Understanding the Word

By Br. John R. Barker, OFM

The stories of Elisha are filled with examples of God saving people  in distress. Through the young prophet God purifies water for one  city; fills all the empty vessels of a poor widow with oil, saving her  from creditors; cures a stew that has been poisoned; heals a foreigner  of leprosy. Gratitude to the prophet was thus really gratitude to God.  In the reading we see also the prophet’s gratitude, expressed through  the promise of a child for an elderly couple. The woman does indeed  have a son (who will fall ill, die, and be raised by the prophet), once  again showing that the God of Israel is a God a life. 

Paul has been arguing that the death of Christ brought an end  to the reign of sin and death. How does this work? When one is in  bondage to someone, Paul says, that bondage naturally ends when  we die (6:7). In the same way, if we die with Christ in baptism we  are freed from bondage to sin. We are also raised with him and are  freed from the power of sin and death. Paul’s larger point here is  ethical: because Christians have died to sin, and are no longer under  its power, they must stop acting as if they were. They must start  living for God, not continuing to serve sin. 

Jesus warns his disciples that the gospel will not be received in all  quarters and that he will prove, both during and after his earthly life,  to be a cause of division. His followers should know that being his  disciple will be the hardest thing they have ever had to do, requiring  more of them than they imagine: losing family, even their lives.  They will have to “take up their crosses,” the instrument of their  deaths. Yet this death will lead to life—a promise only those who  have faith in Jesus can believe. Even those who receive the one who  proclaims the gospel will gain their reward. Both those who sacrifice  for Jesus and those who receive them are assured that their efforts  will redound to them in the end.

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