Lessons June 23

The theme today would seem to be the nature of faith.

Isa 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.
In fact we know that the Lord is always near, it is we who by our actions, hubris, and willfulness place God at arms' length.

In today's Lesson Isaiah speaks for God. He does so in true Deuteronomic fashion starkly listing the consequences of ignoring the Lord's calling. God is reaching out, it is our duty and delight to hear him and obey.

The Psalm continues this admonition

The Epistle emphasizes that faith makes all true believers free, free from the law that would condemn us, free from sin and death. Continuing his message that the Gospel is for all people he declares that faith makes all equal in the eyes of God.

The Gospel has to be viewed in the context in which it was written. Epileptics were viewed as being possessed by demons and swine were unclean animals to the Jews and a fitting repository for the demons. I choose not to confront the loss the swineherds suffered or the inhumane treatment of their herd. What is important here is Jesus meeting the needs of the man possessed and healing him.

Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not an intellectual accomplishment and does not admit of scientific proofs. Indirectly the OT Lesson in particular confronts one of the impediments to faith, that bad things happen to good people. Whereas the new Covenant we know in Christ Jesus frees us from the paradigm of law and judgement yet there is some truth in those thoughts. If society marginalizes people and makes them feel like outsiders, unwanted and alone; who then is responsible if they lash out. Who is responsible for the fact that guns and other weapons are readily available and that weapons manufacturers are motivated solely by the opportunity to make greater profits by selling to anyone who has the means of buying them. Who is reponsible for poverty, lack of education, and despair bred of lack of opportunity which is the breeding ground of disease, racism, terror, and violence.

How do we purge ourselves of our own demons be they alcohol, gambling, drugs, wealth, possessions, greed, self-centredness, sexual obsession.... defined as sin. AA subscribes to the 12 Steps.

All call for an admission that we alone are powerless without the aid of God however it be we conceive him/her. We need to seek the Lord and in Faith receive healing. It is our responsibility to seek that healing not just for ourselves but the world we live in, our environment and the society that surrounds us. Freed from the guilt of sin we are to go forth and spread that Good News to all peoples.