Psalm 106:1-18
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 21:12-22
Matthew 21:12-22
Faith, a topic that can be revisited endlessly. What mountains would I like to be moved and tossed into the sea?
David and I read the passages in the lectionary together at about 5 54am every weekday morning though it is considerably later at the weekends. My mind does not always function well at that time of day. Usually I try to grasp one word from the readings which I try to dwell on to write this blog. Sometimes I am so disfunctional at that time that I have to read the passages again later to be able to concentrate on a word. Today I wanted to concentrate on the word 'favor' from the psalm but as I moved through my morning chores the end of the gospel began to haunt me.
I began to think about Jesus' miracles. Did the guy who was let down through the roof believe that he would be healed or was it just that his friends believed and he thought "Well we might as well give it a try". Did Jairus tell his daughter that he was going to fetch the healer so that she would be well? Did she 'die' believing that Jesus was on his way. The lady who touched Jesus' cloak obviously believed for herself that she would be healed. The widow of Nain's son did not have faith that he would be raised because he was already dead when Jesus came on the scene. Lazarus might have believed that Jesus was on his way and therefore when he died he might have had an inclination that Jesus could heal him, he might also have felt let down as Jesus did not come in time.
What I was wanting to do was to be able to prove to my friend that even though his sick brother might not have strength or faith to believe that he would be healed it was sufficient that those around him had the faith in the healing for him.
I thought about the times that we and many friends had prayed for our sick son Matthew, he was too much of a newborn to have faith as we know it. Many people prayed, all over Britain. Matthew died. I do not believe that is a reason for me not to pray, that God will not answer my prayers. I think our daughters can attest to that (see April 6 entry).
As I was coming our of church yesterday David and I were discussing my friend Pat. She gad cancer twice, a stroke and heart problems. She was a walking miracle but I know that there were times when she was so sick that she relied on the prayers of her friends to bring her to the place where she could believe for herself.
David and I read the passages in the lectionary together at about 5 54am every weekday morning though it is considerably later at the weekends. My mind does not always function well at that time of day. Usually I try to grasp one word from the readings which I try to dwell on to write this blog. Sometimes I am so disfunctional at that time that I have to read the passages again later to be able to concentrate on a word. Today I wanted to concentrate on the word 'favor' from the psalm but as I moved through my morning chores the end of the gospel began to haunt me.
I began to think about Jesus' miracles. Did the guy who was let down through the roof believe that he would be healed or was it just that his friends believed and he thought "Well we might as well give it a try". Did Jairus tell his daughter that he was going to fetch the healer so that she would be well? Did she 'die' believing that Jesus was on his way. The lady who touched Jesus' cloak obviously believed for herself that she would be healed. The widow of Nain's son did not have faith that he would be raised because he was already dead when Jesus came on the scene. Lazarus might have believed that Jesus was on his way and therefore when he died he might have had an inclination that Jesus could heal him, he might also have felt let down as Jesus did not come in time.
What I was wanting to do was to be able to prove to my friend that even though his sick brother might not have strength or faith to believe that he would be healed it was sufficient that those around him had the faith in the healing for him.
I thought about the times that we and many friends had prayed for our sick son Matthew, he was too much of a newborn to have faith as we know it. Many people prayed, all over Britain. Matthew died. I do not believe that is a reason for me not to pray, that God will not answer my prayers. I think our daughters can attest to that (see April 6 entry).
As I was coming our of church yesterday David and I were discussing my friend Pat. She gad cancer twice, a stroke and heart problems. She was a walking miracle but I know that there were times when she was so sick that she relied on the prayers of her friends to bring her to the place where she could believe for herself.
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