God’s Creative Intent. Thus, Jesus moves the dialogue to deeper question and asks about what God intended in the creation: “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”
Jesus has posed a question to the Pharisees that puts before them a choice between preserving the Law as they understood it or discerning and doing God’s will. The former is a legislation that is based upon fallen human history. But is there something that precedes that history that will reveal God’s intent? Jesus is also appealing to the Torah in his reference to the creation account in Genesis. Many scholars have offered that the Law given to Moses was part of a covenant with the people of Israel for a specific time in history. That covenant was broken and “subsumed” into the larger Davidic covenant. But the covenant in Genesis is timeless and is revealed in Creation. Paul seems to make the similar argument that the Mosaic law was but an ‘inset’ into God’s earlier purpose and covenant of grace, which is eternal (Gal. 3:17). Continue reading
In the 11 years I have lived in downtown Tampa, the change has been constant and continuous. When I moved into the friary, there was no Curtis Hixon Park as we know it today. The “Elements” had not been built and “Skypoint” was mostly dark at night. The “Floridan” was still closed, as was the 1905 Federal Courthouse on Florida Avenue. And then slowly, growth and expansion started. The courthouse became a boutique hotel and restaurant. The Floridan opened and expanded as did the Elements. Buildings started to rise in Channelside. There are blocks of downtown being developed that I can’t remember what used to be there. And that is just on this side of the river. Remember The Tampa Tribune building? Remember the parking lot behind Oxford Exchange? Both will be finished residential complexes soon and very soon. 
A lot of people in the parish know that in my former life I was a naval officer serving on nuclear submarines in the Pacific. And people know me now as a Franciscan Friar and ordained priest. I think most people assume I went from the “monastic enclosure” of the submarine to the hallowed halls of the friary. Not so much. There was a 14-year period when I was out there in the world working in the field of consulting. I started out advising commercial nuclear-power plants – kind of an obvious transition. Before I knew it, a less obvious path opened, and I found myself working on information-technology projects. That eventually led to strategic-management consulting for several different industries. Looking back on it, one thing was for sure: It was never dull. It was exciting to continually enter into new engagements, with new clients, and have the chance to think creatively, strategically, and in all different ways. 
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