A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Twelve

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:1-34 (NRSVUE)

As Jesus returns to society after teaching, we see him put his sermon into action in chapter eight!

With the first person that Jesus encounters, his righteousness is put to the test.  Is Jesus willing to heal this man with the skin disease?  The disease would have made him unclean.  Technically, the diseased man should have kept his distance and cried out "Unclean, unclean" as a warning for people not to come near.  Contact with him would make others unclean.

Leviticus 5:3 clearly states, "Or when you touch human uncleanness—any uncleanness by which one can become unclean—and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall be guilty."

The Law gives Jesus an out.  He doesn't have to deal with this man if he doesn't want to.

But Jesus is merciful - and blessed.

He stretches out his hand to touch the diseased man and heals him.  All the crowd would have seen it.

We may also remember that Jesus just lifted up the Golden Rule in this sermon and declared that giving ourselves the perspective of others is the Law and the Prophets.

When he tells the man to offer the gift to the priests that Moses proscribed in the Law, we see that Jesus is not coming to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.

We remember Jesus telling us to love our enemies when he's confronted by an occupying foreign officer who needs his help.  He could have easily told the Centurian that he had no power to help him.  But Jesus is willing to metaphorically carry his pack the extra mile.  When Jesus lives this out, he finds faith abounding in unlikely places which indicates to us how blessing works.

Sometimes we get stuck

When the winds and waves come to the disciples - just as they do to all of us, we remember the one who built his house on the rock.  The winds and waves did not wash it away.  

We recall the words of Jesus not to worry.  We trust that Jesus is there for us to calm the storms.

How does this work practically?

We do know that sometimes the storm takes lives.  And what if Jesus isn't in the bottom of our boat in the moment it does come?  We must remember the faith of the Centurion that reminds us that Jesus doesn't have to be physically present to instill life.  

How do we develop this kind of faith and trust as the rains beat down upon us?

Rather than look for these virtues to come to us immediately, they may come over time - maintaining our spiritual disciplines may give us strength in the long run that we may not recognize until after we have it.  Like a runner training for endurance, you may not find you have it until you need it.

Prayer for the day:

O Lord Jesus, who can love as you do?
Through your deeds and labor I have become as ripened fruit.
How blessed it is to share in your glory - eternally in your providence.
I am your treasure, product of your arduous labor.
Amen.

Prayer by Canon James Wong, Singapore, 20th Century

Photo by Charles via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license