Psalm 71.1‐14 ~ Psaumes 71.1-14
1 Corinthians 15.12‐19 ~ 1 Corinthiens 15.12-19
Luke 24.1‐12 ~ Luc 24.1-12
Of today’s readings, only Solomon’s comes over as unequivocally positive,
with its intoxicatingly poetic breath of fresh air. The psalmist is clearly under
intense persecution, Paul is battling against many Corinthians’ non‐belief in
the resurrection of the dead, and Luke relates how the eleven (male) disciples
cravenly refused to believe the testimony of the women who had
encountered the empty tomb and the angel with their own eyes; which all
immediately called to my mind Jesus’s desert temptations, for it is highly
significant that before confronting Satan He entered into a prolonged fast. A
crucial effect of fasting ‐ a Lenten discipline often belittled but in essence a
response to Jesus’s “Come aside and rest awhile” and the psalmist’s “Be still
and know that I am God” ‐ is that it becomes easier to dispose of unspiritual
inner clutter, including accumulated doubts sown by Satan in many subtle
variations on his beguiling “Yea, hath God said...?” temptation in the Creation
story. So at a time when our faith is coming under subtle attack from many
sides, let us put all non‐essentials aside, let the dust settle, banish doubts, and
fix our gaze afresh on the unwavering Light ahead, drawing us onwards day by
day.
Venez à l'écart dans un lieu désert, et reposez‐vous un peu (Jésus, Marc 6:31).
Arrêtez, et sachez que je suis Dieu (Psaume 46:10‐11)
Simon Robbins
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