incurvatus in se

October 14, 2016

incurvatus in se

Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”

John  21:21

The conversation between Jesus and Peter ended with Jesus telling Peter “by what kind of death he would glorify God” (John 21:19). Peter’s response reveals the brokenness of our human nature: “Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” (John 21:21). Jesus had just helped Peter deal with his broken past, and reaffirmed that Peter was still the leader of the disciples, yet Peter’s thoughts immediately turned inward as he sought to compare his standing with Jesus with that of the beloved disciple, John. This is what St. Augustine meant when he taught how original sin is manifested in our lives. Augustine said we are incurvatus in se (curved in on ourselves.)

This passage also reveals how our individual brokenness can corrupt our communities: “So the rumor spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn’t die” (John 21:23a). Earlier I noted that John appeared to end his Gospel at Chapter 20, and that Chapter 21 seems like an epilogue. Perhaps John felt as though he needed to add the very personal and intimate conversation on the beach between Jesus and Peter in order to quiet this rumor.

If for no other reason, John’s ending of his Gospel emphasizes the truth the Apostle Paul asserted, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Yes, and Christ arose from the grave while we were still sinners. Yes, and Christ ascended to heaven while we were yet sinners. Even so, let us rejoice in the complete faithfulness of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior: “Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us” (Romans 8:34).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.