Daily Office

Proper 6, Friday: Blasphemy

Today's Readings:

• Psalm 88
• 1 Samuel 3:1-21
• Acts 2:37-47
• Luke 21:5-19

Samuel is called, but mistakes the voice of the Lord for Eli. When Eli percieves that the Lord is calling Samuel, he instructs Samuel to respond to the Lord. After that, the Lord comes to Samuel and tells him that Eli's family will fall because of the blasphemy of his sons. Eli's response to this is "It is the Lord,let him do what seems good to him."
Blasphemy against God is the unforgivable sin, and Eli's sons illustrate part of what that blasphemy looks like. Later on, Jesus will teach us that the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In the Trinity, there is no difference between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They are names for three ways in which we live in God as the ground of all being. The book of Samuel and the Gospels were written before the Trinity was codified, but the trinity is hinted at in Paul's epistles. We've read them recently. Did Jesus think of the Trinity as we do today? I don't think so. I still think that Jesus didn't believe that he was God. The Messiah? Quite possibly. The Messiah that the Jews were expecting? Not really. So what did Jesus mean about sins against the holy spirit? Was it the moment of pentecost? Was it a moment of revelation that everyone should get at some point in their lives? Was the Holy Spirit the idea that God sustained his followers who had given up so much? I'm sure the answer will come up eventually. I'm not surprised by the fact that earlier questions are answered in later readings. It's not like each of these sets of readings is a complete lesson, connected, and related. When reading the Bible it is important to take on a little bit each day. After three weeks, I'm finding the larger themes in the Bible. I'm looking forward to what the rest of the year will bring.

posted by Josh English @ 11:56 AM