Some reflections on Paul:

Paganism, or the Law, condemned weakness and praised strength.

The False Christ of Sin praises weakness and condemns strength.

The True Christ makes weak things strong.

The old virtue takes our nature as a given and commands us to do the best we can with it.

The vice tells us to deny our awareness that we are broken and pretend that our crookedness is straight.

The new virtue makes us something better than we are.

The stern  men of old say Know Your Place

The mocking devil says You are OK Just the Way You Are

Our Christ says Become as Gods and Angels

Once a King set out to build a cathedral.  A famous old architect oversaw the construction of a grand edifice of arches and domes in a sound baroque style.  In a master stroke, the architect found a source of very light stone that would weather well for the main construction, but a nearly black stone with a different texture for accents and structural elements.  Even when the building was going up, any one could see how spectacular and lovely the final result would be.

The King and the architect consulted together and employed the most skilled craftsmen to build.

When the work was nearly finished, the king and the architect were taking a tour and noticed one lone gargoyle sticking out sideways from the dome, in a pink stone.

(more…)