š¬š§ Glory be to Jesus Christ! š
I wrote earlier, and I quote: In todayās
letter, Saint Paul speaks of the significance of the calling of the
Gentiles to the Kingdom of God, to the Church, for the Israelites
themselves, saying that all have fallen into sin, but all are called to
salvation.
Romans X, 17, 18 – āĻĪ·Ī¼Ī±ĻĪæĻā – ārhematosā – the word spoken; the
essence of the matter discussed, the content of the conversation
(in
verse 18, plural). In other words, it is not even about the words of
Jesus, but about their meaning, about what the Lord wants to convey to
us through His Word.
Romans X, 20 – āĪµĪ¼Īµā – āemeā – āMeā. āĪµĪ¼ĻĪ±Ī½Ī·Ļā – āemphanesā – āmade manifest, revealed, manifestedā.
Romans XI, 1 – āĪµĪ¹Ī¼Ī¹ā – āeimiā – (I) am
. It is used for
emphasis.
Paul takes his Old Testament quotations from the Septuagint, a well-known Greek translation.
In general, the Old Testament quotations testify to the drama of the Sacred history – God reveals Himself to people who are drifting away from Him. This leads to tension – and this tension is because of people.
But the Lord is Faithful, and He calls everyone to salvation through Christ, spreading the Gospel throughout the world. This is a very rich passage, so only a brief comment.
Researchers note that there was a game among children that depicted the world – some had to do what people do when they are happy, and others had to do what people do when they are unhappy. Together, the groups show the state of all mankind.
In Jesusā words, which continue from yesterdayās reading, He speaks about repentance – many people, the majority of people at that time, did not want to repent, although the call to repentance was not something in modern parlance āmarginalā, something exceptional – many people converted and repented. But compared to the majority, it was still a noticeable minority.
And so the majority came up with an excuse based on what they had heard about – they heard about the obsession – and attributed it to John because he was an ascetic, different in lifestyle from the majority. They knew of people who spent time in revelry, and they accused Jesus of that. In fact, these accusations were based on certain very external, superficial signs, and people did not want to go deeper into the matter, so they were completely wrong.
But the Lord shows that the diversity of ministries shows Godās wisdom – the Lord wants to save those who can be saved.
I also wrote earlier, and I quote: Christās words about the children
are a comparison of the common people (mainly in the words of Jesus, but
they also apply to the elders of the people) who did not accept Jesus
and did not obey John the Baptist in repentance. Not being able to
rebuke Them for Their sin, they accused Them of something else, and
worst of all, they accused Them of not coming from God (=
You are not
from God, because you are not like usā).
The words about wisdom are still relevant today, especially for those who want to justify their own and othersā unconversion and unrepentance with their individual inclinations and peculiarities, with their psychology. Jesus and John were completely different in everyday life, opposite, but united in the call to conversion and repentance. Those who had an open mind and heart were converted at least through One. Others cannot justify themselves by their individual qualities, for for some, Johnās example was eloquent, for others, Jesusā, and for many, Both. And so, in our own time, people with very different qualities are faithful.
This passage speaks eloquently of the diversity in the Church.
A person does not need to transcend themselves
to the true
personality intended by God in order to fulfil Godās will. Sins are
another matter, they are the ones that harm everyone, and they need to
be dealt with.
It is also necessary to note something that is often overlooked.
Along with great freedom, people can see many of their own sins. In
response to the accusation that you donāt want to see a lot of bad
things in yourself,
one can say: But every archer wants to hit the top
ten, not 9, not 8, not 7, 6, 5, and even less or not hit the target at
allā¦ But the archer does not complain about the small target, rather
they are more happy when they manage to hit it.
To the Holy Prophet Elisha:
I wrote
about the Gospel reading earlier, and I quote:
I recall the cold meeting of Jesus in His homeland, as well as His
mention of the prophets Elijah and Elisha.
I will focus on the well-known verse of Luke IV, 24. I assure you
(literally: Amen (Truly) I say to you) that no prophet is accepted in
his own country.
Indeed, the high priests have many ministers, and kings have an
administrative resource,
but prophets have none, only God. God, whom
sinners have not known, and therefore have not listened to until then.
God whom they cannot see. A prophet often speaks about future things, or
about the past, which immediately causes scepticism in many people. And
if everyone is doing everything right, the prophet does not come and
expose them. That is why prophets are really not loved in their
homeland, in their own homes, etc.
That is why the ministry of prophets is higher than the ministry of priests and royalty, higher than the authorities. Only the apostolic ministry exceeds the prophetic ministry because the former includes the latter.
It must be said that in Christ Himself the various ministries are combined (and the apostolic ministry does not stand out, for He is the Beginning of the apostleship), so we cannot speak of the superiority of one over the other, no, it is only about people, not about Christ.
As for the reading from the Epistle of James.
James V, 12 – see the good explanation at the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/PowerOfHuman.html
07062023.html
09062023.html
James V, 14-15 – about the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick (the only place in Scripture that speaks directly about it).
In general, the conclusion of James shows the mutual care of the faithful for each other before God, mutual intercession, and speaks of the example of the prophets and the righteous as a teaching to all.
Luke IV, 22 – āĪµĪ¼Ī±ĻĻĻ ĻĪæĻ Ī½ā – āemartyrounā – ātestifiedā.
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!