Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money!’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, April 30, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Was this maybe a little harsh? I mean, Simon the magician clearly did not understand what Jesus was all about. He was used to getting attention for doing tricks, so when Philip showed up and started doing “signs and wonders,” which were miracles from Jesus rather than tricks, he understandably wanted to know how it was done. And he was willing to pay for the secret. I feel like it was ignorance, more than arrogance, at play here.
That being said, I think most of us would love to be able to purchase the strong faith and peace of mind that comes from navigating adversity with God’s help. Pain is not the only source of spiritual growth, but it is a powerful one, and one that I think almost all of us can relate to. How great it would be to have the benefits of such pain without the actual pain. If it could be purchased, people would absolutely buy it. In fact, some try—paying money to try to avoid pain of all kinds, or to develop faith or resilience through self-help books, celebrity speakers, and other “get-healthy-quick” schemes. But we can’t “obtain God’s gift with money.” You can’t completely avoid pain, and the only way out of pain is through it. This is what Simon the magician—and so many others—just don’t get.
When have I tried to avoid pain? What was the result?
