Thursday, January 30, 2014

Thursday, January 30, 2014

A Sign of the Covenant:

Genesis 16:15-17;14

This passage is about the beginning of a now ancient Hebrew practice of circumcising all the male children of a house, those born, those purchased, free born and slave: this was to be a sign of a bond between God and the Hebrew people. This was made known to elderly Abram by God, and to signify this, Abram became known as Abraham .

Today, this practice for many of us may well seem to be foreign, paternalistic, and a far cry from the nature of the relationship you and I may have spiritually with a loving, caring God, One from whom we draw our strength, our inspiration and a sense of wholeness. And if perchance you are a seeker , the good news is that in Jesus, we can find that sense of wholeness which makes no demands on whether we are circumsized or not, or what gender we may be, Circumcision may well have been an important practice for some of God's people in ancient times , and is still for some, but it is not a necessary outward sign. If we can look around and find common ground with our brothers and sisters whoever they be , of whatever faith tradition or even not , and, if there be a spirit of good will and an acknowledgement that God by whatever name, sustains and upholds us in love to love one another and the cosmos of which we are part of, then for those of us who find company in and with Christ, we can rejoice and take quiet comfort that the pilgrim paths we travel are sound & good. Good news! 

- Ken Cardwell