Blog:Salvation is for the "childlike"? Matthew 11:25: Difference between revisions
Blog:Salvation is for the "childlike"? Matthew 11:25 (view source)
Revision as of 16:16, 4 August 2024
, 4 August→Flying on both wings
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== Flying on both wings == | == Flying on both wings == | ||
When the Apostles falter or are inadequate in their faith, their incomplete reason steps in and misdirects their faith. The bird cannot fly upon one wing.<ref>It can flap around in circles -- ouch, what a metaphor for "the wise and the learned" ! </ref> Nor can it fly without the air to lift.<ref>''Ruah'' in Hebrew, meaning "breath of God"; see [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/1?2 Gn 1:2]:, "mighty wind"</ref> | When the Apostles falter or are inadequate in their faith, their incomplete reason steps in and misdirects their faith. The bird cannot fly upon one wing.<ref>It can flap around in circles -- ouch, what a metaphor for "the wise and the learned"! Or, to use a quotation from President William Howard Taft who characterized another politician's intellect as like a man with one leg shorter than the other and so just walks around in circles. </ref> Nor can it fly without the air to lift.<ref>''Ruah'' in Hebrew, meaning "breath of God"; see [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/1?2 Gn 1:2]:, "mighty wind"</ref> | ||
When Jesus asks the disciples, first, who the people say he is, then, who do the disciples say, | When Jesus asks the disciples, first, who the people say he is, then, who do the disciples say, | ||
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In the next verse, [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?18 Matthew 15:18], Jesus calls Peter ''kēpā’'' , Aramaic for the Rock, and tells him, ''"and upon this rock I will build my church.''" | In the next verse, [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?18 Matthew 15:18], Jesus calls Peter ''kēpā’'' , Aramaic for the Rock, and tells him, ''"and upon this rock I will build my church.''" | ||
We know from Matthew 11 and elsewhere ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?65 Jn 6:65]) God chooses whom to reveal himself. But that doesn't mean the choice is predetermined. Jesus chose Peter for his gifts of personality, heart, reason, and action. Peter is rash yet obedient, prideful yet believing, and smart, yet open-minded. He has, we might say, the right wings with which to be lifted by the Holy Spirit. | We know from Matthew 11 and elsewhere ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?65 Jn 6:65]) God chooses whom to reveal himself. But that doesn't mean the choice is predetermined. Jesus chose Peter for his gifts of personality, heart, reason, and action. Peter is rash yet obedient, prideful yet believing, and smart, yet open-minded. He has, we might say, the right wings with which to be lifted by the Holy Spirit. Above all, he always comes back to the Lord; he never gives up on the Lord. | ||
So | As with the Grace he provides, God chooses those who are prepared to receive him. When we get lost in reason, as did "the wise and the learned" pharisees, we hide God from ourselves: he doesn't need to hide it. | ||
St. Paul provides a thought on this: | |||
So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/4?17 Eph 4:17]) | |||
Ouch! | |||
In Romans Chapter 1, Paul explains people get lost in "their minds." Although God's existence was "evident" to the gentiles, he explains, they "suppress the truth by their wickedness." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/1?18 Rom 1:18-19]) | |||
Reason enslaved to sin is a bird with a single wing. | |||
== Confirmation bias == | == Confirmation bias == | ||