Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It
was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject
it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded
us, I have made you a light to the
Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.” Acts 13:46-47
“If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:7
Piety
It is too little, he says,
for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the
survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation
may reach to the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6
Study
One of Vito Corleone’s
most famous lines in “The Godfather” movie was “I’m gonna make him an offer
he can’t refuse.” As we know, the
real meaning was neither altruistic nor generous. The real meaning was “Do as I say or I'll
kill you.” The church-going thugs in
these movies betrayed the true faith and backed up their hatred and greed with
murder.
Jesus turns the tables on
this. He makes us an offer that we really
can’t refuse. “Do as I say or I will
love you anyway.” And he follows up
those words with his action. Yet, the refusal
of His followers to believe frustrates God’s plan for his chosen people. That does not stop Jesus nor his followers
from continuing to spread the Word. When
it falls on deaf ears in Israel, they take the offer beyond the “chosen”
people.” Israel may have been first, but
it was by no means last. In fact, the
Hebrew Bible always spoke to the fact that the Word would bring justice to ALL
nations.
Israel was the first step
in the journey but not the last.
As we turn to the Last
Supper Discourses, we also learn that Jesus is the first step of our faith but
not the last. He asks for us to follow
him only so he can lead us to an everlasting life filled with piety, study and action.
Action
How are you frustrating
God’s plan? What other promises are you
following today? Popular culture throws
many such detours in our direction.
There is an interview with
former
Microsoft CEO in today’s Wall Street Journal. Steve Ballmer gave a commencement address
last night (Friday May 16) to the graduates of the University of Southern
California Marshall School of Business.
He told the reporter that his overall theme was “And then when it’s all
done the two things that will matter in terms of success: were you lucky, and
were you having fun every day.”
Not a breath about being
good, kind and generous. Not a breath
about helping others along the way. Life
is more than getting your golf handicap under 10. Life is more than learning French and buying
the next product that emanates out of Redmond or Cupertino or Detroit.
Stepping down from my
self-appointed soapbox to enjoy the weekend starting with a cup of Fair Trade
coffee with the hope that the farmer who grew the beans that ended up in my
moka pot has a little better life than the food conglomerates which try to put
Folgers in my pot or convince me that their coffee is good for their profits
until the last drop.
What kind of music will
your instrument play today? The
self-indulgent music of Hollywood or Wall Street or the salvation music of
Isaiah and the Acts of the Apostles?
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