19 Jul “the righteous will shine like the sun” – 7/18/2020
Jesus speaks to us in language appropriate to His theme. In other words, we read Him speaking about things we cannot know using symbolic or representational words. As an example, today’s gospel is Matthew 13:24-30. Hear Him say: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to…” Do you see? He uses analogies of the things we do understand to speak of things we can only imagine.
On the other hand, when He wants to express to us a fact, he uses factual language: “This is my body… this is my blood.” We need to read Him closely to determine analogy or fact as He teaches us. We take that same discernment into reading all scripture, don’t we? Revelation is not an easy read, and because of the kind of literature it is, we must read closely to understand symbol and fact in the book.
Paul, writing to the Romans today (Romans 8:18-27), speaks of things beyond our immediate comprehension but explains them in terms we readily understand: creation groans because of sin and the Fall in the garden. We don’t hear those groans but we look around and see the world in turmoil, and we imagine the groans of what had been, in God’s words, good, very good, despoiled by human sin, death, and the devil.
In all that, though, Jesus assures us: “ …the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” Pretty good news, isn’t it? May He bless your worship today!
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