Parable and Conscience Meditation April 10

Glorious Cross  April 10

Although the certainty of death makes us aware of the limits of our earthly existence . . . the resurrection of Christ is for us our guarantee of enduring hope (Const. 2.3).

If the Cross is a scandal to the world, so is the Resurrection.  The Resurrection of Jesus witnesses to his victory over the forces of evil.  But where is this victory found?  Sin has not disappeared in the history of the world and human suffering still happens.  Even in the community of believers there are opposing realities!  So, the Resurrection points to what victory?  Jesus anticipated this reaction and attempted to respond with a parable about the wheat and the weeds (Mt. 13:24-30).  A man sowed good seed in his field.  Someone came along and sewed weeds.  Seeing the wheat and the weeds together, the farmhands of the owner suggested uprooting the weeds.  But the owner would not do it to avoid pulling up the wheat at the same time.  He decided to wait until harvest time.  This parable revealed the Christian eschatology that contradicted the expectations of the Jews and even the hopes of Christians.  The victory of Jesus is already won, but not yet fully realized.  There is a “meantime” when conquering good and backsliding evil must live together.  The good is certainly assured in the long run, but it must live with temporary setbacks until the return of Jesus.  For the shortsighted and the impatient, this is a scandal.

The termite can do nothing to a pebble except lick it.