lost in the translation
"If the miracles worked in your midst had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have reformed in sackcloth and ashes." —Luke 10:13
Jesus chastised some towns where He did many miracles. He expected these miracles to be translated into repentance (Lk 10:13). We likewise need to repent. We have sinned repeatedly but are hardly aware of it. We may not even feel very sorry. We are "hard and impenitent" (Rm 2:5). Hopefully, we will come to our senses when Jesus heals us. We will feel ashamed of rebelling against and rejecting Jesus, Who was wounded that we may be healed (1 Pt 2:24).
When we're healed, we will see the incongruity between His love and our sin. Healing will at first make us happy, but later we will be "filled with a sorrow" that comes from God (2 Cor 7:9). This sadness will lead to repentance (2 Cor 7:9). "Indeed, sorrow for God's sake produces a repentance without regrets, leading to salvation" (2 Cor 7:10). "Just look at the fruit of this sorrow which stems from God. What a measure of holy zeal it has brought you" (2 Cor 7:11).
"Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame" (Bar 1:15). We "have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed Him" (Bar 1:17-18). Lord, have mercy one more time.
Prayer: "Heal me, Lord, that I may be healed; save me, that I may be saved, for it is You Whom I praise" (Jer 17:14).
Promise: "He who hears you, hears Me. He who rejects you, rejects Me. And he who rejects Me, rejects Him Who sent Me." —Lk 10:16
Praise: Art read a One Bread, One Body teaching to a hospitalized friend who had overdosed. Though the friend was not a believer, the teaching so touched him that he called another friend, told him about the teaching, and then called Art the next day to request that he read him the next day's teaching.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 3, 2007
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