Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
““Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, February 16, 2021
by Daniel D. Maurer, Clergy Stuff
I think that today’s reading, much like the bizarre image of pain and stress above, strikes us as foreign. I mean, I’m not even sure where Chorazin is on a map, much less ever having heard it (other in this context).
The thing to remember is that there will always be groups of people, whether they reside in one basic area or city, as back in Jesus’ time, or specific groups like Republicans or Democrats, who bear the brunt of proclamations of woe against them. Now, these charges we bring might be of some truth. However, it’s important to realize that Jesus spoke these woes knowing that, later, they were always done with the hope that real changes might come to pass. Jesus always wanted to bring people together, and sometimes that requires a stiff hand.
What do you think? How does today’s reading speak (or not speak) to you?
