May 28, 2008

Ransomed from Futility

I've always loved the part of the first letter of Peter that comes around in the lectionary today:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.

We all suffer with "futile conduct," whether we call it sin, maladaptive behavior, addiction, or what have you. It's all the misguided stuff we keep doing (insanely) because we believe (wrongly--and against repeated evidence!) that it will bring us happiness or peace.

Our spiritual task is to realize, to make real in our own daily lives, our deliverance from such things through the power of Christ's Passion and Resurrection.

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