"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 | |||
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Full | |||
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"No, thank you, we're full," was our reply to the
standard question about dessert from our waiter. My daughter and I had
just enjoyed a fantastic Greek meal in Toronto, where she will be going
to graduate school this fall. This past week we discovered that this
large Canadian city has a huge Greek population and a slew of eating
establishments offering some of our favorite food. To say the least, we
indulged and ended up "full" more than once. My mother taught me that to say one is "full" is not an expression for polite company. It's fine around the family table, but with company or out at a restaurant, one is "satisfied" or "content," rather than "full." Sorry, Mom, but I've broken that rule more than once, and maybe Jesus did too. In the Gospel for this coming Sunday, Matthew 14:13-21, "full" is exactly the term used of the crowd in verse 20. Yes, our English translations typically use "satisfied" to express the Greek word chortazo, but the root of the verb is the noun for "grass" and the image behind the verb is of livestock eating until stuffed with hay. The same word is used in Matthew 5:6 when Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst after righteousness with the promise of being filled. The same blessing is given toward simple physical hunger in Luke 6:21. For right now, I'll simply wonder how often we let ourselves be made full by what Jesus gives us. And how often do we consider how we may join as disciples in helping Him fulfill His promise to fill those who are hungry, both spiritually and physically? It seems that it's only in answering those questions that we will find real satisfaction. | |||
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Profile |
I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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