One Tuesday, a family came in, visiting from Italy. The dad looked around and asked, “Where is the host?” Though at first confused, I then had an epiphany: Oh, that Host! More important, this visitor and I had an opportunity for a friendly discussion of Christians’ varying views on Holy Communion.
At the end of the Gospel, Jesus says, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…” I think the service Jesus is talking about is not so much a task as a way of being in the world, of living into the generosity and humility that defies our daily risk and reward calculations.
When I was in college I told people I was a vegetarian but in fact continued to eat meat. I was not willfully deceptive. I actually believed I was vegetarian but this was 100% imaginary; a fantasy about what kind of person I wanted to be, in those days. The next step — putting an aspiration and belief into action — never quite happened. I cheerfully continued to eat hamburgers.
How are we working to define ourselves during this year’s Lenten journey? Maybe we’ve given something up. Maybe we’ve committed to do something outside of our normal daily life. All of these are very lonely ways for us to be who we are. Why not see what it would be like to have others define us for a little while?
In Matthew, Jesus transposes the terms of devotion. It is we who are loved without judgment or limit, regardless of our righteousness or lack thereof. To be perfect as God is perfect is to turn the Psalmist’s unwavering love towards each other; to love everyone without limit or inhibition or judgment, to love all with unstinting forgiveness. The best commentary on this passage that I’ve found is from The Merchant of Venice.
The Psalms are refreshingly honest about the human condition; the psalmist directly addresses God. In my own struggles through life, it’s great to know that I too can be honest and direct with God! Today’s Psalm 130 offers hope for redemption and an invitation to lift our voice to God.
On Saturday evening, I refused entry to a man who appeared to be lost to my apartment building. He was buzzed in by someone else, and we ended up sharing an elevator. In anger he called me a racist but also showed me the hurt that my action had caused him.
It is so easy — too easy! — to step away from God. Without being even aware of it, I was lost. Thank God that the wonderful people in my life saved me! I cannot give any logical reason for my belief in God — I can only affirm that my life is better because of that belief.
It can be tough to pray when you feel like your life is careening off the tracks into a chasm. How does one climb back onto a normal path? Sometimes we doubt that God hears us. Or as I sometimes am wont to rant, “God, do I have to buy you a battery for your hearing aid?”
Have any of you ever recorded an Olympic contest or an awards ceremony that you knew the outcome before you actually saw the show? Read Revelation 20 and then go back to our readings for today. Our entire perspective changes. Our earthly life is a temporal state and our readings for today are just clues on how to live a happy life.