BEST TO STAY AS YOU ARE

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Wednesday 10 September 2014.

BEST TO STAY AS YOU ARE

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “Well then, I believe that in these present times of stress this is right; that it is good for one to stay as they are. If you are tied to a wife do not look for freedom; if you are free of a wife, then don’t look for one.” (I Cor 7:25-31)

Reflection. What are we to make of this “gender insensitive” and seemingly outrageous sentiment of Paul? This section of his letter centres round the theme, “our time is growing short.” Paul and the first three evangelists and Jesus himself appear to have expected the final gathering of God’s people and the coming of “the Son of Man” to happen soon. So there was an urgency to prepare. There was no time for getting married or whatever. It was like a hurricane warning today in the Philippines or the Caribbean. Were they wrong? Well, certainly they got their time frame wrong. We are two thousand years down the line. But they were telling us the times were urgent. And in this sense they were far from wrong. The tension between the demands of the kingdom of God, the reign of God, and the head in the sand way human affairs are often conducted is as sharp as ever.

   

Prayer. Lord Jesus, help us top have a sense of urgency in our daily tasks. We have indeed little time and it will all be over soon. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ