July 25, 2022 — Words of Wisdom, Thomas Merton

“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image.”

“Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought itso that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:3-8

Perfectly Themselves

Why? It is the question asked so often when someone we love does something we just do not understand. Why? It is a searching question. We want someone to explain to us the purpose for their decisions, their actions, their purchases, their motives. But why do we go right to the “Why? Question? Why can’t we go to the “How can I help?” question or trying to understand the context for their behaviors. 

In our text for today Judas goes right to the “why” as if Mary’s actions make no sense to him. But we know this cannot be true since she is not the only one in the life of Jesus who did something out of the ordinary. I can think of Nicodemus (John 3:1ff), for example, and James and John (Mark 10:35ff), the Sons of Thunder. Jesus loves them as they are and seeks to be in conversation with them – even though Nicodemus does not understand the workings of G-d’s kingdom, and James and John demand to be second and third in command in the kingdom. Even the rich young ruler (Mark 10:20-21), when he tells Jesus he has been a good Jew since his youth, Jesus simply looks upon him and loves him despite his cluelessness.

Jesus models for us a ministry of allowing people to be perfectly who they are but also challenging them to see the world through the lens of his love. Jesus will tell the woman caught in adultery (John 8:11ff) to go and change her life – as he will tell James and John to be prepared to drink the same cup of suffering that he will drink. Instead of simply asking these people “Why?”, Jesus either begins a conversation with them, seeking to understand the motives behind their actions, or we are told that he “loves them” and challenges them to take a different course of action in their lives.

When a loved one puzzles you with their behavior or you question their perspective, instead of stifling a conversation by asking a lot of “Why?” questions, why not try to allow them to be “perfectly themselves” — all the while loving them for who they are – instead of seeking to change them into something more comfortable to you.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you love each one of us for who we are – perfectly as ourselves. Help me to learn to love others with the same love. Amen.

Pastor Dave

July 24, 2022 – Pentecost +7C, Luke 11:1-13

[Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:
 Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
  Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins,
   for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
  And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:1-13

In the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel lesson, we see that it is for a “need” and out of “fear” that the man approaches his friend’s door at midnight.  You know, it your doorbell rings or there is a knock on your door at midnight, it seldom is good news, Amen?  If we choose even to respond, to push by our fears to see who is knocking, the person who is ringing or knocking is also in need, and possibly afraid. I have often said that nothing good happens after midnight – unless it is Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. At midnight, the colors lose their distinctiveness, their clarity – and so do people.  Martin Luther King, Jr. writes in his sermon:

“Midnight is the hour when men desperately seek to obey the 11^th commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Get Caught.”

This still seems to be true in our country today. At midnight the liar excels, the cheater beats the system, the thief learns the ropes, and the slick becomes master of their domain. In other words, at midnight many of us are happy to be at home, hunkered down under our blankets, because the world seems scarier at midnight. And then, the knock comes, and we are afraid even more. But I want you to notice something about this Gospel lesson. First, it begins with the disciples of Jesus complaining that Jesus hasn’t taught them to pray like John has taught his disciples. And once Jesus gives them a formula for prayer, he tells them a parable, actually a funny story. But, when you look at it closely, you realize that we are the ones that Jesus says go knocking on our friend’s door. We, like Jesus disciples, are seeking….guidance. They go asking for guidance on how to pray, and we go to Jesus in prayer asking for guidance. It is through prayer that we go knocking on G-d’s door hoping that G-d will answer, and might give us some guidance in now to maneuver through this scary world.

Jesus says, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight…”

My friends, this is what prayer should be like – like you and I are approaching a friend, whether at midnight, or at the break of day, or even in the middle of the day, prayer should be like having a conversation with a friend. When we have a need, we go to G-d looking for some help. When we are in the midst of a deep, deep darkness, we knock, and we knock, and we knock on G-d’s door with prayer, after prayer, after prayer. We knock hoping to find some relief, if not some answers, if not help or hope. And if we knock, we sure hope that G-d will answer.

But the message of this parable is more than just pray – the message is never stop praying, for G-d hears every prayer, every utterance that comes out of our mouths. G-d hears our prayers, G-d is listening. And knowing that G-d is listening, we need to be persistent, if not shameless in our praying. 

Pastor Dave