John 7:32-36

John 7:32-36
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  In the defense of the Jewish leaders, this is about how I feel when someone is giving me directions -- they are speaking, and words are going into my ears, but I'm not really listening.  Maybe if they had let women be leaders at the time, they would have understood what he meant to say.
  I think it was C.S. Lewis who said that it wasn't the parts of the Bible he didn't understand that worried him -- it was the parts he did understand.  Jesus isn't always clear about what he means, and I can understand if the Jewish leaders have a hard time putting this together, but God is often very clear about what is expected of us, about how we are to live and relate to each other, and about what our priorities are supposed to be.  We spend a lot of time arguing about the parts we aren't certain of, but we sometimes tend to ignore the parts that are pretty clear.
  So let us come to God, remembering that he is a God of mercy and kindness, ready to forgive us for falling short in many aspects, eager to send us back into the world to love and forgive and bless and be used for the greater glory of God.