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Posts Tagged ‘choice’

And They All Fall Down

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2009| 1 Comment »

John 18:4-6
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

The gospel of John is the only account of the crowd falling down to the ground when Jesus was arrested. Isn’t that the strangest thing? How could this happen? Why would John include this in the gospel?

I really like creating pictures in my mind as I read. Needless to say, my picture for this scene is quite dramatic. The only thing I can wrap my head around is that Jesus released a great deal of power (a release of power is also recorded in the story of the woman who bled for 12 years and touched his cloak in Mark 5:32). In my mind, Jesus was always having to choose to limit himself to the human side, the human container. But this moment was really a turning point. It was no longer a possible future; it was no longer a mere concept.

Turning points are moments of power in all of our lives. Some years ago I participated in a wonderful conference on “Story” at the Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. Before starting the workshop, our homework was to identify the turning points in our lives. This was a very illuminating exercise and I recommend it for everyone.

The power in a turning point comes from the motive or driver that brings the moment before us. Do we take the left or right fork in the road. When we choose a direction that is under girded by the Holy Spirit, then power is released. In Jesus’s case, there was enough power to knock down a crowd of people. If we take the other path, we are on our own.

If a turning point comes today, Lord, guide my decision.

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Endless Future

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 1:48-49
[Mary said] “… for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.”

From now on… those are deep words for anyone who is trying to figure out today. From now on, I will look at the rest of my differently. From now on, I will invite tomorrow into my life. From now on, I will expect God, who is holy, to continue to do great things for me. From now on…

We cannot walk our own future. We can make plans and we can anticipate problems and we can lay a strong foundation, but in the end, the future is a God thing and anything can happen.

The greatest preparation we can make for the future is to accept what the future brings and “work it.” There is richness in the now if we accept it as a gift from our future.

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Who Sent Me?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on June 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 7:16
Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me…”

I’m not exactly sure why this phrase stuck in my mind. Well, that’s not the complete truth either.

Bottom line? I have been convicted somewhat that my writing is still motivated by that part of self that wants to be seen and heard…. to be appreciated, to be complimented, to be known.

The other part of self wants the words to be from “the one who sent me.”

Twins. They look alike but they have different goals and their fruit, the results, are dissimilar as well.

I believe each life has purpose: whether it is to touch a person who has lost feeling, to speak a truth to someone who was lost, to help someone rise again who has fallen, to love the loveless, to hold on to those who have let go, to nurture the weak, to enlighten those in a dark place, to right the wrongs, to hope for the hopeless, to stand when others have collapsed, to be open where others are closed, to honor the Truth.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people…” [Isaiah 6:8-9a]

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First We Must Choose

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on June 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 6:28b-29
“…What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Before we can change, we must choose to make the change. Before we can believe, we must choose to believe. Before we can follow, we must choose to go. Before we can “work for God,” we must choose to believe in the plan which has been outlined in the scriptures.

Ultimately, before anything can happen, there is that moment of personal choice: go, stay, believe, reject, yes, no, wait… these are the simple words that are transmitted from our inner self to the mind. The more connected we are within, the more likely we will make authentic choices. Unfortunately, we are so bombarded in our world by opinions, information, media, images, teaching, etc … we often don’t even know what is our idea or the choice we feel compelled by others to make .

So many times, believing people say, “If you don’t know what to do, ask God and you will get your answer.” I don’t doubt this is true, but I do struggle with hearing that answer. My guess is, I don’t know in the first place because I’m disconnected inside. I’m not hearing God. It’s too noisy in there.

Now that graduations are over, guests are gone and life is slowing down a little, I’m going to start looking for the quiet place…. what I used to call the secret place. This is where hearing takes place. This is where choice is born.

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Choose the Better Part

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , on March 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 10:41-42
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Not every decision we make is between good and evil. Sometimes, we must choose between good and better. These decisions are by far the more difficult ones. These decisions take discernment, wisdom, and trust. I know the trap for me has been to “do it all” and now, I realize that is the result of not “choosing the better part.” I don’t want to miss anything. I can see this habit even in the small things of life like packing for a trip and since I can’t decide what I will wear, I take it all, putting off that decision until later. Today, I know, there will be decisions before me and I ask God, right now, guide me, that I might choose well, for choose I must.

For more about Mary and Martha and the better part, see Wisdom Seekers discussions on the book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.

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Love the Lord Your God

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2009| 1 Comment »

Mark 12:28
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Foundational to everything and yet, we seem to behave as though this is beyond us. Is God difficult to love? Is it because we continue anthropomorphizing God as one of us? Oh, but God did offer us the anthropomorphic version of Self in Christ Jesus. Is Jesus difficult to love? Oh, and when the Holy Spirit is present… primarily within us, is the Holy Spirit difficult to love?

Love, the verb! Love is action. Love is trust. Love is a choice. Nike seemed to get the point in their advertising: Just Do It!

Today, I choose to love God … and I’m guessing God will appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and circumstances.

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On Virtue 6

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , , , on October 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

I think we know all this stuff about “doing good.” I mean, I think we know we are supposed to “do good” … we know we are supposed to act virtuously. We know we are supposed to take the “high road.” But we often don’t. Why not?

If it’s true that doing good helps us to “… never fall…” and “… receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” (II Peter 1: 10-11), then the converse is true… not doing good or just not choosing to do good, will lead us down a different path. I think, particularly in our culture, that we have become complacent. Many of us go about our every day … not necessarily doing “bad things” but also, not choosing good things either. We are dull. We are lukewarm. We are a bit lazy.

There is some energy required to move toward moral excellence. It takes effort to choose the better way. It’s a conscious choice. John Sandford speaks often of the “slumbering spirit” and I think this condition applies here as well. We must be wakeful and alert to the Holy Spirit. We must be wakeful and alert to opportunities in our daily walk. Look! Today, I expect to be challenged. I expect you will too.

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