Jeremiah 6:9-15
Psalms 34, 93, 95, 96
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Mark 5:1-20
Corinthians 6 (12-20)
"I am not going to let anything make me its slave."
Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians to
deal with problems of faith and morality that had arisen in the church at
Corinth. Corinth was a Greek city, the
capital of the Roman province of Achaia and home to a variety of
religions. A city much like the Houston
of today, cosmopolitan, prosperous, diverse, and a variety of beliefs. Our problems are also much the same, matters
of conscience.
This letter has some of my favorite passages of
Paul's writings and some of my least favorites.
In chapter 6 the line "I am not going to let anything make me its
slave" is as thought provoking today as it was in Paul's time. We are all guilty of being slaves to
something in this day of speed and technology; our cars, cell phones,
computers, TV etc. Most of us could not
go forty days without our electronic gadgets.
We would argue that we need these to meet our responsibilities, to get
to work, pay our bills, keep in touch with our families and so on. It is hard for us to sacrifice and we find
reasons why we cannot.
This Lenten season let us remember the sacrifice
Jesus made for us and spend less time with technology and more time with the
good news.
Susan Montgomery