesn't say is that
there is one person, the pastor, who is to bear all those burdens, then it is
no longer the body of Christ. When we
all fulfill our call within the body we see the plan of God for the church,
something that cannot be stopped from advancing. We are truly a community and the power is in
the community. We are less effective
when we are separated from the body and its head, Jesus. It all begins in the household of faith and
spills out into the world.
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