Daily Devotional
Hands, Tears, and Faith
The Lord who calls His servant from the womb also gathers a people to obey with their hands, their rest, their gifts, and their repentance. In the wilderness Israel is not asked for admiration but for work: a sabbath to keep, offerings to bring, and a sanctuary to build. Clement notes the craftsman "filled... with the divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge" for holy labor. Thus even skill of hand is not common when offered to God; it becomes obedience.
Isaiah joins this to a larger mercy. The servant of the Lord is not raised up for Israel alone but as a light to the nations. Therefore in the Gospel a centurion believes, a widow’s dead son is restored, and a sinful woman draws near. Christ does not despise the outsider, the mourner, or the penitent. He seeks faith that humbles itself, love that acts, and repentance that does not hide. The woman did not defend her past; she came with tears, with ointment, and with public lowliness. As Tatian writes, "Luke 7:37 And there was in that city a woman that was a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting in the house of that Pharisee, she took a box of sweet ointment." She brought what she had, and she brought herself.
So let no one separate trust in Christ from the works that befit repentance. The Lord who says He will not forget His people also weighs proud words, cold hospitality, and loveless religion. Let us keep the Lord’s day in holiness, offer our strength to His service, and approach Him with the humility that receives mercy.
“and I have filled him with the divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to devise and to execute in all manner of work, to work gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and in working stone work, and in the art of working wood, and even to all works.”
— Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies)
“Luke 7:37 And there was in that city a woman that was a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting in the house of that Pharisee, she took a box of sweet ointment”
— Tatian, The Diatessaron
For Reflection & Discussion
What work of your hands, skill, or goods will you deliberately offer this week for the church, the poor, or the sick, rather than keeping it for yourself?
How will you keep a holy day of rest before the Lord this week in a concrete way: ceasing needless labor, joining the assembly, and giving time to prayer and almsgiving?
What sin must you confess plainly and forsake, and what act of repentance will you do today to show the humility of the woman who came to Christ?
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