<p><em>Breath of the Spirit is our electronic spiritual and liturgical resource for our members and potential members. Nothing can replace your chapter or other faith community but we hope you will find further support here for integrating your spirituality with your sexuality and all the strands of your life.&nbsp;</em><em><a href=https://www.dignityusa.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe>Get Breath of the Spirit scripture reflections in your inbox every week</a>.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>June 13 2021: The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time</strong></p><p>Ezekiel 17:22-24<br>Psalm 92:2-3 13-14 15-16<br>2 Corinthians 5:6-10<br>Mark 4:26-34</p><p><strong>A Reflection by John Falcone</strong></p><p>In this weeks second reading Paul gives us one of the most famous lines in the New Testament: We walk by faith not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).</p><p>What does it mean to walk by faith? At first glance the rest of the passage does not give us much help figuring that out. The reading appears somewhat confusing if not flat-out bizarre. First Paul says that he is filled with confidence: he would rather live with Jesus even if it means leaving his present body behind. Then Paul insists that we must all be judged in the end before Christ. Does walking by faith simply mean passing safely through Final Judgment and enjoying heaven in the company of Jesus?</p><p>If we put Pauls walking by faith in its broader context it becomes easier to understand and harder to avoid Pauls challenge to our status-quo. This passage is part of a longer argument in which Paul defends his version of the Gospel against the so-called super-apostles who are preaching in Corinth (2 Cor 11:6). The super-apostles dazzle believers with theological arguments. They also emphasize the importance of religious distinctiveness. For them following Jesus means grounding believers in Jewish traditions. Paul insists on a different message: Christ crucified a stumbling block for power-politicians and naiveta for the over-sophisticated but for those who are being reshaped by Gods message the power and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:18-31).</p><p>Paul does not long to die and go to heaven; he longs for his body and ours to be reshaped at long last into living embodiments of Gods just and egalitarian Reign here on earth. Nor does Paul limit this radical reshaping to only those who would practice the Jewish traditions. Instead Paul opens the door of salvation wide to any who would trust in a crucified and risen Jesus.</p><p>In light of this longer argument and of Pauls training in the Pharisaic tradition (see Phil 3:5) Pauls line about walking by faith starts to make more sense. In Hebrew&nbsp;<em>halak</em> to walk plays a role in two key theological contexts. First&nbsp;<em>halakah</em>&nbsp;is the way to walk: the rules for business work rest diet and so on that all good Jews must follow.&nbsp;<em>Halakah</em>&nbsp;is the life-way of the commandments so that we can do justice love mercy and walk with God. Second the commands <em>Lek-leka!</em> are Gods first words to Abraham: Walk now go forth! From your country and your kindred and your parents&nbsp; house to the land that I will show you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen 12:1-3). As a well-trained Pharisee Paul knew both the Jewish legal traditions and these sacred Hebrew texts. (The Pharisees believed that holiness and Biblical learning belonged to all of the faithful not just to the priests.) For Paul walking by faith is a whole way of living a worldview that shapes every part of our economic personal and political lives. Walking by faith is also an act of great courage a decision to set out with a clear purpose but without a clear destination. Paul invites us to be confident in the promise of a blessing; but all we can bank on is Gods Spirit to show us the way.</p><p>The Scriptures do offer an idea of what life will look like in the land where God finally leads us. In this weeks first reading and Gospel we hear that Gods Reign will look like a shady grove filled with fruit and broad branches where every bird will have a safe space to nest (Ezekiel 17:23; Mark 4:32). The Reign of God is a place of hospitality a safe place to build families to grow thrive and rest. All kinds of people and creatures will live there; more queer and less queer; people of all genders races and cultures; owners workers and non-productive people alike all sharing our resources together. The Scriptures depict Gods Reign as very different from our present practices of exploitation and resource extraction. In Gods Reign&nbsp;<em>everyone&nbsp;</em>gets to live and to thrive not only because thats what God calls us to but also because things will&nbsp;<em>have</em>&nbsp;to be different. In this time of Covid and Black Lives Matter in this time of economic turmoil and ecological crisis we have come to understand that we truly are interconnected. What hurts some of us ends up hurting all of us. Without justice without sustainability there can be no lasting peace.</p><p>We dont have a map that tells us how to get there. All we know is that we will be deeply surprised as the journey unfolds. God does a new thing! Do you not perceive it? (Is 43:19). Like the disciples in Marks Gospel Jesus keeps trying to let us in on the Messianic secret; its just that we would rather not hear or understand. The secret is simple but hard to accept: there can be no resurrection without suffering and dying. The transition will be very difficult. There can be no sustainable future without radical change in the present radical changes in our world and in us.</p><p>In Jesus parables the decisions are always up to us. The crop is ripening; the sickle is out (Mark 4:29). Will we allow God to lead us towards a new way of life? Or to phrase the question as Paul does: Are we prepared to walk by faith and not by sight?</p><p>__</p>[caption align=left]<img src='https://www.dignityusa.org/sites/default/files/falcone.png'>[/caption]<p></p><p></p><p><a style=background-color: transparent; href=https://www.dignityusa.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe><br></a><em><strong>John P. Falcon</strong>e is a practical theologian religious educator and a practitioner of Theatre of the Oppressed (PhD Boston College). He has been a Dignity member for more than 20 years with close links to Dignity NY where he met his husband Matias Wibowo in 2005. He is currently Theologian-in-Residence at St. Matthews Bethnal Green (Church of England) in Londons East End.&nbsp;<a href=https://www.dignityusa.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe>Get Breath of the Spirit scripture reflections in your inbox every week.</a></em></p>