Ps 63 Matt 7:15-29
This is a long selection that merits considerable comment; but the initial verse, “Be on the lookout for false prophets”, is relevant for the Eastertide consideration. Jesus was a Jewish mystic and a true prophet in the full meaning of that word. The various writers & compilers of our scriptures often cited, as heroes, their prophets! A “prophet” is NOT a forth teller, but a teller forth! This is generally one who is at odds with, and takes issue with, the status quo. And in Jesus’ time the status quo was like the status quo of almost every political system. They represent the “power structure” wherein the wealth is often concentrated, and where reverence for the individual takes a back seat in order to protect the existing system. That often includes the religious institutions as well. That was Jesus’ Rome! It was in the week before his crucifixion that he mocked the returning victorious soldiers seated on their steeds, by riding onto the scene on a borrowed donkey! And he had just overturned the money changers in the temple, because they had become pawns of Rome. These acts delighted the crowd, but upset the bureaucrats. He called for compassion and justice for the masses; not acts of war or empire building. His trial and fate were inevitable. The words and deeds of that Jewish mystic prophet of 2000 years ago are worth heeding still. As individuals, and as a church, we must be willing to ferret out Jesus’ teachings, apply them to our-selves, our church and to our world, and be willing to accept the cost of such discipleship; if we are persuaded by his prophetic leadership.
V.A.M.
This is a long selection that merits considerable comment; but the initial verse, “Be on the lookout for false prophets”, is relevant for the Eastertide consideration. Jesus was a Jewish mystic and a true prophet in the full meaning of that word. The various writers & compilers of our scriptures often cited, as heroes, their prophets! A “prophet” is NOT a forth teller, but a teller forth! This is generally one who is at odds with, and takes issue with, the status quo. And in Jesus’ time the status quo was like the status quo of almost every political system. They represent the “power structure” wherein the wealth is often concentrated, and where reverence for the individual takes a back seat in order to protect the existing system. That often includes the religious institutions as well. That was Jesus’ Rome! It was in the week before his crucifixion that he mocked the returning victorious soldiers seated on their steeds, by riding onto the scene on a borrowed donkey! And he had just overturned the money changers in the temple, because they had become pawns of Rome. These acts delighted the crowd, but upset the bureaucrats. He called for compassion and justice for the masses; not acts of war or empire building. His trial and fate were inevitable. The words and deeds of that Jewish mystic prophet of 2000 years ago are worth heeding still. As individuals, and as a church, we must be willing to ferret out Jesus’ teachings, apply them to our-selves, our church and to our world, and be willing to accept the cost of such discipleship; if we are persuaded by his prophetic leadership.
V.A.M.
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