‘And if any man say ought unto you,
ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them;
and straightway he will send them.’
THE master of the asses asked, why they untied his asses?
So would the chief men of every people obstinately respond to God’s preaching. But when they saw that the preachers healed, through God’s might, the lame and the blind, and gave speech to the dumb, and also raised the dead to life, then they could not withstand those miracles, but all equally yielded to God.*
Christ’s disciples said, “The Lord hath need of the asses, and sends for them.”
We are exhorted and invited to God’s kingdom, but we are not forced. When we are invited, then we are untied; and when we are left to our own free will, then it is as though we are sent for.
It is God’s mercy that we are untied; but if we live rightly, that will be both God’s grace and our own zeal.* We should constantly pray for the Lord’s help; seeing that our own free will cannot prosper unless helped on by the Almighty.
It took less than sixty years from the arrival of Gregory the Great’s missionaries in 597 to convert every one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to Christianity. See The Baptism of Kent.
That is, once untied (Elfric refers this elsewhere to baptism) it is up to us to be led by the disciples willingly, or dig in our heels. Compare Revelation 3:20.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Devil. Mercy. Shall.
2 I. People. Unless.
3 Kingdom. Our. Say.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding in-.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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