Thoughts for the Day

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you?

Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today, as I worked in the garden, clearing away weeds, I had another image of the way something we don't want can spread. I was pleased to see that the 'cleavers' (long trailing green stems that stick to you) had almost disappeared. I had worked hard to stop them strangling other plants in the Spring. But I hadn't removed the 'wood avens' (yellow flowers with fuzzy seed heads that stick to clothing - see picture) and as I pulled them up the seed heads opened to shed bright green seeds everywhere. Next Spring the paths and borders will be smothered in them! For those thinking about birds, well we have no grass just swathes of perennial flowers with seeds for the birds.

As we see, Paul is scathing to the Corinthians about allowing a man was has seriously sinned to stay in their midst. To be fair in a city where sexual immorality was the norm, no-one would have thought anything of living with what was probably his stepmother. It was going to be difficult to wean the christians in this city away from such actions, but Paul knew it had to be eradicated. He uses the idea of 'leaven' - a small piece of the previous day's dough that had started to ferment, which would act as a raising agent for the new bread. Paul sees the sin of this man as infecting the whole congregation, just as leaven can change the whole dough. For Paul the old yeast was corrupt, so he reminds his readers that they have been cleared of the sin because of Christ's offering of his life for them, and should remove all this is unworthy of Him.

Like our examples above we too must not allow sin to corrupt us. It must be rooted out before it spreads - admitted to God, and forgiven.

Father-God,
we come to You at this moment,
aware of our perpetual sin,
but knowing that we have not rooted it all out.
Take us as we are and make us clean,
so that we may be worthy of Your love -
a love so great that Your Son died for us.
We ask for forgiveness this day.
Amen.