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Thursday 10 August 2017

"Debtor... to the Foolish."

I ask for the grace of finding peace with my own shortcomings and the shortcomings of those around me.


Romans 1:13-15
13I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish 15 hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.


1) "...have been prevented;" "...I am a debtor;" "...to the wise and the foolish;" "eagerness to proclaim the gospel;" "...may reap some harvest;" I am a debtor to ...the wise and to the foolish;" 


2) Paul is receiving benefit from his "service," in particular, to the foolish... "both to the wise and to the foolish."  We have an amazing community of wise people.  But we also have an astonishing number of fools.  People who are giving their best, but that best is below the mean, or at least my expectations.  And I know that I'm often the one serving below my own expectations.  I'd rather think of "the wise" and "the foolish" as being parts of each of us, perhaps representing the true self and the false self, or the informed self and the ignorant self.  But I don't.  I tend to let people slip into "types:" the wise and the foolish.  What benefit do we reap from the foolish?  Well... certainly a constant reminder that I'm not the person I wish I was.  And yes, I can be grateful for that reminder.  It could be less constant.


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To keep a place for the foolish, whether we appreciate what they bring or not, they are there and they too need a place, and whether "the foolish" is what is in us, what we see in another person, or other people in their totality.   


"Holy One, bring us to the harvest, let us bet debtors to one another in joy rather than in strife."


Breathprayer: "I am a debtor... to the foolish."

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