Chapter 13: Who is the greatest?
I always knew that Jesus' teachings seem like a paradox in our Earthly world. The first will be last. The meek shall inherit the Earth. Turn the other cheek.. But I hadn't really thought about the children as paradox. This is more about losing context as centuries and cultures rise and fall.
We think of our own children as valuable, but even that wasn't always strictly true. I knew the Romans (and probably other cultures in the past) would let unwanted children die of exposure. But I had never thought about the actions and words of Jesus regarding children as radical. But the author points out that this is the case, and it is, now that it's been pointed out, I know this to be true.
Jesus doesn't want us to be like children, of course, in the irresponsible, immature sense. But he has said we are children of God -- all of us. So we are all valuable. Everyone. The addict, the bully, the nerdy and the beautiful. The homeless, the chronically ill, the hardworking Americans and the illegal immigrants. The people of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. All of us. Even politicians.
And the words of Jesus, don't forget, were influential in more places than at church on Sunday morning. They changed the way children are regarded by most all civilizations and cultures. He influenced the fight against child labor, the abandoning of the practice allowing unwanted infants to perish, the focus we put today on education and care of children.
You see, children truly are among the most vulnerable among us. They are the ONLY vulnerable among us, but they are among those. As are the frail, the elderly, the homeless and poor, the lonely and ignorant, the mentally ill and the physically ill, all of those are given preferential treatment by God.
Those are Jesus' values. What are yours? Do they align with Jesus' values?
I am finally coming around to both realize those values of Jesus, and to doing something about it. My values are changing, my worldview is changing and I am trying to step outside my comfort zone. It will be a long process. I hope I live long enough to see light at the end of the tunnel.
You see, we are at a disadvantage here in the wealthy United States of America. We are enjoying worldly wealth without even realizing it. We take for granted what people in Third World countries can only dream about -- plenty of clean, fresh water; pleasant shelters; access to technology and education. There's plenty more. We don't even realize how good we have it. And we often bristle at the thought of sharing with someone who didn't "earn" it, who doesn't "deserve" it.
But who are we to judge? We have trouble sharing with each others, sometimes more so than with shadowy "others" in other parts of the globe. But we also don't understand their suffering.
"Live justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
"Jesus, set the child within me free so I can be more childlike with every passing day, and open the eyes of my soul that I may see your children all around me."
Chapter 14: Purity of Heart
This chapter views purity of heart as avoiding lust, sexual lust. Point taken. But ...
I see it a little bit differently. Maybe it's my age. I'm not really looking for a hot date, if you know what I mean.
But it still matters what we choose to look at, and how we perceive what our eyes show us. How so? Because we sometimes need to look at things that are really hard to look at. We WANT to avert our eyes, to NOT see how our own neighbors are living -- I'm talking about the homeless and marginalized in our own communities.
Because how can you look at those people and deep down inside, be comfortable with your own material wealth? So we look away, we avoid eye contact, we stare straight ahead and hope none of them approach us, make us see them.
We need to look. We need to talk to them. We need to get to know them as the individual people they are, the children of God they are in reality.
As the author points out, images are powerful. They cannot be unseen, once you've seen them. Ask anyone who works with the homeless and they will tell you it's so.
If you learn to control what you look at, how deep will the peace within you be?
Also true. We need to look at things we don't want to, and we need to not look at things with longing, not just sexual images, but at advertising that tells us we need things we do not need. Stores filled with beautiful baubles that we do not need. That sort of thing.
And I do believe if I can accomplish some of this, just a little, I will find greater peace in my life.
"Jesus, purify my heart, purify my mind, purify my body and purify my soul."
Chapter 15: Making sense of suffering
Rose may remember this, I don't know. But I have a shadowy memory of us walking along the beach one summer as children, and we would walk on broken up shells on the beach until our feet hurt, and we thought we were suffering for God. We had been taught something about suffering, I don't recall exactly what, but we wanted to suffer in a holy way, in our childish way.
But in real life, suffering is no child's game. I lost my mother at age 12. Rose lost her father at a much earlier age. I lost my father just 11 y;ears ago, and Rose is taking care of her elderly mother.
One year, a recent year, 2010, I lost five people I knew and loved to cancer, all within a 6-month period. I've lost many others before and since, more on the since side, as I get older and more people suffer the ravages and indignities of aging.
There are the people who drive away and never come home. The young military troops who come home in coffins, or maimed and scarred forever. The child who is excited to start school, but is bullied and tormented until going to school is more like torture.
People are changed by suffering. Some for the good, some not so much.
But how does that play into the search for meaning in life? How does it teach us anything except to become bitter and angry at our fates?
It's not the suffering itself so much as it is the way we respond.
It's how we respond to the suffering of others as well as how we respond to what suffering does to ourselves.
It challenges our faith and it causes some to turn away from God entirely. Some even blame God for their suffering. But others accept it, even embrace it.
I do not think I handle seeing someone I love suffer very well. But how much worse would it be without faith that there is more to life than what we see and hear and experience in this earthly life?
Jesus promises us something better, when there will be no more crying, no more dying, no more pain. He promises to wipe away our tears -- again invoking that image of a child.
Just remember: God doesn't cause our suffering, we do. We torment ourselves and we cause others to suffer. God doesn't punish us, because we punish ourselves quite well, thank you very much.
Are you willing to suffer a little in order to grow spiritually?
I never feel like I'm willing, exactly, to suffer. I wouldn't 'run out to meet it as it approached my door. I would probably run out the back door if I saw it coming. But on the other hand, here I am, continuing to do the best I can and praying for help and guidance. It is comforting to know I am not alone.
"Jesus, teach me to embrace the unavoidable suffering of life and keep me ever mindful of those who suffer more than I do" (and remind me there are far more of those who suffer more than those who are better off).
No comments:
Post a Comment