The Word of God
Then Jesus called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
Mark 7:14-15
Some thoughts on today's scripture
ActiveDefault- Jesus seems ready to bless what is in the world, affirming the goodness of God's creation. I pray that I may recognise how God is ready to bless me through all that is around me.
- I pray not to be distracted – not to be led into temptation – by what disturbs me. I ask that I might grow in compassion and service, as Jesus did.
Some thoughts on today's scripture
ActiveDefault- This was revolutionary stuff. The Maccabees had suffered torture and death rather than eat the flesh of pigs. St Peter needed a vision (you remember the sheet holding all sorts of unclean reptiles and mammals) to persuade him to associate with gentiles. Jesus was wiping out at one stroke the laws for which Jews had suffered and died. He pushes us to look inside. What can defile a person? The heart's evil intentions: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit and so on. Remember Belloc? I said to Heart, /How goes it?/ Heart replied: /Right as a Ribstone Pippin!/ but it lied.
Some thoughts on today's scripture
ActiveDefault- This was revolutionary stuff. The Maccabees had suffered torture and death rather than eat the flesh of pigs. St Peter needed a vision (you remember the sheet holding all sorts of unclean reptiles and mammals) to persuade him to associate with gentiles. Jesus was wiping out at one stroke the laws for which Jews had suffered and died. He pushes us to look inside. What can defile a person? The heart's evil intentions: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit and so on. Remember Belloc? I said to Heart, /How goes it?/ Heart replied: /Right as a Ribstone Pippin!/ but it lied.