Fasting Day 34 of 40 | Sixth Saturday of Lent
“For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.” Nehemiah 9:21
In today’s Scripture, we hear the Levites call the people to repentance by reminding them of God’s faithfulness. In similar fashion, in his letter “To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem,” Jerome writes with candor.
“You say you are a Christian; lay aside the weapons of the heathen. It is for them to learn from you to confess the resurrection of the dead, not for you to learn from them to deny it. Or if you belong to the enemy’s camp, show yourself openly as an adversary, that you may share the wounds we inflict on the heathen. I will allow you your jest about the necessity of nursemaids to stop the infants from crying; of the decrepit old men, who, you fear, would be shriveled with winter’s cold. I will admit also that the barbers have learnt their craft for nothing, for do we not know that the people of Israel for forty years experienced no growth of either nails or hair; and, still more, their clothes were not worn out, nor did their shoes wax old?”
Jerome of Stridon (c. 342-420) in “To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem,” in The Principal Works of St. Jerome, ed. by Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: CCEL), p. 947.
Imagine this written to you in modern language: If you are a Christian, act like one. Christians should influence others and not the reverse. Pick a side. Hear sarcasm about silly objections. As God looked after Israel He will look after and sustain you. Confess the resurrection in life after Lent.
God, I chose the side of Jesus and to confess the resurrection. Amen.
If you were charged with following Christ, would the evidence convict you?