A Devouring Fire, a Jealous God?--May 26, 2015

We are perplexed, O God--are you good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you,

or are you a devouring fire, a jealous God?

Are your answers "Yes" and "No"?

I cannot believe you are jealous

like a jilted suitor--bitter, green-eyed,

ready to devour with fire unless you

have our undivided love.

But jealous like a shepherd who

so wants to find the one sheep lost

from the flock as to leave the ninety-nine

and go in search for the wayward one--jealous

for the welfare of each of us?  Yes, O yes indeed!

And in Christ every one of your promises is a "Yes."

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 123; 146; 30; 86

Deut. 4:15-24

2 Cor. 1:12-22

Luke 15:1-10

Selected Verses

Ps. 86:5

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
          abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. 

Deut. 4:24

For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

2 Cor. 1:19-20a

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not "Yes and No"; but in him it is always "Yes."  For in him every one of God's promises is a "Yes."

Luke 15:3-4

So [Jesus] told [those who grumbled that he welcomed sinners] this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?  …"