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Posts Tagged ‘change’

Woe to the Rich — That’s Us

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 6:24
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort…”

I am so uncomfortable with this teaching of Jesus. Face it: I am rich and this is not good news.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am really just like everyone else I know on the most part–middle class. But in comparison with the rest of the world, we’re rolling in dough. When I take the time to really absorb the truth of this phrase, I am ashamed and a tad worried.

When the economy “tanked,” my husband and I have been confronted with the outrageous cost of our lifestyle. We are, in U.S. terms, broke. We owe more on credit cards than we should. We spend more than we make. We indulge our wants and assume our needs will be met. We take a lot for granted.

We have passed along this “comfort” lifestyle to our children who continue to have expectations of what is normal: a packed refrigerator, vacations, name-brand clothes, and plenty of heat when it’s cold and air conditioning when it’s hot. They assume the “economy” problems are for all those other people.

Basically, we’ve been skipping over this scripture for years and that may prove to be a mistake sooner than later.

In the same way that the environment cannot be turned around on a dime, our own lifestyle will not change overnight either. We must make a conscious decision to change. We must do so in agreement. And if we don’t do this willingly and soon, we may have to do so in crisis.

Forgive us. Re-align our priorities before they are re-aligned for us. Give us courage to change the way we live. Let us not be like the “rich young ruler.” [Matthew 19:16-26]

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Only the Feet

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on August 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 13:10a
Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean….”

So what could this mean? It’s fairly well accepted that foot washing is a sign of serving others: the willingness to do the most menial of tasks for another person. Prior to beginning the washing of feet, John reports that Jesus’s intentions were to show the “full extent of his love” for the disciples [John 13:1] But why does he also say that only the feet need to be washed?

Feet are funny things. They carry so much throughout our lives. They are our stability and a part of our balancing acts. They are the primary way we move from one place to another. They are a foundation. We usually forget about our feet unless they hurt. Plus, anyone can attest to the fact that there’s nothing worse than stinky feet! 🙂

But what other meanings can be gleaned from Jesus’s act of washing only the feet? I think the symbolism is in tandem with the the other pronouncement about feet in Mark 6:11: “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” By washing their feet, the disciples were starting fresh and new. Whatever happened before, while they walked with Jesus or went out in His name in ministry, whatever shaking they did or dust they collected, would be washed away. From that day of foot washing, everything would be different. It was a turning point in their lives.

Sometimes it’s important to create a physical representation of renewal. If you want to mark a day, then wash your feet, prayerfully. If you are ministering to someone who needs to mark that day, wash his/her feet. This is the small revelation I had today. This is my next step… with clean feet.

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Lazarus Come Out!

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on July 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 11:43-44
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

We are just like Lazarus. We are dead to the true fullness of life that is available to us. We’re wrapped up in grave clothes. And for us, it’s all normal.

One of my favorite types of books to read is fantasy. I enjoy those battles between good and evil and in particular, that good always wins. Across a great number of fantasy authors, there are certain accepted norms which are often incorporated into their stories. The dragons and trolls and fairies are very similar from one book to the next. There are types of magic and types of power. Another, somewhat universal idea, is the “true name.” There is power in the true name of a person. There is particular power when someone knows a person’s true name and uses it.

This is how I feel about Lazarus. Jesus called his “true name.” Jesus called out the “real” Lazarus, the one who would now move into his actual potential. Lazarus, from that day forth, would be changed. He was drawn out of the dark and into the light. He was dead and then truly alive.

Jesus knows all of our true names. And He is calling us.

The world of Christ is different than the world we have manufactured. If we answer His call, we will be unsteady at first, even a little overwhelmed. The rules are different. The focus is different. The landscape is different. Our perceptions are different. But eventually, the useless “grave clothes” come off and we can move freely. Once death is overcome, what is left to fear?

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Hour of Decision

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 12:23
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified….”

There are several places in scripture where Jesus refers to “the hour.” Sometimes he speaks of it as a time that cannot be known or that the hour was approaching or that the hour had not yet come. But here in John 12, the tone changes and he identifies the time as “his hour.” From that “hour” forward, everything would be different.

I’m pretty sure most of us can’t predict when one of our “hours” is necessarily approaching, but when it does come, I think we know it for what it is. Now, I am not talking about the hour of a person’s death. I am talking about an hour of decision… an hour of transformation… an hour of self-discovery. These “hours” or times usually place a question before us: will you go or stay, will you accept or reject, will you agree or disagree, will you lie or tell the truth, (to name a few). These are those decisions that cannot be taken back.

Preparation for these “hours” is general, at best. As a Christian, the obvious things apply such as prayer, study, worship, and sensitivity to the voice of God. But perhaps it is more telling how we walk out our decisions after they are made.

I have a friend who is in a terrible marriage (who doesn’t know someone like this?) and continues to grieve and cry and rant over the circumstances. I understand in my heart and yet, I cannot help but think that the “hour” came and went. If a person decides “to stay,” then the rest of the time should be spent making “to stay” work. If not, then go, and make “leaving” work. One cannot both stay in body and leave in spirit or heart (or vice versa). It is living a lie.

When Jesus resurrected Lazarus, it was His last great miracle. He did not tell anyone “not to tell.” His time had come and everyone needed to know it. So He climbed on a donkey and entered Jerusalem publicly inviting His enemies to finish what they had started. He accepted every step, every curse, every attack, and every pain after His decision. We must do the same.

We have been fooled into believing that the decision itself is the hard part. Not at all, it’s the life after the decision that is the challenge. Thanks be to God who helps us walk out our decisions, both good and bad.

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What Just Happened

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on June 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 7:45
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

These were professional soldiers; they were sent to the outer courts of the temple to arrest Jesus. But apparently, something happened when they got there.

There is so much left out of the scriptures. We’ll never know what teaching of Jesus thwarted their plans. We’ll never know how many guards were sent. We’ll never know if their hearts were permanently changed. But we do know they started with one mandate and once they encountered Jesus, their orders were tossed aside. When they returned to the priests, they couldn’t even articulate what he had said, just that they had never heard anyone speak like that.

I believe God is speaking like this every day, but we fail to take in His words or His message. Perhaps we do listen while we are present with Him, but then, we go about our day as though nothing special happened. There is even a scripture that captures that phenomenon: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” [James 1:23-24]

Keep me mindful today. Keep me sensitized to the voice of Jesus within.

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Being the Samaritan Woman

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 4:9
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I watched the movie, Being John Malkovich. Now, that’s a strange film, but intriguing. Today, I began wondering what it would be like to inside the head of the Samaritan woman.

I have known what it feels like to be an outcast. As a first generation Latvian, I never felt part of the American community as a child. My father didn’t speak English and my mother had a pronounced accent. We were different. I did everything I could to blend in. On the converse, I wasn’t particularly accepted into the Latvian community either. My father died when I was nine and my mother raised my brother and me as a single mom. I discovered (years later) that she wasn’t really embraced by the Latvians after my father died because she was half German. She was on her own until other women became widows and sought her out for advice. So, while she was ostracized (for both her heritage and her widowhood), so were we.

In the end, both my brother and I became over achievers in an effort to find place. But, much like the Samaritan woman, I was still desperate for relationships. Before I met the Christ, I wandered in and out one relationship after another. Thankfully I didn’t marry each of them, but there is one divorce in my history.

By the time I met Jesus, I needed what she needed: acceptance, renewal, hope, connection, promise, change, transformation.

Upon my conversion, I found no need for drugs or alcohol, that was amazing. I even quit smoking. And then, I tried the great experiment, I became celibate. (Big discovery: those guys weren’t dating me for my mind.) And so, it was just Jesus and me. What a honeymoon.

I wonder why we never learn the Samaritan woman’s name. Perhaps she is a metaphor for all women. Perhaps the details are different, but the feelings and thoughts are ours. I’m glad Jesus was direct with her, telling her specifically who He was. I needed that too. And I believed Him. Thanks be to God.

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Afraid of Healing

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , on May 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Mark 5:15
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

I’ve been contemplating what it would mean to me to see someone transformed before my eyes. Why do we fear miracles?

In some ways, I think it’s similar to growing up in a dysfunctional family (who hasn’t?) and recreating those patterns in our adult life. It’s what we know. It’s our little norm. Healing, then, is not part of the norm.

I think about my daughter’s recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia. She has had pain in her body as long as she can remember. She never knew that people didn’t hurt to get out of bed or pick up clothes off the floor. Would she recognize her body without the pain and with full range of motion? She can’t even imagine it or vision it.

And, I think about the people who surround those who want to change. I remember some years ago when I joined Weight Watchers and the group leader warned us about our friends: the very ones who might sabotage our efforts. “Oh, you can have just one cookie, can’t you?” “Oh come on, it’s my birthday!” and so on. I understand that alcoholics run into similar sabotage if the loved ones are not on board with the program. Enablers don’t like change.

Lord, don’t let me sabotage anyone who is trying to change! Don’t let me fear transformation… in myself or in others. (Mark 9:24b “…I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”)

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