The late-President John F. Kennedy had a
wonderful way of turning a phrase that made something commonplace stand out.
Remember his spirited statement, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask
what you can do for your country!”
Jesus also turned a phrase to set apart
his lesson - “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I
have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”
That fulfillment turned the religious
world upside-down, or should I say, rightside-up? His claim to fulfill the law
rather than set it aside helps us on Father’s day understand how Jesus came not
to do away with “old time religion” or “old time fatherhood,” but to do away
with the way we do “old time religion” and “old time fatherhood.”
Jesus
speaks as one with authority
Do you remember earlier this year, in
January, we saw Jesus at the beginning of his ministry in the Gospel according
to St. Mark, 1:21-22, “And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath
he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”
The scribes we
...approximately 965 words remaining. You are not logged in. Please see options at the top of this page to view complete sermon.
