Sometimes people are appointed as leaders, and then turn out not to be good at it. We see this over and over in the Scriptures. One example is that of Samuel's sons, Joel and Abijah. Samuel was a good judge and prophet for Israel. When he got up in years, he appointed his two sons to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately they accepted bribes and perverted justice (1 Samuel 8:1-3). So the Israelites, because they wanted to be like the other nations around them, asked Samuel for a king. Knowing that the Lord alone was King of Israel, Samuel objected. But God told him even though they were rejecting God as their King to go ahead and appoint a king for Israel. So Samuel warned the people about what a human king would do to them: draft their sons into armies and wage endless wars, conscript them to make weapons of war and to tend his fields; take their daughters to work for him; tax their fields and vineyards until eventually they all became slaves to the king and the kingdom (1 Samuel 8:10-18). And so it came to be that Israel experienced a succession of human kings who did just what God had said. For reflection: Who is king in my life? Has anyone or anything enslaved me? Let us pray. Father, I repent of not putting you first in my life. I declare today that you are my king and you are above all else in my life. I want to weed out all the other things I have allowed to crowd you off the throne. I repent of and reject all addictions in my life, everything that separates me from you. Please show me how to change my life.
0 Comments
As long as we are in 1 Timothy, let's look at one of Paul's more controversial instructions: "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent" (1 Timothy 2:11-12). In Paul's day and in the Jewish faith women were not allowed to study at all. Only men studied (and argued over) the Torah. So for Paul to say that women should learn was extraordinary. The women, naturally, would have been learning from men because no women at that time would have been qualified to teach. And, after all, a good portion of this letter is concerned with false teachers who were men. Would Paul have allowed women to teach had he lived longer? I don't know, but I think it is a possibility. Paul goes to some lengths in his letters to send greetings to women, to mention churches that meet in women's houses, and so forth. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul praises Timothy's grandmother and mother, who were believers. So it has never seemed to me that Paul hated women or disrespected them. For a man of his day, he seems to hold women in high regard. For reflection: Is there anyone whom I consider less than me? beneath me? Have I relegated anyone to a second class status? How do I treat people with learning disabilities? Let us pray. Father, you created all people in your image and likeness. In you we have our inherent dignity. As your children, we are worthy of respect. Thank you for your gift of life. Continuing with some of Paul's instructions about good conduct and how to pray, Paul addresses women's clothing. Evidently this was an issue. Women were to "dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God" (1 Timothy 2:9-10). Recently I read an article in the newspaper in which women claimed that "being modest" in the Bible didn't include dressing modestly. They must have forgotten Paul's words to Timothy. But today we don't look askance at women who braid their hair or wear jewelry. The type of clothing women wear today can be another matter altogether though. Still I think the emphasis belongs on the good deeds that Paul mentions. If both men and women looked to clothe themselves in good deeds, how different the world would be. For reflection: What good deeds can I do in the next day? the next week? Let us pray. Jesus, you saw all the people around you and their needs. You ignored and rejected no one. Help me to see the people around me and to respond to their needs. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
July 2021
Categories
All
|