When We Must Stand Before Authority--March 2, 2018

[From March 21, 2014 archive]

Jesus, we tend to be afraid when we must stand before authority;

and the more powerful the authority, the greater our fear.

But you do not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted;

you do not hide your face--you hear us when we cry.

If a loving wife and husband each to the other yield authority over

their own bodies, how much more should we yield to you?

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 22; 148; 105; 130

Gen. 43:1-15

1 Cor. 7:1-9

Mark 4:35-41

Selected Verses

Ps. 22:24

For he did not despise or abhor
          the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
          but heard when I cried to him.

Gen. 43:15b

Then [Israel's sons] went on their way down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

1 Cor. 7:4

For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Mark 4:41

And [Jesus' disciples] were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"