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Monday 30 October 2017

"Stumbling... Means Riches for the World."

"In this time of prayer and meditation, may I be grounded in the ground of all being."


Romans 11:7-12
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8as it is written,
‘God gave them a sluggish spirit,
   eyes that would not see
   and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.’
9And David says,
‘Let their table become a snare and a trap,
   a stumbling-block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
   and keep their backs for ever bent.’ 11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!


1) "...sluggish spirit;" "...down to this very day;" "...By no means;"  "...through their stumbling salvation has come;" "...if their stumbling means riches... how much more will their full inclusion mean!"


2) I still giggle at the sight of the expression, "By no means!"   Clearly Paul is still working the same argument he's been working the last several chapters.... it is an argument towards "full inclusion."  I love the expression "sluggish spirit."  I feel so familiar with "sluggish spirits."  In my own self, and in the communities I've served.  I encounter a great deal of sluggishness.  "But we've always done it this way." "We did that before." "We have no idea how to do it differently."  It brings to mind, hearing people complain about there not being anywhere to eat in downtown Port Coquitlam.  Within a short walking distance there are actually about 30 dining establishments: four or five pizza, twoi Donaire, Greek, three or four sushi, Chinese, Pho, Mongolian, Thai, two or three grills, A&W, Subway, DQ, three coffee shops, a greasy spoon, to name only a few.  What people mean is, "The places we used to like to eat have all closed or moved from downtown and we don't want to try anything new."  I love living in the downtown area because there are so many different dining options!  It's a world of opportunity if I'm not sluggish about trying something different, something I might not like, but something that I might like more than ever!


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To consider my own sluggishness.


"Holy One, when we stumble and fall, may this mean riches for all your children."


Breathprayer: "Stumbling... means riches for the world."



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