Stiff necked people

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today show how the revelation of Jesus is an extreme difficulty for the religious authorities. The difficulty of the Hebrew wanderers in the desert with Moses to accept the Covenant relationship with the Divine is characterized in the Hebrew testament as being “stiff necked”. Stephen uses this description as his proclamation of the Divinity of Jesus brings the learned leaders to drag him to death by stoning. As the indwelling Spirit fills and protects him, he offers forgiveness to his slayers. The psalmist is clear in the declaration that the regard we pay to worthless idols and ideas is an insult to our trust in the Lord. The intimacy and totality of Jesus invitation is lived in the trust that the relationship, through the indwelling Spirit, is bread and sustenance to the believer.