Moses in prayer, arms supported by Aaron and Hur.
They defiled themselves by their deeds...
They yielded to their cravings in the desert
and put God to the test in the wilderness.
Then they rebelled, envious of Moses and
of Aaron, who was holy to the Lord.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
and buried the clan of Abiram.
Fire blazed up against their clan
and flames devoured the rebels.
They fashioned a calf at Horeb
and worshipped an image of metal,
exchanging the God who was their glory
for the image of a bull that eats grass.
They forgot the God who was their savior,
who had done such great things in Egypt,
such portents in the land of Ham,
such marvels at the Red Sea.
For this he said he would destroy them,
but Moses, the man he had chosen,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn back his anger from destruction.
Then they scorned the land of promise;
they had no faith in his word.
They complained inside their tents
and would not listen to the voice of the Lord. - Ps. 106
Think about it. Ponder it. Meditate and pray.
What?
What?
. Well...Moses commanded due to God's instruction over 33 death penalties for sins and Pope Francis is against life sentences for crimes. Catholics should have been against Pope Nicholas V in 1453 when he gave slavery and despoilment of newly discovered natives the green light in the mid 4th large paragraph of Romanus Pontifex. Catholics should have been against Pope Alexander VI when he took up with a married 25 year old c.1494...shortly after Nicholas' green light for slavery. Catholics should have been against the series of Popes who made their nephews Church officials.
ReplyDeleteThe point is....Moses was different in that Christ said the pharisees sat on the throne of Moses and He said to obey them but Christ in actions demonstrated when not to obey them as when Christ and the disciples picked grain on the Sabbath and ate it as they walked along with the pharisees enraged.
Moses is different and appeared at the Transfiguration. Pope Alexander VI appeared at auctions for papal real estate. There's actually an apologetics person on the internet whose thing is to defend Pope Alexander VI. It's niche apologetics of a bizarre level of defensiveness.
Defending Francis is not in that category. Most know Francis has the best of intentions in his choices.
But he is absolutely certain about global warming while for ten years Catholic writers have been saying that was Galileo's mistake...being absolutely certain about the doubtful in science.
I want a Pope who announces that he is holding bound on earth the sins of ISIS and ergo God holds their sins bound...until they release all slaves and stop their atrocities. That would be a Pope actually using that power to change the mideast. He would announce their damnation if they did not obey. Pope Francis won't do that because a man who is against life sentences is hardly severe enough to jointly damn with God.
But those were Christ's words on binding and loosing....words never disgusted in the Catholic milieu which is hyper world pleasing in some ways....especially on inordinate mercy.
When Lazarus was brought back from the dead, Jesus said to the people gathered at the tomb. “Unbind him, let him go free.”
ReplyDeleteWhen any of us retain the sins of others, or bind them, we in fact bind ourself and choose to remain outside the KIngdom, for the state of unforgiveness does not exist in heaven.
That was the difficulty the elder son had with his wastrel brother. He could not forgive him, or the actions of his merciful father. His heart was full of anger and resentment. And when his father pleaded for him to come into the house and celebrate with his ‘lost’ brother, he refused.
It wasn’t the father that kept his son from entering the house, it was the heart of resentment and unforgiveness that kept him from going inside.
That’s what awaits all of us until we are ready to forgive. We have the opportunity to forgive in this life – as Jesus did from the cross.
“For those whose sins you retain, they are retained” – not by the Father but by the retainer.
The danger for any of us is to condemn the sinner along with the sin.
We are always close to the father’s heart and all that he has is ours if we choose, but it is our own sinfulness that keeps us at a distance until we decide to repent and express forgiveness to others, and even to oneself.
We have all been blessed with the most beautiful gift of being able to unbind and heal others. When we forgive we become healed also.
bg,
ReplyDeleteNice try. I was wondering why you went afield instead of Matt.18 which is not about every man during day to day offenses.
Matt.18: “If your brother[l] sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 [m]If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.[n] If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 [o]Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
You can see that in context, Christ is talking about exclusion several times.
And the papal version in Matt.16
Delete"18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,[m] and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.[n] Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 [o]Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah."
Clearer still John 20
Delete" 21 [n][Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 [o]And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 [p]Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Or how about: “Retain our sins as we retain the sins of those who trespass against us... ?
ReplyDeletebg,
ReplyDeleteI and the actual passages by CHRIST which you keep avoiding are not talking about ordinary trespasses.
They are talking about major incidents about which the sinner won't do what is right when the sin is fixable by actions...like ISIS releasing sex slaves...my original example before you took us on a tour of the other passages of the NT. A simple pastor will not forgive the bank robber of stealing money in confession unless the bank robber returns the money when that's possible....as part of the reconciliation process. That level is not the level of ordinary interpersonal sins between acquaintances.
Forgive us our ‘ordinary’ trespasses as we forgive the ‘ordinary’ trespasses against us... ?
ReplyDeletebg,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately you are dividing Christ and taking only the side of him that is sweet. There is about a billion and a half of you. You'll never be lonely. Do you remember the painter of light...Thomas Kinkaide. His paintings of small villages were super sweet....sundappled paths simultaneous with sunsets...sweet overload. He didn't let his kids watch tv for integrity sake. He ended badly in the long run because he didn't face the severe side of Christ from the get go.
Come to me... for I am gentle and humble in heart... and you will find rest for your soul... yes, my yoke is easy, my burden light...
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the same Christ saying the opposite when tribulation is at hand:
Delete" 18"Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20"But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.…"
Christ is not saying the opposite. He is saying something different and referring to what is to happen to Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteWhen Christ says “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were burning already”, in what sense is he speaking? Literally, or speaking of the Holy Spirit?
When Christ, peace itself, says “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword”, in what sense is he speaking?
The disciples John and James wanted to call down fire from heaven on perceived wrongdoers, Samaritans, because they would not welcome Jesus. But he rebuked them. I wonder why?
Better we pray for and forgive those who tresspass against us. And if we choose to call down fire from Heaven, let it be the fire of the Holy Spirit to enlighten ALL souls who stumble when they walk in darkness.