When leaders and rulers no longer care about people or
justice we have a problem. We see that
this is true all over the world in countries where either despots or religious
zealots have headship. Is it true also
in America and other countries where leaders are democratically elected? Tax policies, welfare policies, and many
other policies can accomplish the dehumanization of men and women in even
democratic societies. When the needs of
businesses trump the rights and needs of human beings the danger is there, thus
the early trade union movement and other human rights movements like the civil
rights movement. Prophets, likewise,
need to listen to the Lord rather than seeking the applause of men. How often do we have men who are supposed to
be prophets simply affirming the times when there is prosperity? It is important to ensure that when there is
peace and prosperity that the reason for these is also righteous, just and
merciful. The leaders and prophets need
one another to keep the balance.
Grace and truth both matter but we tend to focus on either one
or the other. The Pharisee sees the
sinful woman washing the feet of Jesus and he is concerned with truth and not
grace. In this lesson we see something important about how Jesus deals with
people in terms of truth and grace. The
parable illustrates the reaction of two people, one a great debtor and the
other a lesser debtor, to forgiveness of their debts. Clearly, the parable has in mind the two main
actors in this scene. The woman is a
great debtor and Jesus knows and affirms that but Simon the Pharisee is also a
debtor, albeit to a lesser degree. Jesus
extends forgiveness to the woman for her act of contrition and hospitality to
Him. He extends grace to her but the
parable has shown that truth is involved as well, she knows who she is in the
parable. Simon hasn't recognized himself
but he has failed to extend basic hospitality to Jesus, even if he doesn't
recognize him as a person of import, he hasn’t shown hospitality in accord with
the law to a guest in his home. Truth is
there but grace awaits repentance. These
two always go together but grace has a price, truth. We always have to be wise as to which is to
be offered to others and which is being offered to us. Both must be grasped together, each in its
turn.
The high priest and some elders come to press their charge
against Paul. They begin with the
obligatory flattery of Felix to hear their case. Even in the presentment it
seems clear that the issues are primarily religious and not civil in nature. The only issue for Felix to decide is whether
Paul is stirring up riots wherever he goes.
Indisputably there have been riots wherever Paul has been but the
question is always open as to who was the inciter of the riot, Paul or his
opponents, be they Jewish or pagan as in Ephesus with the craftsmen. It is a bit surprising to hear that Felix had
a rather accurate understanding of the Way except that we know Paul had been to
Caesarea as had Jesus. His determination
is to wait for the tribune himself to come and tell his story since the two he
had heard didn't agree. Truth would need
an arbiter.
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