Jesus -- James Tissot |
St Paul -- Jan van Lieven |
This is true, but not as deflationary as we might think. Christians believe that human beings have, so to speak, a triple nature. While we are deeply flawed, we are also redeemed, and consequently have the capacity to set out on a trajectory of moral growth and development. The Christian path is one that takes us from an earthly to a heavenly orientation. This is the central theme of the Epistle for this Sunday. "It is not the spiritual that is first", Paul tells the Christians at Corinth, "but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven".
It follows that Christian lives have to be lived out in a spirit of transition, acknowledging both our 'feet of clay' and our fittedness for life in heavenly places. The Psalm for this Sunday beautifully captures the appropriate attitude of faithful acceptance that should accompany this acknowledgement. "Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret--it leads only to evil".
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