tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75921893095689272942024-03-11T09:16:36.583-07:00The World Before Grace (...and after)The paradox of finding grace in the loss of self is as countercultural as: "take up your cross and follow me...my yoke is easy, my burden is light... " Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-51271020603392710952024-03-11T09:16:00.000-07:002024-03-11T09:16:02.366-07:00The fourth week of Lent--it's not too late to go to confession<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“In those days,
there was no king in Israel,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and everyone did
what was right in his own eyes.”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Judges 17:6</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are two excuses I hear Catholics use when it comes
time to go to confession. First is the excuse that they cannot think of what to
confess, as far as they can tell they haven’t committed any real sins; i.e. <i>Nothing
to see here</i>, so what’s the point? This excuse implies either a willful
blindness or a saint-like innocence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second
is the somewhat more reasonable excuse: What’s the point? I’m just going to sin
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will go confess, get absolved,
have a good day or two, then fall right back into my old habits. Again, what’s
the point?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are like me and you find yourself falling into both
of these camps, spend a little time this Lent reading the Book of Judges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a book of sin and failing, a book of broken
promises and wasted opportunities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
a book of God’s mercy and man’s repeated efforts to turn (even flee) from it. It
is a disheartening book in many ways, but reading it in the midst of Lent it
seems a bitter reminder that no matter how hard we try, we cannot escape the
power of sin, the weakness of the flesh; that regardless of our efforts, and despite
our best intentions, we will stumble and fall again, and again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a truth sadly confirmed in my own life; blessed by
the grace of God with friends, family, work that I love, a roof over my head,
food on the table, a bed to sleep in, I still find myself envying others, still
find my eye wandering, appraising, objectifying others—not only lusting in my
heart, but envying their gifts, coveting their achievements, bearing false
witness against them (at least in my imagination), desiring not only their
homes and their lives but even their asses!! In general, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>making of my own desires a false god and
making of my own stomach an altar for his offerings... And sadly, this is on a
good day! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before lunch...</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the Book of Judges bears witness to the truth that this
is part of the human condition. In Judges we get the story of how God’s chosen
people kept straying from God’s will and losing the Promised Land. No matter
how many times God rescued them, forgave them, brought them back... they kept
turning away from the grace of God’s love and toward the desires of their
hearts. We are a people born into a sinful world, and shaped by that world,
even the best of us may find ourselves falling into the habit (the excuse) of
“doing what is right in his own eyes.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that is the barrier behind that first excuse: nothing to
confess. Many of us may feel we truly have nothing to confess, nothing to ask
forgiveness for, because we were always only doing what seemed right at the
time, at least in our eyes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How often
every day do we justify and rationalize our choices, for some of us we turn our
every desire into a “need,” and our every need into a right. Until we find that
we are owed everything we want. As a teenager, I stole a pair of sneakers from a
store I worked at. I justified it by telling myself I wasn’t being paid enough.
I wasn’t receiving a fair wage! They owed it to me. I convinced myself that stealing
those shoes wasn’t a sin, it was my right. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked in those shoes for weeks thinking I
had nothing to confess. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because, in my
eyes, I had only done what was right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But clearly—I was wrong, and luckily when I bragged about it to a
friend, he set me straight.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The other excuse, that going to confession could be
pointless because regardless of my intentions ----I’m just going to sin again;
that is the truth lurking beneath every chapter of Judges. No matter what God
does for them, no matter how often God rescues them, the Israelites stumble
into sin again and again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They set up altars
to false gods, they make alliances with pagan kings, they glorify themselves
instead of God, celebrating their own power and cleverness and courage until
something happens and they realize how helpless they are and once again cry out
to God for mercy and help—for a savior.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They repent, they get saved, then—after a while—they fall
back into their old ways, old habits, their sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, it is a quite familiar pattern, one I
know all too well. And yes, there is some value in facing up to the truth of
our story, patterns of behavior that seem to guide us through life—as if a kind
of auto-pilot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, we should be honest
about our habits and our weaknesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
we mustn’t let ourselves be discouraged. Though we stumble—again and again—we must
never fall into despair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For me, going to confession, isn’t a quick-fix solution to a
lifetime of bad habits and half-hearted struggles with sin; it is more like the
forming of a new habit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A habit that
will—I hope—one day replace the old ones. A habit of contemplating my choices,
my patterns of behavior not with judgment and finger waving, but with honesty
and compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I addicted to certain
pleasures? Have I been self-centered or prideful? Mean-spirited or cold-hearted?
How can I change those patterns? Well, the first thing I need to do, the first
step in any twelve-step program, is admitting that I need help. And for me,
that is what confession is—a chance to come before God and admit that I need
help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That the same sins of lust and
avarice and envy and pride that I struggled with in college are still with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That fear of want still drives me to dreams
of gluttony and greed... And those fears too often drive my every
decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bless me Father, for I have
sinned... Hello, my name is Herman and I am a sinner...</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One last word here: the other day, sitting in mass, I looked
up for the first time and noticed that the pew we were in was right next to the
sixth Station of the Cross: Jesus falls a second time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at that image, I realized something I
had never noticed before: that He fell a <i>second</i> time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of that:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus on His way to the cross, stumbled and fell
a second time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means He had already
fallen once before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that He fell
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, He got back up again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took up His cross and continued on the way
to Calvary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, I realized something
else, that He would fall again. Tradition has it that Jesus fell three times on
the way to His death. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting there at
the edge of the pew, looking up at that image, I had a kind of epiphany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus fell a second time. He had already
fallen once before and He knew He would fall again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But He still got back up, took up His cross and,
even knowing how it would end, He kept going.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The next time you are thinking –what’s the point of going to
confession? I’m just going to make the same mistakes, I’m just going to fall
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about that image of Christ,
falling under the weight of our sin, a second time... Meditate on that image, and
ask yourself if it isn’t time to get back up and try again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because we do have a King, a King who took the form of a slave
and died on a cross--for us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Confession
is a way of asking myself: What do my choices look like through His eyes?</p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-55471887504191351632023-12-18T04:18:00.000-08:002023-12-18T04:18:01.451-08:00On becoming a star--It's in your job description--Just ask John the Baptist<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Advent 2023</i></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“A man named John
was sent from God. <br />
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, <br />
so that all might believe through him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.” <br />
–John 1: 6-8</i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sitting on my front porch, reading the Gospel of John, I was
struck by this familiar verse. I heard something new this morning hat I had not
heard before: a job description!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
John the Baptist’s job description. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
job was to testify to the light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To tell
the world what he knew to be true, so that all might believe. Very simple, very
straightforward; no complex language about quotas or expectations, no official title,
no qualifications, no list of duties—and no terms of severance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just the simple and straightforward, open-ended
call to <i>testify to the light</i>, with the goal that “all” might believe. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Basically John’s job was to be a <a href="https://www.routemagazine.us/stories/defining-the-american-dream-one-sign-at-a-time">Burma-Shave
sign</a> (a Buc-ees sign for you youngsters out there). He was called to be a
road sign pointing the way to The Light. That’s it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it occurred to me that his job
description doesn’t just apply to John the Baptist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t it actually apply to all of us? Isn’t
that the job description of every Christian? We are all called to be a
testimony to the Light—to the love of God, to the saving grace of Christ. How
we do it isn’t described, isn’t spelled out. Some people may do it through words,
others through fasting and prayers, and still others through lives of sacrifice
and service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the plain truth is we
are all called to testify to the light—to live as a sign for others, that they
might believe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For most of us, our testimony may go unseen by the vast majority
of the world around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our testimony is
one of patience and kindness to a stranger: standing in line at the pharmacy, we
smile and speak a gentle word to the young mother struggling with her fussing child,
or we speak a word of encouragement and cheer to the UPS delivery guy putting
packages at our door. Maybe your testimony is to get up at 3 in the morning and
walk with a crying baby so that your spouse can sleep. Maybe your testimony is not
just to give a $20 bill to the homeless person asking for money, but to also
ask his or her name, and to give them your name. Maybe even shake hands and let
them know that you will pray for them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let them know they are seen, they matter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For so many of us, our testimony will never make it into a
book or even be remembered much beyond the moment, but it will be a testimony,
and it will plant a seed, and it may be that when we are all gathered together
into that Light, into the Kingdom we call Heaven—you will be greeted by someone
you don’t remember, but they will remember you, and that one little act of
kindness that lit a spark in their soul... that testimony of love.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is one more thing this little passage reminds me of,
especially at Christmas time. And that is a certain star. We see it on so many
Christmas cards, but do we ever ponder what it means? It is shining there,
above a stable, above a manger, showing us the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the wise-men, that star was a kind of testimony,
a road sign, guiding them on their journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But even with all its splendor and glory, it wasn’t the actual goal, it
was just a sign—a flashing neon testimony to something far greater: a homeless,
cold, and exhausted child sleeping in a manger. As we unwrap presents and
prepare our holiday tables, let us remember that; the true gift of Christmas is
God come to us in the form of a helpless child. Remembering that, pondering it,
living it... it will give your life a radiance that will shine for others. It
may not get you mentioned at the next Academy Awards or Music Awards, but it can
definitely make you a star.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just ask John
the Baptist. </p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-20029290356982110722023-09-24T15:16:00.003-07:002023-09-24T15:16:18.065-07:00Thoughts on the Gospel for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time: The fairness of Love <p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>And on receiving
it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>'These last ones
worked only one hour,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and you have made
them equal to us,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>who bore the day's
burden and the heat.'</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Matthew 20: 1-16</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is something quite comforting in the argument for
fairness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It asserts an equilibrium in
the world that often doesn’t appear to be there, but that we think should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The argument for fairness in any situation
implies that there is a minimum to what we deserve: at least what is fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what we see in this week’s parable from
Matthew 20, is a story of fairness turned on its head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is exactly the ones who are demanding it,
who have already received fairness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
received a fair day’s wages, mutually agreed upon before they went to work. And
yet, when they see that others have received the same amount for less work,
they feel cheated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They –in a sense—regret
their agreement, regret the terms of their contract—so to speak-- and allow
themselves to hope for more; then, in their disappointment, they complain about
“fairness.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why? Because none of us truly wants what is fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want something more, we want abundance, we
want something like grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps even
charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we hide behind a word like “fair,”
because it seems safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It announces that
we are only asking for what we think we deserve, what we feel we have earned—what
is fair.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the thing is, life isn’t fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And—my thought is: we should be
grateful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember a night back in
1981-82, when I was driving home from work late at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it was when I worked backstage at the
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I like
writing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, I was working
backstage at the Tower Theater, but that was the show they were putting on when
I worked there.) Anyway, I was driving home about midnight on a Friday night
after a long day at UST, and then a long night guarding the stage door at the
Best Little Whorehouse… And as I drove down Memorial Drive in my old white Honda
Civic (a stick shift, no AC, and only an AM radio), I remember stopping at the
light at Memorial and Westcott. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pulled
up right next to a police car with 2 policemen already waiting at the
light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked over and nodded to them.
One of them nodded back. I sat there for a bit, and then something happened, maybe
I was changing the radio. KILT used to broadcast a concert from Gilley’s on the
radio and maybe I had been listening to it and when it went off I probably started
to change the channel, looking for something else. Anyway, clearly I got
distracted and for some reason put the car in gear, let off the clutch and
slowly and brainlessly drove right through the still red light --with a police
car sitting right next to me. Very quickly I realized what I had done and
slowed down as I expected the police car to flip on its lights and pull up
beside me. But, instead after about 20-30 yards, the cruiser pulled beside me
and one of the officers rolled down his window and gave me a tsk tsk gesture
and a silly grin. Then, shaking their heads and laughing they drove on. Fair?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should have been pulled over and given a
ticket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, out of kindness, out of
compassion, out of grace, the officers simply let me off with a very gentle warning.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">None of us really wants what is fair. We want grace, we want
compassion, we want love. We want to know that we were noticed and that we
mattered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to be appreciated so
much that someone would give their life for us, if it came to that. We want the
love of God to overwhelm us, because—and I think this might secretly be true of
a great many of us—we don’t feel like we deserve it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, in our insecurity, too many of us resent it when
another person receives abundance and seemingly undeserved blessings. We resent
the new employee who receives kudos and honors their first month on the job
when we have done our job for years and never felt praised or even particularly
noticed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And yet, there is another element to this parable that might
too easily be overlooked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like many
parable, it begins with these words: <i>The kingdom of Heaven is like…</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Kingdom of Heaven is like this… It’s not a place of
fairness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a place of
blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a place wherein the
first will be last and the last will be first. What we must learn to realize is
this: if that is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like—then that is a good thing,
and we must learn to see the world, through that lens, we must learn to see our
own life through that lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must
learn from the parable to refocus our attention on the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grace isn’t about fairness, grace isn’t about
getting what we deserve, our fair share; grace is about love and if we just
look at the Cross, we will get a beautiful reminder of how much fairness matters
to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Kingdom of Heaven is like… a place where everyone is welcome,
no matter when or how they come, and all will receive the same thing, in the
same amount: the Love of God, overflowing, more than we could have ever imagined,
or even hoped for. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because God isn’t
fair, God is love.</p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-19582934539321611062023-09-03T12:35:00.006-07:002023-09-03T12:49:28.705-07:00Denying yourself and taking up your cross: The 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Times<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 52.8pt center 3.25in; text-align: center;"><i>“…but
whoever wishes to save his life, will lose it…”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Matthew 16:
21-27</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The readings for this Sunday are in such strange and perfect
harmony that I—for one—feel grateful to whomever it was that arranged the
schedule of readings so many years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I believe the plan for mass readings and the revision of lectionary happened
quite a long time ago—perhaps the 1970s—but please correct me, or inform me if
you know the who and the when of it. But, thank you to whomever did this, and
set in motion today’s cycle of readings. They sowed the seed, never knowing
what soil would receive it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What caught my attention in these readings was the theme of
giving your life to God. And I think the most efficient way for me to address
this theme is backwards: starting with the final reading—the Gospel, because I
believe that the key to the series is found in the Gospel and that the other 2
readings (and the psalm) are –in some sense—clarifying texts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One might consider these other 2 readings as
forming a pair of lenses through which we more clearly glimpse the truth of the
teaching in the Gospel—despite the fact that if our ophthalmologist were to
hand us our new glasses with 2 such lenses we might find ourselves mistaking display
cases for patients, and bathroom doors for exits, as we stumbled about trying
to find our balance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hence, even trying
on such lenses we must be cautious how we see and how we go.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Gospel for today is Matthew 16: 21-27, and in it we have
2 important lessons. First, Peter’s clumsy attempt to either comfort or correct
Our Lord. Immediately after Jesus hints at the fate awaiting Him in Jerusalem,
Peter takes Him aside and seems to be trying to place a hand over His mouth, <i>“God
forbid, Lord! No such thing will ever happen to you.” </i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(cf. MT 16: 22)</span></i> To which Jesus responds, <i>“Get
behind me, Satan. You are an obstacle to me. You are not thinking as God does,
but as human beings do.”</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And breaking this down, we may find ourselves somewhat sympathetic
to Peter’s position. Just a few verses before he was named top dog
disciple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was renamed “the Rock” upon
which Jesus would build His church <i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(cf. Mt. 16:18).</span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here –again, just a couple of verses
later—he is being referred to as “Satan.” What could this mean? Well, I wonder
if it has something to do with the detail of “taking Him aside”? Drawing Jesus
to the side and trying to do a little damage control, Peter becomes a tempter.
Regardless of any good intentions, Peter is tempting Jesus to soften or even
veer away from the difficulties of doing God’s work. And by drawing Jesus
aside, he is creating a situation of further temptation—a moment of secrecy,
wherein temptation might grow (like mold growing in a dark corner of a damp
closet). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a vision of how Satan
works. Satan draws us into secrecy and hidden opportunities to turn away from
the life that God has given us. To soften our commitments or renounce our
decisions. Think of the alcoholic or the pornography addict, the gambler or the
drug addict. How often does a moment of solitude become a moment of temptation?
Or—more likely-- how often does temptation itself lead them to seek a moment of
solitude wherein they might surrender to whatever demons is driving their
desires. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But Peter is not dispensed with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He remains the key disciples, despite what
has just transpired. In fact, his failing here, prompts one of the most
important teachings in all the gospel:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Then Jesus said to
his disciples,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Whoever
wishes to come after me must deny himself,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>take up his cross,
and follow me.</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>For whoever wishes
to save his life will lose it,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>but whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it. </i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(Mt.
16: 24-25)</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In other words, thinking like human beings means playing it
safe: clinging to security, valuing comfort, earthly success, pleasures, or even
just security (cf. Peter’s aside).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But thinking
like God means giving ourselves completely, holding nothing back —regardless of
what comes next.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That seems pretty clear, but then we remember our glasses
and try them on, blinking and squinting through first one lens and then the
other. Squinting through lens #2—Paul’s letter to the Romans—we see something interesting
taking shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks like prayer, and
yet it isn’t simply someone kneeling in a pew. It’s a figure working at a job,
or taking time to help a neighbor, or perhaps turning off the TV, putting down
their phone, or shutting off their opera records and getting up to empty the
dishwasher. Perhaps even folding the laundry and putting it away. An amorous
husband, putting aside his own desires to rub his wife’s feet and sing her a
lullaby:</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Goodnight, Irene,
goodnight, Irene… I’ll see you in my dreams…”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Through this lens we see that denying ourselves and taking
up our cross, isn’t just a “spiritual practice” or a form of self-sacrifice, it
becomes our worship—our prayer even.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
this reminds us that our prayer isn’t meant to be just words whispered over a
meal or at bedtime, not just ritual for ritual’s sake—not even just a way of
forming mental habits, but our prayer is a practice that –in fullness—should
change our way of life. See through this lens, I realize: our prayer is our
life, and our life is our true prayer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Okay, so far so good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But then we have that other lens; what I am calling lens #1. This lens
is the reading from Jeremiah. In this bitter, tirade against God, we see the
lesson of Christ as if through a prism (to use an ophthalmological image)—the prism
of Jeremiah’s experience; his life lived for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what we see is a kind of frightening
clarity to the outlines of such a vague and sweetly sounding life.</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“You duped me Oh,
Lord, and I let myself be duped…<br />
All the day I am an object of laughter, everyone mocks me...”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The prophet has denied himself, his own plans, his own
choices, his own life and he has taken up his cross, his mission, the mission
of proclaiming God’s message to Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, even though this was a mission from God, given by God to Jeremiah, it
has been an utter failure; nothing good has come of it, only <i>derision and
reproach. And rejection by God’s people and their leaders. </i>Things are so
bad, that Jeremiah considers giving up, turning away, abandoning his mission
(and perhaps God as well). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Even when I say
to myself, I will not mention Him;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>I will speak in
His name no more,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>then it becomes
like fire burning in my heart,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>imprisoned in my
bones;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>I grow weary
holding it in;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>I cannot endure
it…” (cf. Jeremiah 20:8-9)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One lesson we can
pretty clearly derive through this lens is this: Giving your life to God does
not assure you of comfort, security, honor or praise. In fact, as Jesus reminds
us again and again in the Gospels: it often leads straight toward Calvary and
the cross.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which leads me to my last thought:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today at mass, listening to the readings, I looked up at the
wall and saw that I was sitting right under the image of Station VII: Jesus
falls a second time. And for some reason, I kept gazing at that image even
thought the mass went on—the 1<sup>st</sup> reading, the psalm, the 2<sup>nd</sup>
reading; I stood up as everyone else did for the gospel, but I was still gazing
at that image above me: Jesus falling a second time. And I realized: that is
the entire message summed up in one image, right there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus falls a second time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is denying Himself and has literally taken
up His cross, and the path he trods isn’t easy. He stumbles once and is
ridiculed and abused, but He doesn’t give up. He rises, takes up His cross and
continues the journey, knowing that He will stumble again (even a third time),
but every time He gets back up and takes up the cross again. Never quitting,
never turning away from the call to deny Himself, take up His cross and follow
God’s call, to walk ever more closely with God. His will to serve His Father,
our will to be like Him, to follow Him –that is the worship Paul is describing;
that is the way to fulfillment, to becoming like our Lord, our God. When we are
hungering for our addictions, we are seeking momentary pleasure or respite; it
is ephemeral and passes away. It is, in the end, a moment’s satisfaction that
leaves us even hungrier; as if we had drunk saltwater in an effort to slake our
thirst. As if sin stirred in our souls an appetite for hunger itself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And no matter how often we feel sated by a moment’s
pleasure, the desperate need returns, the satisfaction fades, the pleasure
disappears, that life is like foam from a wave, melting in the sand; there for a
moment, then gone. No matter how desperately we try, it is a life we cannot
cling to, because it is already lost even before it is gone.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like the psalmist says: my flesh pines, my soul thirsts… for
God, for you Oh Lord, my God whom I seek. (cf. Psalm 63).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our flesh, our soul, our very being thirsts for God and only
one thing will satisfy that longing. Let go of your safety net, your ego, your broken
dreams; lay down the life you hoped for, the life you planned, the life that
society keeps telling you will bring honor and success and power, and look
around you for the cross that is waiting just for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is there, waiting for you to take it up
and find –for the first time, perhaps—you are finally alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, you will stumble. Yes, you will fall. Like
Peter, like Jeremiah, like Jesus Himself… But that’s okay. Get just get back up
and remember one thing: Don’t be afraid. This is what it means to truly be
alive! You, me, all of us… Quite literally, we were made for this.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-60845823577019986362023-06-22T13:06:00.004-07:002023-06-24T12:20:11.594-07:00Not trusting too much in our own understanding: The imagination and the mind of a reader<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">“And I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” </span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">(<b><i>--</i></b><b><i>Job, </i></b><i>by way of </i><b><i>MOBY DICK</i></b>)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m wondering about the way inspiration and the imagination work. Sitting on my
front porch this morning, listening to the <a href="https://youtu.be/s3FclAQDCxU">Sons of the Pioneers</a> and drinking my
morning coffee, eating my morning muffin (w/ peanut butter), I watch the
squirrels and the doves and w/out reason my mind wanders and begins to wonder. Without
any reason, I suddenly find myself thinking about <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Knocking_at_the_Gate_in_Macbeth">Thomas
DeQuincey and Macbeth</a>, and Agatha Christie and Jane Marple, and the act of
reading—and the importance of paying attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These topics have been on my min for a while of late—so the fact that they
are what come to mind isn’t surprising, but I do wonder: why? And why is this
my morning? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I sit here with my coffee and muffin and Bob Nolan and Tim
and Roy singing “The River of No Return,” or “Home in Old San Antone,” and part
of my mind wanders into a little Diner w/ checkered table cloths and booths and
a waitress w/ bright red cheeks and an order pad in one hand and a pot of
coffee in the other. She asks if I want more. I’m a regular. She knows to bring
me a muffin without even asking. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
jukebox the Sons are singing “Tumbleweed Trails,” and the clatter of dishes and
the aroma of sizzling bacon is bright in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then a squirrel pauses before me in search of a peanut and
without a thought I am back here on my porch watching a doodle-bug travelling
across the concrete—careful of the pine needles I have neglected to sweep and
avoiding the fluttering threadlike legs of a tiny dead thing that flips and
turns in the breeze of the porch fans. The legs are long thin spindly things—spidery
or maybe the desiccated remains of a mosquito hawk withered in the heat and now
waiting only to be swept away with the dust and dirt. The movement, the
flipping and turning is only partial—as if something anchors the remains and
keeps drawing them back to the pavement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Watching it, I begin to wonder what that anchor is. Why doesn’t this
nearly weightless shriveled shell become caught in the fan’s breeze and simply
blow away--off into the dirt? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then I am wondering if it is because something is
holding onto it. Perhaps an ant, trying to bring home its treasure to share
with the other ants. Watching it, I wonder at this bold creature who has got
hold of something beyond its control. Unwilling to let go, it—the ant—is being
turned and tossed with its treasure –back and forth—buffeted by the
unfathomable waves of the wind, the whipping of the air, the fan’s turning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And suddenly I am reminded of Ahab unable to let go of the
whale and how that unwillingness is his undoing. Seeming like courage, like
boldness—seeming even enviable and admirable—yet to what end? Ahab is destroyed
and his ship and crew lost (all but one).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And what of this ant? Will it refuse to let go of its capture? Like Ahab
caught by his own harpoon’s rope and dragged to a watery grave, will this ant’s
courage and boldness and refusal to let go become its own end? Will it keep
stirring with its treasure, stirring against the endless breeze, amidst the
pine-needles and the seeming endless expanse and whiteness of the concrete? Or
will it finally let go, release the giant wingless knot of legs, release the
hope of some great memory—a tale of epic struggle and unwavering dedication?
Release the dream of victorious hero hailed for bringing home—against all
odds—the mighty mosquito hawk?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet the
fraying knot of legs continues to twist and turn and ever to drag with it
whatever clings, whether for glory or out of fear of letting go, pulling it
always away and then back; a victorless struggle, a futile battle, until…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rise from my chair to get a closer look glimpse
this miniature Ahab at his Herculean labor and find—no ant, no bug, no legs
even, just a small cluster of threadlike roots turning and twisting, rolling aside
and then back again, anchored by nothing at all, merely an act of happenstance,
the result of the crashing waves of the breeze from the fan’s turning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But there I was, for a moment, mis-reading the actual
finding myself carried away by my own mis-reading, whisked off to another world;
bursting waves and breathless foam filling the air as my battered boat rolls
and turns and twists on the roiling sea, rising, sinking, in the seething
waves, every eye scanning the ever shifting horizon for the whiteness of the
whale, dragged away by my own refusal to let go of the dream I had found, the
commitment to that fearsome imagining, and the treasure it became.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And what does any of this have to do with DeQuincey or
Macbeth or Agatha Christie and Miss Marple? Well, it may be tenuous, but allow
me an attempt. For years I have heard mention of some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Knocking_at_the_Gate_in_Macbeth">brief
essay by Thomas DeQuincey</a> about Shakespeare’s Macbeth. On the surface, the
essay deals with the strange comic interlude that falls right after the murder
of Duncan: a drunken porter is awakened from his stupor by someone knocking at
the gate, and he complains in a comic drunken manner about the hour, and the
knocking and the bother of it all. DeQuincey found this odd little scene quite
memorable and curious and ponders not so much what Shakespeare meant, or the
structural importance of it, but mainly—why did it mean so much to him? And why
had others seemingly not found it as memorable or troubling? And in this short essay
(2-3 pages) he digresses to the topic of the imagination and understanding. It
seems that part of what he is proposing is that people come to understand (and
label) what Shakespeare is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
providing comic relief from the horrors of the previous action, he is
transitioning the action back from the nightmare of murder to the common place
and every day—creating a kind of mood-tension. But, DeQuincey feels that
labelling, and <i>understanding</i> in a kind of intellectual way, is rash and
too simplistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it misses out on the
more profound reading that comes with confusion and curiosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His conclusion is that we should not trust so
quickly our understanding. Asking the question: why? and the pondering that
comes with it—even the discomfort of dwelling in the not knowing-- seems to him
a richer kind of reading than simply looking for the “right answer” and moving
on. In other words: Don’t jump to conclusions! Let yourself be curious and
uncomfortable and let yourself wonder. Let your imagination and experience be
stirred by the question. Instead of jumping to conclusions or turning to the
answers in the back of the book, let yourself contemplate the question and see
where it takes you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It seems to me, that the real problem with rushing to
understand something, is that we can rush ourselves into a rudimentary
understanding, a too simplistic understanding, and that we might stop
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding something (like a
book) is highly over-rated. It is a kind of achievement, a conquest of sorts.
We understand it… and we might even be able to ace a multiple choice test on it.
But, something is missing: an encounter… </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's like reading the SparkNotes of <b><i>Moby Dick</i></b>,
instead of Melville’s novel. We will have a very basic knowledge, an
understanding of a sort; we might know what it is “about” on a particular level
(plot/theme). But we will have missed the opportunity to have of a
personal relationship with Ahab and Ishmael and Queequeg and the unfathomable
whiteness of Melville’s wondrous whale. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When we “understand” something, we tend to stick a pin in it
and say: <i>Done</i>.<i> </i>And after that we don’t have to think about it or
wonder about it anymore. We can stuff that piece of knowledge in a pigeonhole
and never question it. And in time, whether it is true or not, it solidifies
into something we believe is fact. That kind of thinking, understanding,
is very dangerous. Especially when it becomes the way we understand <i>“real
life”</i> and other people. That kind of understanding doesn’t allow for
complexity and paradox and contradictions. It tends toward generalities,
and cliches. <i>All librarians act a certain way: hair in a bun, glasses on a
chain, finger raised to their lips to hush any sound. Athletes are immature,
rash and aggressive. Mechanics drink beer and never listen to opera.
People from Texas like big trucks and bigger guns. New Yorkers are angry all
the time. Everybody from California likes white wine and granola. All
Democrats are... All Republicans... All politicians… All Catholics…</i>
Understanding the world, in this way, can blind us to the complexities of people,
places, events—blind us to the facts and the wonder and the contradictions of
life. This kind of understanding is like skimming a book instead of
reading it. Reading deeply and slowly and intentionally teaches us to
slow down and not rush to judgment. It teaches us to dwell in the discomfort of
not knowing… of wondering: what’s going to happen next? it teaches us to wait
and see and then to ask questions about motivation and meaning. Slow and deep
reading teaches us to contemplate and to question the text, and ourselves.
When you skim, when you rush to “understand,” you miss something… You miss
the encounter and the wonder.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">DeQuincey’s willingness to ponder and rest (for years even)
in his wonder and curiosity about that one troubling scene in Macbeth, and his
curiosity about it, and about why it seemed to matter so much to him, reminds
me of <a href="https://www.agathachristie.com/characters/miss-marple">Miss
Marple</a> (Agatha Christie’s most inspired and inspiring creation). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jane Marple is a perfect model of DeQuincey’s artful
reader. She is a model of attentiveness, curiosity, and a willingness to dwell
in the unknowing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She never rushes to
conclusions, but always ponders what she has seen, heard, learned and allows
her imagination to steep or stew in it until she arrives at the truth that is
being revealed by those facts and clues. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I just finished reading The Body in the Library, one of
Christie’s Miss Marple novels. I picked it up because I thought it would be a fun
little vacation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last summer I read a
Poirot mystery set at a seaside resort and felt like I was there in the heat
and sand and sea. This summer I would travel to rural England and a quaint
little village where I could enjoy some hot tea and some cold-blooded murder. And
yet, as I read, I found myself strangely stirred by Christie’s detective and
her unwillingness to jump to conclusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the surface, the book is just a clever mystery peopled with charming
characters, skillfully crafted with enough clues and plot twists to keep the
reader guessing and eager to read on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
that sense, as a popular novelist, Christie is near the top. She writes what is
called a “real page-turner.” But, beneath that skill and art, there is
something else happening in her books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jane Marple—the spinster detective, who sits with her tea and her
knitting, unnoticed by the world—is a woman of profound psychological depth and
imagining. She ponders the actualities of life, contemplates the world and the
souls that dwell in it, and –in time, and with patience—fearlessly discerns and
faces the truth of it all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the
reader par excellence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never settling
for half-truths, never satisfied with appearances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wonders about what she has seen, what she
has heard, what she knows and what she doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a sense, she is the perfect example of how we all should read,
whether reading books, blogs, or life itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She asks more questions than she tries to answer, she avoids
assumptions, and prejudices, allowing herself to learn, to witness, and to be
surprised by the truths that are revealed through her contemplation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That patience and curiosity isn’t just an
intellectual strength, more importantly it becomes a spiritual strength. It is
a courageous and saintly commitment to the truth, to see the truth, to bear
witness to it—regardless of where it takes her. And this commitment to the
truth, instead of hardening her to the world, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gives her a depth of compassion for the people
and the situations around her (even the murderers that she uncovers). Because
Jane Marple knows that she doesn’t know the whole story of any single soul on
earth (possibly not even her own) that gives her humility and compassion for
the trials and struggles of the characters around her; like Jesus, she comes
not to judge, but to illuminate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Miss Marple is the reader I hope to become, the reader DeQuincey
encourages us to become, and the reader I want my students to become. A reader for
and of life. She reads actively and curiously and always seeking to discern
truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we want to know the truth, if
we want to understand the mysteries of life, the world and the people around
us, then—like Ms. Christie’s detective—we need to be willing to rest in the
unknowing and uncertainties and dwell in the wondering; we need to become like
Miss Marple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But we must not miss the wonder of imagining either; that is
part of the pondering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see something
and we let ourselves be drawn into the wonder of it; into a kind of sympathy
with it, and as we do, we will find that we are contemplating not just the sky,
or the ant, the breeze, or the cluster of dried weeds, but the mystery and
wonder of it all. When we allow ourselves the seeming luxury to daydream and
ponder even if it is just a bit of dried grass. In time, we will discover these
hours are not wasted time, but the imagination’s way of renewing itself, and discovering
what it knows and what it doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reading, daydreaming, gazing at the clouds or at a doodle-bug or an
ant—it is necessary for the survival of the soul, and for the life of love—it
is where the seed of inspiration takes root.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Inspiration arises out of that stillness, that wonder, that confusion,
even that openness to whatever might come. So yes… I am pondering inspiration,
and imagination and the quiet contemplation called reading… Somehow I think it
is all connected. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What are you reading these days? Miss Marple, Macbeth, Moby
Dick? Or maybe a history of Hollywood’s singing cowboys…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next up for me… probably a childhood
favorite: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doc_Savage_novels">Doc
Savage</a>.</p>
<p></p><p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-27100741451438197152023-04-10T15:41:00.004-07:002023-04-10T15:41:40.763-07:00Mourning for the one we have pierced--Thoughts on Zechariah 12:10 (not 10:10)<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">“I will pour out on
the house of David</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">and on the people of
Jerusalem,</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">a spirit of grace and
prayers,</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">and they shall look
on him whom</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">they have pierced and
they shall mourn</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">as if for an only
son, and they shall grieve</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">as one grieves for a
first born…”</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Zechariah 12:10</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> The familiar passages of scripture, the ones we hear over
and over again—year to year—are often the most comforting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They show up, unannounced, like old friends
or family –and (like family & friends) often just in time for the
holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, we know them so well everything
feels automatic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hear that familiar
voice, the cackle of a familiar laugh, and we are suddenly transported. For
instance, when my oldest friend (David) stops by for coffee, we almost
immediately become a couple of 4<sup>th</sup> graders again—talking about
teachers and kickball, St. Jerome’s and Ridgecrest Elementary, trips to K-mart
and T,G & Y. We don’t think about it, we just fall right back into the old
days and ways without even trying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For me, it is he same with familiar sayings and bits of
information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t help but see the
number 714 without thinking of Babe Ruth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was how many homeruns he hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Until Hank Aaron came along, it was considered the unbreakable record in
baseball. For me, it is still the most important statistic in all of sports
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But is that because I see it
through the lens of nostalgia? I read that number on a sheet of paper, a
computer screen, and without thinking, automatically, I see Babe Ruth circling
the bases on those impossibly twiggy legs of his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I read these words from Zechariah and I immediately think of
the Stations of the Cross. I picture Jesus pierced by the Roman soldier’s
spear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And –to some extent—that is
appropriate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The words evoke that image,
and they are often read as part of the liturgy during Lent,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>often included as part of the Stations
meditations we read, when we pray the Stations of the Cross. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the other morning when I was reading
these words, for some reason I paused for a moment and wondered: Wait a
minute!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why? Why would the Israelites
return from exile in Babylon, be restored to their homeland, have a spirit of
grace and petition poured out upon them, and suddenly begin mourning? Who do
they look at? Who have their pierced?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not Jesus, because these words were written at least 300-500 years
before He was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who have they
pierced, and who are they looking upon?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I
automatically think of Jesus, I’m not really reading the words? I’m not really
paying attention to the text (or the context).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a sense, I’m only reading what I expect to read—not what is actually
on the page. And that’s not actually reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So I went back to the words on the page in my Book of
Christian Prayer, and then I looked them up in my Bible. And when I did, two
things stood out to me: first, the citation in my prayer book was wrong; probably
a typo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It referenced Zechariah
10:10-11a, however, the words actually come from Zechariah 12:10-11a.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That stood out to me, because it reminded me
that even experts with all their degrees and training can make mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can get things wrong. Second, rereading the
words in my Bible, I found myself struck by the context of the exiles returning
to Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God promises to smite
their enemies and to pour upon them a spirit of grace and petition. So why does
the author include those words about that pierced one and mourning as if for an
only child?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounds like it should be
a time for celebration and cheers of joy, prayers of thanksgiving. But
Zechariah speaks of mourning as if for a first-born child. Why had I never
noticed that before?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because I was blinded by prejudice—by pre-judgement. I had
already made up my mind what the words meant, what they prefigured, and so I
didn’t actually read the words, I read only what I expected from them. Sometimes
714, is just a number—not a statistic. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But this year, reading these familiar words with new eyes, I
was astonished by their power and beauty and profound and personal
message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it all started with a bit
of curiosity: Why do people who are being saved begin to mourn? And who,
exactly, is this pierced one that they are looking at? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And suddenly I knew. They are morning not for
an only child, but as if for an only child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are being blessed by God, and they are mourning because they know
they do not deserve God’s grace. They are mourning because the one who saved
them, the one who is blessing them, is the one they pierced—not with a lance,
but with idols and betrayals and hypocrisy and sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I was stunned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly I remembered the times that I too
had experienced kindness and generosity at the hands of someone I had betrayed
or gossiped about, or just thought ill of. I felt again the shame and the
sorrow of knowing my own failing, my own weakness and smallness. How little I
deserved the generosity and kindness, and how ashamed (and yet grateful) I was
to receive them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that image recalled to me the reason these words are so
important to our reading for Lent, for Holy Week, for contemplating the Passion
of Our Lord. Because they remind us, not just of the lance of the Roman
Soldier, but of he lance of my own sharp tongue, the piercing lance of my own selfish
heart, my self-serving pride, and of the one who poured out His blood for us
anyway. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, today—as I write this—on easter Monday, I read these
words and think not of Lent and the Passion, but of Easter and the
Resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I look upon the one I
pierced and see Him resurrected,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pouring
His spirit upon me, upon us all, as He brings us forth from the exile of sin (and
death), restoring us to life and opening for us gates of a new Jerusalem: His Blessed
Kingdom. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reading these familiar words, I had my eyes opened. I
realized something about God’s word, that it requires vulnerability and
curiosity—if we want to really read it, we have to open ourselves up to the
risk of having our ideas and our hearts changed. A reading lesson for an old
librarian—and a life lesson for all of us. Pre-judging something (or someone)
can cause us to miss out on so much…</p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-40959969092491327922023-04-02T11:51:00.009-07:002023-04-02T12:31:23.541-07:00Palm Sunday 2023--Why should we expect anything different? Thoughts on the Passion from the Gospel of Matthew<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“And many women
were there, watching from a distance;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>the same women who
had followed Jesus from Galilee</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and ministered to
Him.” –Matthew 27:55</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> My usually approach to contemplating scripture is to see
what stands out to me as I read it—what troubles me, or confuses me; what makes
me pause and wonder why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this
morning as I was reading the Passion narrative from Matthew, there were a few
bits and pieces that caught me off guard. First this passage about the women,
which makes me think about how often it is the women who remain faithful, who
stand up when there is trouble and never turn away: mothers, wives, sisters
standing by the bedside of the dying, visiting the sick, holding the hand of
the prisoner .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is that women are the
ones who so often show this courage (or faithfulness)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it because women so often go unnoticed?
That soldiers and guards don’t feel threatened by their presence, don’t even
acknowledge it often enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Them—they’re just women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
humility and that invisibility, is it something that women learn early in life
and is it that abuse or that bias that gives these women the courage to remain
close to Jesus, after all the apostles (males) have fled in terror and
confusion?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I wondered about that for a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then I wondered about an interesting
image from the Garden of Gethsemane scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What caught my attention this time was the three disciples that Jesus
took with Him when he went off to be alone: Peter, James and John (<i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">cf. Mt 26: 36-46</span></i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same three He took with Him when He was
transfigured on the mountain (<i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">cf. Mt. 17: 1-8</span></i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also noticed another similarity. In both
cases a cloud comes over Jesus. On the mountain it is a literal cloud (the
presence of God), but here it is a figurative cloud—a sadness and anguish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And reading this morning, I wondered: Was
this moment not another kind of transfiguration? On the mountain the disciples
witnessed the Godliness of Jesus through a transfiguration, and here they
glimpse (perhaps only for a moment) the fullness of His humanity through His
anguish. He tells the three, “My soul is sorrowful to the point of death…” And
just like on the mountain, the three friends are found on the ground, there in
fear and awe; here in the garden they are exhausted and have fallen asleep. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So again I wonder, why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Matthew trying to tell us something with
these parallels, or am I just misreading these stories through my own
idiosyncratic lens?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then something else occurred to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story itself: the Passion and death of
Our Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does it mean to us? What
does it teach us about the Love of God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And what does it teach us about what we should expect from a Christian
life? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“Take up your cross, the master said, if you would my
disciple be…”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sings the old hymn.
And so we are reminded again and again of that call to follow Christ, and what
it means to follow Him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But still, we hear this same story year after year, over and
over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For almost 2100 years,
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, we still seem to expect a
different ending. Every year as we read this story—a kind of strange anticipatory
hope comes over me, as if this time—perhaps—the disciples won’t flee, this
time, the guards won’t abuse, this time the priests won’t spit, this time
Pilate won’t give in, this time Judas won’t betray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, things will be different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time victory won’t come in the form of a
cross. But that is my way, that is our way; it isn’t God’s way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“Take up your cross, the master said, if you would my
disciple be…” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the old hymn sings.
And yet we still look for another way, an easier way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look for a victory that feels more safe,
that seems more comfortable, more to our liking—more victorious (by our
standards).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that isn’t the victory
God chose, and it isn’t the victory He calls us to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each time you look at the cross, you see the victory of
Christ, the throne—so to speak—of God’s victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why after hearing this story for 2100
years do we keep looking, hoping, expecting something easier, something
different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do we keep thinking we
should be able to have victory without the cross? Hosannas without the
Passion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recently I read or heard someone talking about how anti-Catholic
(or anti-Christian) bigotry was the last acceptable prejudice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if this is true or not, but the
speaker seemed quite indignant about it. And this morning I am wondering –why not?
If Christians are truly following their master, shouldn’t they expect to be
rejected? Shouldn’t they expect that the only crown they will receive in this
world will come with thorns, and it will be bejeweled only by the drops of their
own blood. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Instead of demanding glory, or mercy or even respect, when faced with the brutality of sin, Jesus accepted the abuse and gave "[His] back to those who beat me/ [His] cheeks to those who plucked [His] beard;/ [His] face [He] did not shield from buffets and spitting." (<i>cf. Isaiah 50:4-7</i>). <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Why do Chrsitians imagine anything else? As Jesus warned us, if they treat the
Master in this way, will they treat His servants any better? (<i>cf. John 15:20</i>) Instead of demanding respect, perhaps Christians should follow the example given in Isaiah; stop trying to protect our faces from the spitting and our backs from the beatings, and take up our Cross and follow our King--to His throne.<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After 2100 years, there are still so many lessons for us to
learn, and I fear—none of them will come easy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I wish you a blessed Holy Week and I pray that you will find,
as you take up your own particular cross, that you are not alone. There is
someone’s shoulder lifting it right there beside you. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God Bless you, and I will see you the other side of Easter!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-16053046662243558452023-03-26T11:49:00.001-07:002023-03-26T11:49:03.784-07:00Not for death, but for the glory of God—thoughts on the Gospel for 5th Sunday of Lent<p> <br />
</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“This Illness is
not to end in death, but is for the glory of God,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>that the Son of
God might be glorified through it.” –John 11:4</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Sunday’s Gospel is a lengthy section John 11, telling
the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. There are so many elements in
this story worth our contemplation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
resurrection of Lazarus, coming out of the tomb still bound in burial cloths.
What a striking image. Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus are models of
faith and prayer, service and contemplation. The fact that Jesus waits 2 days
before he responds to their plea is certainly something worth our
attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does that mean? Why
would He do that? And there is, of course, Martha’s own confusion about the
behavior of Jesus:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Lord, if you had
been here, my brother would not have died…” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(cf. John 11:21)</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How many times have we all felt that way? Asked almost that
very same question: <i>Where were you God, when my father died? Why weren’t you
there to protect my husband, my wife, my child, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from cancer? From that car accident? From depression?
From temptation? From all harm??</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This chapter is so rich, in fact the readings for these past
three Sundays have been so very rich; such fruitful food for prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, for me there was that strange and
wonderful word from Jesus that comes early in the chapter: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“This illness is
not to end in death, but is for the glory of God…”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And yet, Lazarus is sick, and Lazarus does die. His sisters and
friends begin the process of mourning and burial for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not spared that suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must still endure it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His death is real. Their grieving is
real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The suffering is real—and yet…
there is something more: the glorification of Jesus that arrives somehow within
the suffering, the grieving. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are two things I am pondering about this reading today;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First, there is the reality of that suffering; the sorrow
and mourning of Martha, Mary and their friends, as well as the actual suffering
of Lazarus (unto death). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that
we have faith, or that we might <i>offer up</i> our suffering, does not in any
sense diminish the pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It still hurts,
still makes us question, challenges our faith and our heart and our soul—and may
even cripple our bodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being a “Christian”
doesn’t spare you any of that human suffering; though it may give you comfort,
it won’t take away the sting.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second, that idea of Lazarus’s death being for the glory of
God, and the glorification of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That—I
think—is what I am trying to get at when I talk of the value of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this story Lazarus is facing the ultimate
question, the ultimate insufficiency: death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lazarus cannot control death, he can’t work his way around it. Can’t, pull
up his bootstraps and defeat it with gumption and positive thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like every single one of us, he is insufficient
to that task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And hence, his sisters
calling out to Jesus for help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They need
help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They cannot do this on their own. Their
vulnerability overwhelms them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what
does this vulnerability, this need do to their community?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It draws people to them. Friends, family, neighbors,
come to offer comfort, to offer consolation, to share the burden of this
suffering with Mary and Martha. They come to give of themselves, they leave the
comfort and security of their own homes and lives and travel to be with Martha
and Mary in their time of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And—in some
small way—this self-giving, this coming together as community, this sharing of
a burden, this entering into another person’s need, is a reflection of (or
participation in) God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s compassion—God’s glory. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then, on a whole other level, there is Jesus coming to
them, entering into their suffering, their need, and calling out of it life
itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jesus calls Lazarus from
the tomb, restores him back to life, He reveals something new about Himself to
the people watching, even to His apostles standing nearby. He reveals to them
His glory—the glory that shines from the very source of life itself: the
Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to us, today, who have heard
this gospel reading all our lives, who have become overly familiar with the names
and the events and just want mass to end so we can go get our coffee and
doughnuts, what is Jesus revealing to us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think it is Irenaeus who said: <i>The glory of God is a
person fully alive…</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus is glorified by restoring Lazarus to life, but He does
this by entering into the sorrow and suffering of Mary and Martha and the
mourners; by going to them, toward their need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And He reveals the fullness of His glory by walking toward the cross,
into his own suffering and passion and death—in order to meet us in our sorrow,
our suffering, our need for salvation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Walking away from church this morning, I was humbled by the power
and mystery of this story, and by the question: How do I follow in His
footsteps, unless I am willing to turn my face toward Calvary and walk always toward
the cross?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Last, let me also say: finding a spiritual value in our
insufficiency does not mean that we simply give in to any weakness or that we
celebrate a weakness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An addict or
alcoholic may <i>need</i> their drug in order to avoid the pain of withdrawal; but
real as that need may be, it does not mean that the best way to help them is to
buy them a bottle of gin. A husband may say he <i>needs</i> his wife, but that
doesn’t mean she must submit to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Helping
others, entering into their vulnerability and need, does not mean becoming a
doormat or enduring physical abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
does not mean that we feed the addiction or sin of another. But it might look
like sitting in silence with someone in their time of crisis, holding their
hand, and wishing we could do more but knowing this is all we have to
give.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a blessed humility in
that as well. And God’s glory is revealed there, too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Humbling ourselves, and truly entering into the suffering of
another will often be uncomfortable, it will stretch our patience, our love,
our faith even.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like giving birth, it
could even be painful at times, but it should always call us to come forth out
of the tomb and into the light, where we can reflect the glory of God by
becoming vulnerable and fully alive. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-11136552412925344682023-03-18T12:39:00.004-07:002023-03-18T12:39:26.999-07:00The work of God revealed—thoughts on the Gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent (John 9:1-41)<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> “Rabbi, who
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”</i></p><p>
</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--John 9:2</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> How often do we ask: why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why has this befallen me? My spouse? My child? We search desperately for
some meaning in the suffering we witness. Why did this happen? Where was God?
Why did He let this happen?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And –on the other side of this coin—how often have people
justified suffering or loss as God’s will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The sentimental side of this might justify the death of a child by
saying: God wanted her with Him in Heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the truth of it is, we ache from the loss—and we are
just trying to make some kind of sense of it; trying to tell ourselves a story
that will bring some comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet,
no matter what story we come to hold as true, we still live with that ache,
that loss, that emptiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t go
away, and neither does that question: why? Whose fault is it? My sin or my
parents? My family? My society? Just who is God mad at? And why? What did we
do?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, what we hear in John’s Gospel for the 4<sup>th</sup>
Sunday of Lent is some assurance that God does not work that way. When the
disciples see a man who has been blind since birth, they ask Jesus:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who sinned? The man or his parents? Who is
God punishing by making this man blind? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And Jesus tells them: <i>Neither the man, nor his parents
sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him</i>.
(cf. 9:3) He wasn’t born blind as a punishment for his parent’s sin (or even his
own).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God doesn’t afflict me with cancer
because of some sin of my youth, nor to punish my parents for something they
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is not keeping a tally sheet of
our sins: 37 mortal sins = stage 3 carcinoid tumor and chronic leukemia; 19
venial sins = blindness (or a club foot—depending on the season); 20+ venial
sins = in-laws for the holiday weekend. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Earlier in John’s Gospel Jesus has already made things very
clear: <i>For God sent His son into the world, not to judge the world, but so
that through Him the world might be saved. (cf. 3:17) </i>Not to condemn, but
that the work of God (salvation, mercy, love) might be revealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here in this Gospel for the 4<sup>th</sup>
Sunday of Lent we read of the man born blind and the question comes up: why?
Why did this happen? Is his blindness some kind of punishment? Does he (somehow)
deserve it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus says no to that
kind of theology, that kind of faith. This man’s suffering does not come as a
judgment from God. In fact, I think Jesus is telling us that the disciples are
asking the wrong question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we ask
whose to blame, we distance ourselves from the problem—from the suffering—from
the person; we stand apart and judge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Exactly what Jesus came <b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">not</span><i> </i></b>to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead, what Jesus does when He meets anyone afflicted by illness or demons
(anyone in need), is to enter into their concern, their trouble, their need. Often
asking them: <i>What do you want me to do for you? How can I serve you? How can
I meet you in your need?</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In this Sunday’s story, Jesus immediately sets about the
process of healing in order that the work of God might be made visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I think that must be one of the most
important lessons in this famous story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead of letting Himself be drawn into a theological debate, or a
theoretical discussion; instead of standing back and contemplating the situation,
He enters into it and thus begins the process of making visible the work of the
Father—mercy, healing, salvation, love. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does that tell us about how we should
live? What does that say to us about how we should see the people around us,
their sufferings, their struggles, their need?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not as an opportunity to make points, to show how smart or lucky or good
we are—but as an opportunity to make the work of God visible; to reveal God’s
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To die to ourselves (even if just
a little bit) for the sake of another. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What does this look like in real life? For me, it looks like
this: I carry a little extra cash in my wallet whenever I can and I give it to
whoever asks. When I pull up to a stop light and someone comes to my car window
with their sign or their paper cup, I don’t ask them what they will do with the
money, or why they need it. I don’t ask who is to blame for the situation they
find themselves in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just ask their
name, and give them whatever money I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then I ask them to pray for me, and assure them that I will pray for
them as well. Another way it might show up in my life is through baking. I love
to bake bread and take loaves to neighbors and co-workers who are experiencing
some difficulty or hardship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some need.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And—as I have said before—doing even these small acts of love,
of mercy, of compassion leaves me feeling blessed in ways that I can only
explain by turning back to those words from today’s gospel: for a moment,
something has been made visible, something I had not seen before, something I
perhaps had not even noticed that I was missing. In the need of another, and
the chance to serve them, I have glimpsed for a moment—the work of God made
visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That is what I think we are all hungering for—a glimpse of the
transcendent, a glimpse of eternity beaming radiantly back at us—perhaps
through the eyes of the blind, or the hungry, the weeping, the sick, the
prisoner, the widow, the orphan or even the immigrant or the stranger.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And this is what I mean when I talk about a theology of
need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think need is built into us. It
is a way that we form connections and community. It is also the way we discover
who we really are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My need creates a
space for you to be kind or generous, to become discover your gifts and
strengths by helping another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your need does
the same for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as we reach out to
help one another, as we move into the need of one another, we grow in love, we
grow in humility, and we --if only for a moment—become more like Jesus. Through
self-giving, we lay down our life for the sake of another, and by doing that we
make visible the work of God, the love of the one who humbled Himself and took
the form of a servant, the one who died for us on a cross—the one who came not
to judge, but to save. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-12923681576043323522023-03-11T08:49:00.005-08:002023-03-11T08:49:36.990-08:00Give me something to drink--thoughts on the Jesus and the woman at the well (for the 3rd Sunday of Lent)<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Thoughts on the Gospel for the 3<sup>rd</sup> Sunday of Lent
12 March 2023</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>“Give me something to drink…”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--John 4:5-42</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Sunday is the 3<sup>rd</sup> Sunday of Lent and our
Gospel for this weekend is the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The basics are this: Jesus and the disciples
have crossed into Samaria (just north of Judah) and they are tired and
hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The disciples wander off in
search of food, and Jesus waits behind near a well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is around mid-day and a woman comes to the
well to draw some water. Jesus asks her to give him a drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which leads to a discussion about the well,
about water, about husbands (the woman has had 5) and about where and how to worship
and even about telling the truth. Often, when people talk or write of this
story, they focus on the fact that Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan, or that
she is a woman, or the fact that it takes place in the heat of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much has been made of the fact that the woman
is alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the Jews of Jesus’ time,
the Samaritans were kind of like outcasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were a people of mixed-blood and mixed-up religious practices;
abhorrent to the people of Judah. Does this woman come to the well in the heat
of the day all alone because she is even an outcast among her own people?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And those are all important questions, issues, fruitful for
our contemplation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the thing that
catches my eye is the fact that Jesus asks her for a drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That seems to me, the corner stone that I
stumble over every time I read this story. It makes me pause and ask: why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not why did He ask a woman, or why did He ask
a Samaritan, but why did He ask someone to give Him water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly after asking, Jesus says something
that must have been very mysterious to the woman. He says:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“If you knew the
gift of God</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and who is saying
to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>you would have
asked Him,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and He would have
given you living water.” (cf. 4:10)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Much is made out of that phrase “Living Water,” --faith, new
life welling up inside of us, etc. But, what seems to me so very very important
and too often overlooked is the “gift.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus refers to the gift that has been offered to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is that gift? Of course, Jesus Himself
might be the gift; the gift of new life and salvation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think it is a mistake to rush into
theologizing too quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think one of
the mistakes we make when we read scripture is to turn away from the
mysterious, and rush toward some kind of understanding—toward sense. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, for me at least, one of the great things
about the Gospels is how weird they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How uncomfortable they can make me –with my life, with my assumptions, with
my self-image, even with my faith, my hunger, my thirst…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so I go back to the thing that strikes me as most
strange—that Jesus asks for water, He is thirsty, He needs a drink, and He –the
Son of God—asks for help getting it. Like a small child asking an adult for a
glass of water. They need help. They can’t reach the glasses up in the
cupboard, or they can’t reach the faucet to turn on the water… So, we help
them. And here, Jesus may have no way to dip water from the well—no bucket or container
to dip down into the well. Like a child, His human nature may need her
assistance to reach the water. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But—to my
ear—there is still that strangeness of referring to His request as a gift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does that mean? How is it a gift?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that is when I remembered a feeling that came over me
–quite often—when I was volunteering as a hospital minister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would visit people at the hospital to check
in with them, to offer a prayer, to sit and visit if they were lonely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would go into a hospital room and try to
help them in some way, to offer them some comfort, yet so many times I would
walk out of those rooms feeling as if I were the one who had been ministered
to, as if I were the one who had been given a gift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And isn’t that the way it so often goes?
That when we help someone in need, when we are kind to someone, we come away
feeling renewed, feeling energized, almost giddy with joy (sometimes), as if we
were the one who was blessed, the one who was given a gift.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so I wonder, is the gift that Jesus gives the woman His
need? An opportunity to serve Him, to comfort Him? To share herself with
another, to—in a way—become more fully herself; through an act of generosity
she becomes more fully the gift that she (that each of us) was made to be. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And this is where I wander off into the thickets, so if I
sound a little crazy (or mysterious) I ask only that you bear with me and ponder
whatever comes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After the woman leaves Jesus to go tell her townspeople that
she may have just met the Christ, His disciples come back with food and
encourage Him to eat. And His reply seems to me another clue in this beautiful
mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells them:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“I have food to
eat of which you do not know…</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>My food is to do
the will of the one who sent me</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and to finish his
work.” (cf. 4:31-34)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His food is to do the work of God, to do God’s will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To become more like His Father—loving,
merciful; His sun shining on the good and the bad, His rain falling on the
wicked and the just.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jesus gives the
Samaritan woman an opportunity to serve, an opportunity to be kind and
merciful, He is giving her the chance to become more like God—to share in the Heavenly
food of the Father’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When He
shares His need with her, He opens a door for her to step through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He offers her an opportunity to become more
completely who she was made to be: a beloved child, made in the image and
likeness of God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am wondering about this gift of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I need help, I do not feel like a gift.
I feel like a burden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, when someone
comes to me with their need, their burden, I often feel more alive. As if I
have been given a gift; as if I have thirsty for a long time, and someone has
finally given me a drink of water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
the thirst we all have deep inside our soul, a thirst to serve, to console, to comfort,
a thirst to be made complete by the chance to share ourselves, our abilities,
our treasure, our gifts, with another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chance to give ourselves away… to become
more fully like God by laying down our own life (even if only momentarily) for
the sake of another.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The next time you need help, don’t hesitate to
ask—to become the gift, the Living Water that someone else has been thirsting
for –perhaps all their life. </span><p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-2263208917340929962023-02-26T06:37:00.006-08:002023-02-26T11:33:56.350-08:00The real lesson of fasting: Some thoughts for the first Sunday of Lent<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“He fasted for forty days
and for forty nights,</span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">and afterwards He was
hungry.”</span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">--Matthew 4: 1-11</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As
another Lent begins, it is good to revisit the idea of fasting, sacrifice and
penance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, before we anyone starts
objecting that Lent is not just about fasting, let me just say: You're right. It is also about prayer and alms giving (charity).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the issue that most of us have more
trouble with is this idea of fasting –of giving up something: food, drink, abstaining
from some pleasure. Whatever it is we might be considering giving up, in the
back of our head is often the nagging question: What’s the point?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can’t I just enjoy my chocolate <b><i>and</i></b>
be more charitable? Give money to a homeless person and eat a Snickers? Visit my
sick neighbor and then sip on a root-beer float? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would that make me any good? Any less holy?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
thought is that yes, you can enjoy root beer and popcorn and chocolate and
favorite TV shows and still be a good person, even a holy one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That isn’t the point of Lent—I don’t
think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the real point of our
Lenten abstinence is not about the giving up, but about the wanting. The appetite.
I have come to think that the real lesson of Lent and fasting has less to do
with the value of abstaining and more to do with the importance of redirecting
or refocusing my appetite, so to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
don’t think we are asked to give things up because they are necessarily bad for
us; for instance, someone who enjoys chocolate and pork chops is not less holy
than someone who lives on locust and honey—at least not based on diet alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one of our local priests likes to say:
Lent is not about losing weight and fasting is not a diet plan. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
have begun to think that our appetites, our hungers, our desires are much more
important than we might think. As the prophet Amos reminds the wayward Israelites:
<i>“Prepare to meet your God.”</i> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 10pt;">(cf Amos 4:12)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
who is our God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the book of Amos,
Israel’s god is her pocketbook, her belly, her comfort. The people even pray
for the end of their Sabbath so they can go back to cheating one another, and
buy and sell the poor for a few shekels or a pair of sandals!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the prophet tells them to <i>prepare to
meet your God, </i>to my ear it sounds more like a threat than an
invitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now I can’t help but
ponder: who is my God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who am I
preparing to meet?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
isn’t that what our whole life is about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Preparing to meet our God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
who are we preparing to meet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am all
filled up with Cheetos and pickles and mayonnaise sandwiches, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to be hungry for the kale and
spinach salad my wife made for dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
if all I ever eat is junk food and peanut butter crackers, how will I ever
learn that I might actually like kale and spinach and cauliflower and even –dare
I say… Brussel sprouts!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well—the
same goes for our soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we fill it
with momentary pleasures and self-interest and self-satisfaction, never
allowing ourselves to become hungry for something more, something beyond our
own whims and wants—something eternal—then who are we preparing ourselves to
meet? Who is our god? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fasting
asks us to spend some time with that want, with the feeling of hungering for
something that we cannot have, desiring something more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes an opening in our soul, and gives us
a chance to discover that no matter how many potato chips we eat or episodes of
Midsomer Murders we binge, we will never be truly satisfied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will always want something more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that wanting of that something more—I think
that is the real lesson of the Lenten fast. To –as Jesus did—separate ourselves
from the ordinary and from the false security of a full belly and a distracted
brain, and to spend some time wanting something more. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we die and a voice whispers to us, <i>Prepare
to meet your God</i>… who will you <i>want</i> to meet?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One more note: In the Gospel for today with
its story of the temptations in the desert, there is a very important lesson
for all who fast. Anyone who has ever tried to fast from a habit or some
pleasure (or some favorite food) knows that it doesn’t take 40 days and 40 nights
for the temptations to begin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
temptation to stop fasting, to just go ahead and do or eat that thing we are
fasting from—just this one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
temptation to rationalize—just this once! And, the promise that if you give in
this time, everything will be fixed. You’ll never be hungry again. But how does
Jesus react to all these temptations? By turning to God. Reminding us: <i>Human
beings live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of
God. </i>He redirects His appetite, focuses His desire on the eternal and
lasting good of God, the Father. His Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lent
isn’t a time to deny the goodness of bread, but instead a time to remind
ourselves: there is something so much better waiting for us. All we have to do
is learn to want it.</span></p> <span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-86257615486654862272022-12-31T06:03:00.005-08:002022-12-31T08:22:02.171-08:00Making Straight Paths (part 2) --Where does your path lead?<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“A voice of one
crying in the wilderness:</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Prepare a way for
the Lord.</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Make his paths
straight.”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>John 1:23</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is almost a week after Christmas and I am still thinking
about the Advent readings, especially this idea of making a straight path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As my family might tell you, I am quite
easily distracted, moved off task, redirected even.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My paths tend to be anything but straight—even
when I drive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember my first car, a
white 1978 Honda Civic with a stick shift, no AC and only AM radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember how that car taught me the importance
of shade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the blessedness of
trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot count how many times I had
to answer the question: Why are you going this way? The freeway is faster. And
my answer was always:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Memorial Drive is
shadier—and you get to drive through the park. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I say this for two reasons; first, because I want to be honest.
I am not someone normally concerned with making straight paths, nor innately inclined
in that direct direction either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, as I have grown older and as life has become more complicated,
I find that –especially when it comes to driving—that I tend to not take as much
delight in detours as I once did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
a tendency these days to try and get home asap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And stay there, if possible. And second, because I am about to take a
detour.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was the Sunday before Christmas, and I was driving some
groceries over to one of my daughters (at UH).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, our current car has air conditioning and even has one of
those USB things that lets you listen to music off a thumb drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which means I can download old <a href="https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Jack_Benny_Singles">Jack Benny Radio Shows</a>
and listen to them while I drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
people listen to podcasts, others audiobooks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I listen to 1940s radio shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did
you notice I just took a little detour? An aside?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, back to my story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was out delivering groceries, and hoping (as
always) to get back home ASAP. I had important stuff on the agenda: plans to
watch a movie with my wife and maybe even take a nap… I was making a straight
path right back to my couch! I’m all about grabbing that gusto wherever I can!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the Lord had other plans. Heading back home, suddenly
the traffic slowed, and then stopped and then inched forward bit by bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was one of the many Houston traffic
closures happening that weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
bridge or something was being repaired and all the I-10 west traffic was being
rerouted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to stay on 45 headed
north.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t too frustrated because I
was enjoying a jazzy number by Phil Harris’s orchestra, and we used to live in
the Heights; I knew I could pretty easily find my alternate route home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would just exit North Main and drop by the
old Shipley’s for a doughnut and some coffee and be home in no time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apparently, everyone else did, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The North main exit was backed up onto the
freeway, so I kept going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I took
the next exit—Patton?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, I got off,
turned left and knew if I just kept going straight I would come to something I
recognized. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there I was, trying to
make a straight path when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone I
recognized—or thought I did. It was a friend who died about 2 years before. I
slowed down and looked back, knowing it couldn’t be him and realized it was a
homeless man. Thin, ragged, long hair, long beard, walking half bent over through
a parking lot. I think I was still on Patton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just a block or two from the freeway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I saw him and thought –how strange that he had looked just like our
friend Forrest, and yet on second glance not at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in the rearview mirror I thought I saw
him lean against a wall and then kind of slump to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was a strange thing to see, but I was on my way home and
actually in a bit of a hurry now with all the detours. I wanted to get home to
that movie and that nap. So, I kept going. Kept trying to make that straight
path… And then I thought of Forrest again, and how he would care for people when
they were down on their luck. How many times he even came to take care of me
and my family when we were feeling down on our luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How he would go out of his way to help just about anyone. And suddenly I found myself turning around. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another detour?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps,
but I drove back and there the man was sitting on the pavement just outside the
store, huddled up, with his coat pulled closed and his knees pulled up near his
chest, his head slouched over. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I got out of my car and walked over to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asked if he needed anything. Some money?
He looked up with the eyes of the lost, as if the last thing he expected to see
was someone offering help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got down on one knee
beside him and we talked for a few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His name is Adolph.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he wanted
to know what church I went to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then
told me about a church over by Mattress Mack’s store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How kind they were to him when his brother
died. How they helped him and took such good care of his brother for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how long we talked, maybe 10 or
15 minutes. At some point he seemed done. His eyes looked away, exhausted, as if he needed to rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave him what money I had, and he looked at it like it was something strange and unexpected. Before I left, I told him I would pray for him and asked him to
pray for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I got back in my car and drifted through the Heights toward
Studewood and back to I-10, thinking about Adolph and about how I almost drove
right past him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is that famous scene in John’s Gospel where Jesus meets a
Samaritan woman at a well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asks her
for a drink of water. She is surprised that a Jewish man would ask
help from a Samaritan woman. But He says to her<i>: If you only knew what was being
offered you</i>… (cf. 4:10) That phrase, <i>offered you,</i> seems to me quite important. What was it that was being offered to her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> A thirsty man was asking her for water... He needed a drink and had no way of getting it. She was being offered a chance to help someone. To serve them. In fact, she was being offered a</span> chance to serve God…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Driving home I realized that in my hurry
to get back home to my couch and TV, I almost missed that chance myself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Making a straight path doesn’t mean making an easy one, or
making the quickest one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As St. Teresa
of Avila once said, “God writes straight with crooked lines.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In my efforts to make a straight path, I need to remember that. What looks crooked to me, may be leading me straight to where I need to be. And so, the question I am now asking myself is this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where does my straight path lead?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it lead straight back to the couch, or does it make room for a detour that might just become a blessing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-59223145644473500952022-12-19T12:09:00.003-08:002022-12-19T12:09:18.092-08:00A reflection on intentions and babies for the 4th Sunday of Advent<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“…such was his
intention…”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Matthew 1:18-24</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We all have intentions, our hopes, our dreams, our plans for
the day, for life—even for the holidays. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we intend to get up earlier, to start
the day with a healthy breakfast, to eat more broccoli, to do core exercises every
day before heading off to work…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I
was in 4<sup>th</sup> grade a teacher asked me what I planned to do with my
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told her I wanted to be a
singer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My intention was to be another
Donovan… or maybe another Davy Jones, even another John Sebastian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later in high school, hoping to impress a
young lady, I tried singing for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
listened a moment, then asked (with some concern), “Does it hurt when you do
that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My singing aspirations have been much more
private ever since.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the saying goes: If you want to make God laugh, tell Him
your plans. Or sing to your girlfriend.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the Gospel for the 4<sup>th</sup> Sunday of Advent, we
hear of Joseph and his plans, his intentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oddly enough, this story begins with Joseph original plans crumbling to
pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was planning to get married but,
right in the first verse he discovers that his bride has become pregnant and
the baby isn’t his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can imagine his
shock and probable disappointment, however, instead of lashing out or seeking
justice, he comes up with another plan. It would seem that he still has some
feeling for Mary, and so he plans to spare her any public scene. He intends to divorce
her quietly, and protect her from the shame and possible consequences of being accused
of adultery, which (at that time) might have included being dragged to the city
gates and stoned to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Joseph’s intentions were honorable, they were good, they
were even merciful, and yet they were not God’s plan, not God’s intention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s intention was to put a baby in Joseph’s
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe ask yourself: In some way, isn’t
that the real point of Christmas?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To let
a baby into our house, into our heart, into our life…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Consider, what happens when a baby comes into the
house?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaking from experience, everything
changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sleep schedules, diets, volume
levels, washing schedules, and even personal hygiene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
baby makes demands on our time, our energy, our attention, our budget, our love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A baby demands that we change our
expectations, our intentions, our life for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even our TV schedule! I never would have imagined a life that included <a href="https://youtu.be/k_t7pTfdYts">Barney the Dinosaur</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/oJ8CXngwvbU">Teletubbies</a>. We have to humble
ourselves and do things we never wanted to imagine ourselves doing; i.e. listening
to <a href="https://youtu.be/g--fpqs2vx0">Wee Sing</a> cassettes in the car, or
changing a diaper on a city bus, or cleaning up an unexpected mess, and trying
to figure out which end it came out of!! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A baby demands that we put our own needs and desires aside,
for its sake, for its care. That we lay down our life for the sake of
another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And strangely enough, it is the
baby that teaches us that this isn’t a curse, this isn’t an agony we want to
avoid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we learn by caring for a baby,
is that the more we sacrifice for a child, the deeper we love it; the more we
give ourselves away to their care and their needs, their smiles and their
laughter, their peace and their delight, the more we are filled with such things
ourselves. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some of my most blessed memories are of waking at 3 in the
morning to walk with one of my daughters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was exhausted. Often, I was confused. My intention had been to get at
least a few hours of sleep, but instead I would hear the cry, or the call from
down the hallway and I would climb out of bed—sometimes a little grouchy—but always
(in the end) renewed by the chance to comfort their need; in fact, by the gift
of their need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And through that gift, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was fulfilled. Because somewhere in all that
middle of the night walking and swaying and carrying of a baby, I began again
to sing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I became—at least for a time—the
singer I had always wanted to be. Walking the floor, or even the neighborhood streets,
singing old Bob Dylan songs or folk songs, hobo songs, and especially, <a href="https://youtu.be/0IiS1YAbEzg">“Goodnight Irene.”</a> In my three daughters
I had a very appreciative, and a very captive, audience for about 8-9 years—about
as long as the Beatles lasted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can
still remember a time when one of them, by that point a toddler, said to her
mother, “No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let Daddy sing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like it when Daddy sings…”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Christmas, are you ready to let your life be upended?
All your plans and intentions disrupted, maybe even utterly and completely changed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Christmas are you ready to let a baby
into your house? Your heart?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Christmas, don’t just focus on the gift
wrapping and the Christmas lights, the traditions and the trappings of the
holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Christmas, take a little
time to focus on the baby. Imagine it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God took flesh and became not a king or a prince or a mighty hero, but a
helpless baby, crying in a manger, a baby became completely and utterly dependent
on the humans He had created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think
about that as your Christmas gift… This baby needed feeding, cleaning, needed
to be held and to be comforted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all
He asked was that Mary and Joseph set aside their own plans, their own
expectations and intentions and let themselves be changed, blessed and
fulfilled beyond their imagining, by the love of a child. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Christmas, let a baby come into your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It will change everything.</p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-67110462013537358282022-12-11T13:44:00.005-08:002022-12-12T04:04:06.903-08:00Making a straight path for Christmas --Some thoughts on Matthew 3:1-9<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">“Make straight his
paths…” Matthew 3:3</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of my Advent dreams this year was to be more reflective,
spend some time each day in prayer: read the Advent readings from the missal
and maybe write a few reflections about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But here it is the third Sunday and I have yet to begin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, I feel like an arctic explorer, forging
my way through—just hoping to reach Christmas in one piece. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with that, there’ve been leaky pipes, torn
out walls, and a couple of big plastic tarps in the kitchen as part of our
holiday decoration theme this year. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, it is never too late to make like <a href="https://youtu.be/d8JaVdMjGzk">Fred and Ginger, to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, this morning, with a little time on my
hand, waiting for the sheet-rock guy to come, I am going to reflect on last
Sunday’s Gospel reading: Matthew 3:1-9.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It begins:</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">“John the Baptist
appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea<br />
and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"<br />
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:<br />
<i>A voice of one crying out in the desert,</i><br />
<i>Prepare the way of the Lord,</i><br />
<i>make straight his paths.</i><br />
John wore clothing made of camel's hair<br />
and had a leather belt around his waist.<br />
His food was locusts and wild honey.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And like always, my first thought is of those locusts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did he eat them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did he cook them? Raw? Live…?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what about all that honey? Didn’t it get
in his beard, his hair? Think about it… Sticky fingers, camel hair, and all
that desert sand? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just the hygiene
issues overwhelm me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then I looked back at the reading and found myself
caught by those simple directions. “Make straight his paths…” And immediately I
thought, <i>Yes!</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>That’s what I
need to do</i>. I need to make a straight path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That could be my Advent practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I need to put God first, focus my attention and start… Wait, a minute. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly I noticed how quiet the house was and looked at the
clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was barely 5am... You know
what? Now would be a great time to throw together a batch of molasses spice walnut
muffins. In fact, I could contemplate the Gospel while mixing them up and once they’re
in the oven, I’ll be ready to start writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perfect. I have a plan!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But plane
are not my strong suit. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As soon as the muffins were in the oven (and that is not a
euphemism), I realized: if I don’t clean up my dishes, the cats will get into them,
maybe break something. So, instead of writing, I picked up my bowl and
measuring cups, and figured I could contemplate a little longer while washing
dishes. No problem. I’m still on track. But, wait. The sink already has dishes in
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No problem, I can wash those too.
More time to contemplate and then --writing! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But before I can run a sink full of water, I’m
going to need to clear out these dishes and scrub the sink! And so, I get out
the Barkeeper’s Friend and a sponge and start scrubbing the sink—which could be
a euphemism—but isn’t this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway,
there I was scrubbing the sink, trying to ponder what Isaiah and John meant
when they said: <i>Make a straight path</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was it just to make travel easier? Whose travel. The Lord’s… But the
Lord doesn’t need a straight path. Right? He’s God… So, who are we
straightening the path for? And again I thought: I could write about that! But
just then, a cat started crying in the hallway. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s going to wake everyone and then my quiet
time will be gone! I hurry down the hallway and find a cat standing in the
bathtub. Waiting for me to turn on the water, so he can lap the drips falling
from the spout. I do it, and make a straight path right back to my pen and
notebook, but by now my coffee is cold. And the oven timer is going off. I get
the muffins out and set them on a rack to cool, but then another cat starts
fussing. She wants food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I reach for a
can, and another cat wanders up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I
don’t feed them, they will jump up on the counter and start messing with my
muffins (again, not a euphemism). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And suddenly
I realized: I am living a kind of parable. And this straight path advice suddenly
feels very personal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I know—I am
terrible at this kind of thing. But I am going to try. I am going to recommit
myself (again—not a euphemism) and make the time, make the effort, straighten
out the pathway—clear away the obstacles and the distractions—so I can be more
fully present to the Love that is always there waiting for me in God’s word.The straight path isn't <b><i>for</i></b> God, it is <b><i>to</i></b> God. I need to get my priorities set straight. That is what I need this Advent... I need to make straight the path of my priorities, so I can know what I truly value. Clearly, when I want some muffins, I make a straight path to the kitchen, and when I want the cats to settle down, I make a straight path to the cat-food bowls... Let me at least treat my relationship with God with the same commitment, the same intentionality, the same desire and desperation as I do a yowling cat! And maybe that is a euphemism, of sort. <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-58505624416523658472022-11-19T14:57:00.003-08:002022-11-19T15:28:01.241-08:00Remember Lot's Wife--This Thanksgiving Remember Not to become a Pillar of Salt<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Remember Lot’s
wife.”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Luke 17:32</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I come upon a scripture verse cited in a different
context (a novel, a poem, a movie, etc), most of the time I just accept it at
face value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I trust the author is using it
sincerely and appropriately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
morning, however, as I was reading a papal encyclical about love (“God is Love”
by Benedict XVI) I came upon this quotation from Luke:</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Whosoever seeks
to save his life</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>will lose it, and whosoever
loses</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>his life shall
preserve it.” (17:33)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> And for some reason, I almost immediately got out my Bible
to look it up—as if fact checking the Pope!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But still, I went to my Bible and found the chapter and the verse and had
a strange kind of epiphany, an “Ah, ha! moment,” as the wonderful Dr. Joy
Linsley (UST) used to call them. The verse just before these words is the call
to remember Lot’s wife, and I wondered: How had I never noticed that
before?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Yet here I am on a rainy Saturday morning in November,
curious about God and Love and so many other things, and I can’t stop thinking
about that iconic pillar of salt and trying to connect it to the idea of
seeking to preserve one’s own life…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
are those two things connected?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And why
is that the one sure way of losing everything. <br /></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Remember Lot’s
wife.</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Whosoever seeks
to save his life</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>will lose it, and whosoever
loses</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>his life shall
preserve it.” (17:32-33)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> I don’t have an answer, but I have an image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contemplating this passage, I was struck by
the image of a woman turned not into a literal pillar of salt, but into an
embittered soul, someone who seems to bring a dark cloud with them wherever
they go, sowing discord, creating distress, or simply bursting bubbles with
every sharp comment or piece of unwanted “advice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I am wondering if the real lesson of
Lot’s wife wasn’t simply that she looked back, but that she wouldn’t stop
looking back?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before this morning, I’d always thought of Lot’s wife as a
kind of Jewish version of Pandora.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
instead of opening a box, she couldn’t resist the temptation to look back. But
now I am picturing her sitting at the Thanksgiving table with Lot and the
family, complaining about the turkey—too dry, too small—and the stuffing—not enough
sage. The green beans needed more dried onion, and the Jello mold wasn’t quite
moldy enough… The world, seen through those eyes, never quite measures up, is
never as good as it used to be, as she remembered… something is always wrong,
something always needs correcting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was always better before, in the old days, back in Sodom and Gomorrah! </p><p class="MsoNormal">You see, in the ancient world, what was salt used for? Flavor and as a preservative. The pillar of salt that I see now, isn't a stone like figure, but an embittered person who refuses to let go of the past, who uses her salt to preserve old memories, old arguments, old slights and wounds are kept alive in this pillar of salt. Remember Lot's wife, makes me now think of someone who refuses to move forward, but instead constantly recalls how things were and especially how they were better....<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thinking about this, I realize, I don’t want to be a pillar of
salt. I don’t want to be someone who brings a dark cloud of judgment and
bitterness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to be a life-giving stream
of living water, a source of joy and refreshment. I want to open doors for
others to find their way, their memories, their traditions, and their new paths.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> And so this Thanksgiving, while celebrating family and
tradition, I want to make room for something new, be open to the gifts and
graces of the moment, and each and every person I meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Listen with an open ear and heart, let others (even my family) find in me a chance to shine their light and discover their own gifts, feel not only accepted but loved. I may not agree with every opinion, but I don't always have to express my own. </span>Of course, at our table there will be our <i>traditional</i> To-furkey,
along with chestnut dressing, mashed potatoes and gluten free-veggie pot pie, but I will
also be open to anything new that comes along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> New side dishes, new desserts...
</span>Heck, I might even try some of that new-fangled treat people call: pumpkin pie!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But whatever comes my way, instead of comparing it to the past, or to
what I hoped it would be, I will instead be grateful for the gift of family, friends, food on the table, and love in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether it’s raining and cold or muggy and warm
this Thanksgiving, I want to remember that all may not be as I like, but --in truth-- all is grace. <br /> </p><p class="MsoNormal">And so, I say: Thank you and God Bless you all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p><p class="MsoNormal">And
Happy Thanksgiving.</p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-24731036022348445032022-09-05T09:15:00.009-07:002022-09-05T09:43:51.814-07:00Grasping for things we do not understand; walking in ways we do not know--thoughts on the Wrath of God<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“And scarce do we
guess the things on earth,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>and what is within
our grasp we find</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>with difficulty;
but when things are in Heaven</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>who can search
them out?” <br />
–Wisdom 9:13-18</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Something that I often struggle with is the idea of the
“wrath of God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as I read through
the book of Jeremiah, it is a phrase that comes up quite a bit. I guess that is
true of most of the prophets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the
tender-hearted Isaiah, with his beloved “suffering servant” imagery, gets worked
up with the wrath of God more than a few times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The imagery, the language, the concept even of the “wrath of God” is frightening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea of an all-powerful being enraged at
something we have done, is pretty fearful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And yet, I keep going back to the ultimate truth about God, that God is
Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And knowing that, makes me wonder…
Just what exactly is “the wrath of God?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As the book of Wisdom reminds us, we can barely understand what is
within our grasp, but things of Heaven –like the wrath of God—who can search
them out?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But we can ponder; what makes sense? What could it all mean?
As I pray and contemplate over this troubling image, it occurs to me that the
wrath of God may not be some divine emotional state, or state of mind, but could
be a poetic way of describing something quite different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if this language was the human author’s
attempt to understand something that was witnessed, an attempt to make sense of
it after the fact?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The facts were that Israel
kept straying from God, the poor were abused, widows and orphans neglected, foreign
gods were honored, priests were corrupt, and the king even worse; then suddenly
there were the Babylonians knocking at the gate, slaughtering people, dragging
others away into captivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are
supposed to be God’s chosen beloved people, how do you make sense of that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What happened?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
didn’t God protect His people, His beloved Jerusalem?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trying to make sense of it, perhaps the easiest explanation
is: God is made at us! His wrath has descended upon us like a hurricane! And
that must be what it felt like.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the thing that is interesting to me is how often God
sends a warning, sends a message to Israel to turn back. To change
directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The prophets are the best
example of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are sent to call
God’s people back to the right path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
change their ways, and act with justice and mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And –it seems to me—that every time the wrath
of God comes, it is because God’s people “have refused to listen” <i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(cf. Jer.29:19).</span></i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the result of the people’s actions,
their choices. Their own stubbornness of heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, perhaps God’s wrath (or anger) is not an emotion
that overcomes God, the way we might think of a human emotion; something that
flashes up suddenly out of rage or frustration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wonder if a better way to think of it is as a way of understanding
what happens when we turn away from God, from God’s love. Like walking out of
the sunlight and into a dark cave. As we walk into the cave, at first there is
some light, and we can see the path, the walls, shadows, the edges of rocks.
But the further we go into it, the darker it gets. The more confusing it gets.
The blinder we become to what is around us… until it is pitch black and we
cannot see our way. We cannot find the walls without banging into them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Outside the cave someone stands calling to
us: Don’t go in. Turn around. You’ll get lost. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the voice of the prophets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The darkness within the cave is what we call
the wrath of God—but it isn’t a positive thing, an action of God, it is the
absence of God. It is what happens to us, in us, when we turn away from
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess what I am saying is, in a
sense, that sin is its own punishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another aspect that we can't forget is: the story of Job. To Job's friends it looked like Job was suffering from the wrath of God. Retribution or punishment for some sin or some failing. But, in actuality Job was being invited into a deeper relationship with God. What seemed like "wrath" was --in some sense-- an invitation. Gird up your loins, know me better man... to paraphrase the author of Job and the ghost of Christmas present... I read scripture through the lens of love, always looking for the love of God and how it is being revealed. That is my lens, and maybe it is a cloudy one. But it is mine. In case you couldn't tell.<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But these are just thoughts about something that truly is
too big for me, beyond my grasp. Someone who has a lot more grasp of the Hebrew
language and the history of OT scripture is the prophet like scholar Abraham J.
Heschel (1907-1972).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-Perennial-Classics-Abraham-Heschel/dp/0060936991/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DOY1Y6NXPYCO&keywords=the+prophets+abraham+heschel&qid=1658848969&sprefix=the+prophets%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1">The
Prophets</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext">is a</span>n inspiring and thought-provoking study of
the OT prophets, that explores such questions as the pathos and the wrath of
God and what it means to be a prophet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (His take on the wrath of God is different from mine, and probably more on target... But, I had to try.) </span>I
highly recommend his book; it is filled with wisdom, insight and an intense
sense of the urgency of seeing and bearing witness to the truth. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>Lord, open my eyes to Your Word</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>that I might read it more clearly;</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>Open my ears to Your Word</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>that I will hear You more
completely,</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>and open my heart to Your Word</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>that I will be filled with the Love</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>that is always found there.</span></i></p><i>
</i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> </span>Amen</span></i></p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-35212387142107577702022-08-21T09:35:00.001-07:002022-08-21T09:35:08.769-07:00Make a straight path--some thoughts on Hebrews 12 (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time)<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“So strengthen
your drooping hands and your weak <br />
knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>what is lame may
not be disjointed but healed.”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Hebrews 12:12-13</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the
way…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I hear this phrase, I always
think of John the Baptist and the baptism of our Lord <i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(cf. Mk 1:3; MT 3:3, etc)</span>.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always imagine a bony finger pointing
toward the desert, or a raging fist shaking against the horizon, and a prophetic
cry to <i>clear the way—God is coming!</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, this image usually comes with locust
and honey and a scraggly beard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
today as I was studying the mass readings for this Sunday <i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(21<sup>st</sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time)</span></i>,
I suddenly heard something new in the text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I didn’t hear a warning, or a challenge, I heard a kind of invitation,
and a curious note of compassion; concern for the traveler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that opened my eyes and my ears to see
and hear this image in a new way. A way touched by concern not just for the
honor and glory of God, but also for those who struggle with their faith
journey, for those who may stumble along the way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before I go any further, let me say a word about the Letter
to the Hebrews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, we do not know
who the author was, though some have speculated it was written by Paul or one
of his followers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, though it is
often called the Letter to the Hebrews, scholars now refer to it not as a
letter, but as a sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And last, it is
one of the most influential “letters” of the New Testament, a powerful influence
on both Christian theology and the liturgy of the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the book that develops the theology
of Jesus as high priest, and employs the visionary image of the community of believers
as a “cloud of witnesses.” If you have never read it, I highly recommend you
set aside a little time and read it through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It can easily be read in one sitting—probably less than an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will find it an inspiring book,
reverberating in your soul long after you finish; perhaps the rest of your
life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t have anything profound to say about this verse, only
that I was deeply touched by the way it brought together the prophetic call to
make a straight way with the detail of an injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It humanized the call for me, and made it
personal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That concern for weak knees
and drooping hands, speaks to my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I often feel exhausted in both my faith life and my family life (forget
about work).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so, that call to renew
my strength and to be careful and avoid turning a minor injury into something
worse, made me stop and think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
verse, this prophetic cry, it has a real life application.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we are feeling overwhelmed, weak,
exhausted, we need to be careful, to give ourself grace, and let our strength
be renewed, so that we can continue our journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I hear in this is good coaching. It is a
word of encouragement wrapped around some good advice:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>You can do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t going to be easy, but you got
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be careful. Pickup your feet, and
take it slow and steady. Walk a straight path and you won’t get lost, and it
will be easier on your knees. Don’t overdue it or start walking just any which
way. That’s how you got hurt in the first place and that’s how you make things
worse: you’ll end up disjointed.</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes. But I also hear the coach telling me—this isn’t just
about you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make a straight path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others will follow. You don’t want to lead
them into the ditch or out into the wilderness. Just walk the straight path;
and know that with every step you take will make it that much easier for the
person behind you. That straight path in the wilderness that Isaiah and John
the Baptist proclaimed, was a prophecy of the coming of the messiah. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the light of Jesus’s life and
sacrifice, it becomes a prophetic call to live that path, to become that path
of kindness and compassion, to live a life of hope and peace and simplicity and
love for your neighbor—even the ones you don’t know or notice. What I am
hearing is this: the straight path isn’t a geographic or geometric line, it is a
line that runs straight through every human heart. Walk that line. Walk that
path with care not just for yourself and your reputation, but with concern and
compassion for those that walk with you and those who will come after you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make straight the path not just for the sake
of your own weak and crackly knees, but for the sake of those who will come
later, with their own infirmities and injuries, souls who may find themselves
struggling in ways I could never imagine. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I hear most decidedly is a call to clear away every
obstacle you can, that those who follow will find a path clear and straight and
smooth and paved with love.</p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-49555162082560550412022-07-18T14:40:00.004-07:002022-07-18T14:40:34.259-07:00The One Thing Necessary—some thoughts on Martha and Mary<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">“Jesus entered a village<br />
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.<br />
She had a sister named Mary<br />
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.<br />
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,<br />
"Lord, do you not care<br />
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?<br />
Tell her to help me."<br />
The Lord said to her in reply,<br />
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.<br />
There is need of only one thing.<br />
Mary has chosen the better part<br />
and it will not be taken from her." --Luke 10: 38-42</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summer vacations are like crucibles. They try our souls and
reveal who we really are. Are you a Martha or a Mary?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you fret over many things, or do you focus
on the one thing necessary?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When our children were younger and we would take them on
vacations, my wife would be packing suitcases, making lists, coaching the girls
on how many toys or how many books they could bring, planning itineraries,
planning menus, snacks for the car, food for the hotel room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was the one concerned about tire
pressure, gas tanks, seating arrangements, departures and ETAs, even cat care
while we were gone, mailboxes, home security, her garden; who would water her
hydrangeas?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Me—my main worry was the music for the drive; what CD would
we play first? As we backed out of the driveway, what song would signal the
start of our adventure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://youtu.be/vJXVD-nSSKE">Van Morrison</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/WrAV5EVI4tU">The Beatles</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/myRc-3oF1d0">Ella Fitzgerald</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/bcrEqIpi6sg">Joni Mitchell</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/pd_5-2kCzfs">Pete Seeger</a>, or <a href="https://youtu.be/qPdV8jXAjUQ">Sharon, Lois and Bram</a>? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Was I choosing the “better part?” Or was I just being a husband?
Oblivious to the need for preparation to insure a successful vacation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing I know for certain is this: without
Lynne doing all that work, I wouldn’t have been free to go out and buy
doughnuts and cue up my favorite song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Without her taking on the responsibility of making sure everyone packed
enough underwear and socks, toothbrushes, and a favorite bedtime toy, the
vacation might never have happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And the same be said of Martha’s hospitality and service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like any good hostess, she is busy making
sure every empty glass is filled, every plate piled high, every need cared for,
every guest welcomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without her
efforts there would be no party… Often, this story is cited as a depiction of
two kinds of spirituality: service and contemplation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Martha is service; all hustle and bustle,
Mary is contemplation; sitting quietly at the foot of Jesus. And so, some
people read the words of Jesus as a verdict on types of spirituality, i.e. that
service may be good, but contemplation is better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, I don’t think that is what Jesus is saying here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about how Jesus answers Martha; what
does He actually say:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>You are anxious
and worried about many things… But only one thing is necessary. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ok, Jesus… but what is that one thing?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Anglican theologian N.T. Wright often recommends that
when we are confused by a passage in the Gospels we should look at the context
of the passage; what comes before it? What comes soon after? Reread the entire
chapter… </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story of Martha and Mary comes directly after the story
of the Good Samaritan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the story of
the Good Samaritan comes as a kind of answer to the question: <i>What is the one
thing? What is necessary? What do I have to do to get into Heaven?</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that question is asked by someone who is “anxious”
and worried and trying to put Jesus to the test (cf. Luke 10: 25-37).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Good Samaritan story is a story about a man who knows
the one thing necessary: love, compassion, to care for others. The priest and
the Levite cross to the other side of the road when they see the victim,
because they are blinded by their cares and anxieties. They’re living not in
the what is, but in the what if… What if the man is dead and I become unclean? What
if he is contagious? What if his needs are too big, his wounds too serious and
I can’t help him? Or I don’t know what to do? Or worse, what if I do the wrong
thing? What if he is just faking and it is a trap? What if? What if? What if? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the Samaritan –who may have his own worries and needs
and obligations—doesn’t hesitate; he simply goes to the injured man and show
love, acts with compassion, becomes a neighbor.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I hear in this story of Martha and Mary isn’t a
dichotomy between service and contemplation, but a lesson about focus, about
attending to the one necessary thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Martha’s service and food and hospitality were a blessing that even
Jesus in the moment was enjoying, consider the story of Abraham and the three
visitors (cf. Genesis 18:1-10) if you want another example of someone rushing
around to prepare food for his guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
difference is, Abraham never complains. He is filled with joy at the
opportunity to show hospitality, to serve these three strangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gives himself fully to the one necessary
thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus doesn’t correct Martha’s actions; He doesn’t tell her
to slow down and sit still for a minute or come join with Mary at His
feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, He addresses her
attitude. The scattered focus of her anxiety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As the psalmist says: <i>All doers of evil are scattered (cf. Psalm
92:9).</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think Jesus is calling us to focus; to give ourselves
completely to whatever we are doing, whatever we are committing ourselves to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to not worry about the <i>what ifs.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sufficient unto the day are the troubles there
of...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or to put it another way: Don’t
worry about what other people are doing? Or saying… Or thinking… Just be
present to the moment, present to what you are doing, who you are with, and do it
with love. Let God take care of the rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-62719105096476965972022-07-09T13:06:00.006-07:002022-07-09T13:06:45.213-07:00Doing what is expected --Some thoughts on The Parable of the Good Samaritan (15th Sunday in ordinary Time)<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"> This Sunday we had one of the most famous passages in the
Bible: The Parable of the Good Samaritan <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(Luke
10:25-37)</span>. This is one of those familiar stories that I can easily
listen to with one ear tied behind my… well, you get the idea: because I’ve
heard it so many times, I don’t always give it my full attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’ve heard so many homilies preached on
it that I quite easily find myself drifting off during the preaching, wondering
about breakfast, whether there is enough buttermilk to make biscuits… Do we
have any flour? What about tortillas? We have those ripe avocados. Maybe I
should make tacos… Which, of course, leads to trying to remember how old that
bottle of salsa in the back of the refrigerator actually is.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">BUT… that isn’t how I want to treat the Gospel. What I would
rather do, is listen to it fully, every time… as if I were hearing it anew.
Fresh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I also want to know it. Have
it planted in my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so I have
begun reading the Sunday readings earlier in the week, in preparation for church,
to kind of get myself ready; to let things start percolating inside me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And something struck me about this familiar
parable that I had not considered before. And that is the scholar who asks the
question that gets everything started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Trying to put Jesus to the test, he asks, “What must I do to inherit
eternal life?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, Jesus
doesn’t just answer. Instead, He asks the scholar, <i>what does the law say?
What do you think?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the scholar
answers that we are to love first God, and then “your neighbor as yourself” <i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(cf. 10:27).</span></i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far so good. But then, even after Jesus has
affirmed his answer, the scholar, in an effort to justify himself, pushes the
point. He wants to know just exactly <i>who is my neighbor</i>? And this is
when Jesus tells the famous parable of the man beset by thieves who leave him
to die beside the road and the 3 people who see this poor man. First there was
a priest who saw the man and moved to the other side of the road –kept walking.
And next a Levite passed by and saw the man and did the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both have avoided contact with the victim who
lies bleeding (possibly dying) beside the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, for me it is easy to see in these two men, a priest and a Levite (a
descendent of Levi who assists in the temple), icons of some kind of hypocrisy.
They are supposed to be holy men, Godly men, but instead we see them avoiding
contact (even eye contact) with someone in need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And usually, that is all the attention I give
to these two sorry figures. But today, this parable opened my eyes in a new
way—which is what a parable is supposed to do. First, I began to remember all
the times I too avoided eye-contact with someone in need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the homeless man at the stoplight who
was asking for money, or the needy neighbor who calls to ask for help with her
sprinkler—sadly, I must admit there have been times I didn’t answer the phone because
I knew it was her and I knew what she wanted, and I didn’t want to do it. Of
course there were extenuating circumstances: I didn’t go out in the heat. I had
just made myself a sandwich, or I just started watching a show or maybe I’d
just poured myself a glass of milk and a plate of Oreos. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, I began wondering about these two, and their
extenuating circumstances… What would make them behave this way? And I
remembered there are some very strict cleanliness laws in the Torah about
contact with the dead, and contact with blood. If the priest were on his way to
temple, perhaps to serve at the altar and offer sacrifice, to religious
intervene for all the people who had brought offerings, then stopping to help
this victim on the road would make him unclean. He wouldn’t be able to fulfill
his priestly duties –at least not until he’d gone through a ritual cleansing of
his own, which could take seven days <i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(cf.
Lev. 19:11)</span></i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same would
go for the Levite as well. On top of that, there is a priestly warning in
Leviticus 21:11 that says a priest should not profane himself by coming into the
presence of a dead body, even for the sake of his mother or father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Read in this light, these might have seemed appropriate
“extenuating circumstances” for the audience Jesus was speaking to, especially
with this legal scholar standing there. And I have begun wondering whether those
possible <i>extenuating circumstances</i> might be part of the lesson Jesus is
teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lesson about what we are
supposed to do, what the world expects of us, and about moving beyond that. Moving
beyond the questions of what do I have to do to get my prize; to inherit the
Kingdom? What is the minimum requirement to make sure I go to Heaven?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teaching in parables, I think Jesus is
calling us to see the very question of responsibility and reward in a new way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so we come to the “Good” Samaritan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t concern himself with what he is
supposed to do, with what the world expects of him. He simply sees a fellow human
in need and stops to offer help, to do what he can—even at his own inconvenience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That seems enough of a lesson right there. But, because I
have my Bible open, I see another lesson that I have missed all along. My
blindness keeps becoming more and more clear to me. Perhaps that is why I am
writing a series of poems about a blind man… Anyway, back to the Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is one more thing to consider the next
time you read this story:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just before
Jesus stops to teach this lesson, he and the disciples tried to pass through a
Samaritan village, but the people there would not receive Him. They were upset
that He was heading to Jerusalem (<i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">cf. 9:51-56</span></i>).
And so we have that context: the Samaritans who rejected Jesus and His
disciples, and this Samaritan who has become an exemplar of hospitality and
compassion. What does that mean to us? Why would Jesus tell this story in this
context? And why make the “good” man a Samaritan?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many wonderful rich questions. This
passage just keeps opening up more deeply, more profoundly, with every reading.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I guess that is the real lesson. Don’t think you know the
answers. Don’t think you know someone else’s story, their depths, their
injuries and their dreams? Like these parables, each and every one of us is a
mystery and a revelation. We are all walking contradictions, one moment
selfish, the next a saint. One moment a fool, and the next –well, in my case,
still a fool, but now a different kind of fool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hope this makes some sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I mean to say is this: every time
someone asks for your help, they are offering you a blessing. They are sharing
with you their God-given grace of “need.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are giving you the opportunity to be blessed by helping them, to
receive the grace of laying down your life for another; setting aside your own
wants and needs for the sake of another.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps the priest and the Levite miss out on that
opportunity, because they were too focused on their responsibilities, on their
“duties.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas the Samaritan is
simply focused on the person right there in front of him, or next door, or knocking
at his car window. He is simply being Christ for others by living in the
moment, and receiving every opportunity to serve as a chance to find
blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We cannot do everything, but
we can do something, instead of walking away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And that is how the parable opened my eyes today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is this famous Parable saying to you?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-21916914259769458382022-07-02T17:55:00.005-07:002022-07-02T17:55:34.375-07:00Shaking the dust off your feet… Thoughts on Luke 10:1-12 (the gospel reading for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time)<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
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<![endif]--></p><p class="MsoNormal">For some of us, letting go of the past is hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot tell you how many times I have found
myself cringing or wincing over some mistake or cruelty I committed years
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m 63 and I still ache with shame
when I think of how my 6 or 7 year old self treated a little boy who came to my
door and asked if he could be my friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I imagine he was new in the neighborhood and didn’t know any other
children. I remember telling him I already had one, and closing the door. As if
he were trying to sell me a set of encyclopedias or another sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would I be so heartless?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I was afraid of his need for a
friend. His vulnerability—as if it might be contagious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That memory still haunts me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there are so many more. I have done my
share of being a jerk. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I have done my share of stupid things as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Letting people down, breaking promises… Had
my share of disappointments, failures, and probably more than my share of
successes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, living in the past,
whether it is recalling the highs or the lows, the hurts or the happinesses, is
not healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this little bit of
advice about <i>shaking the dust off your feet</i> seems like quite good advice
not just for the apostles, but for all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reading this passage, it occurred to me that what Jesus is telling His
disciples is good coaching advice. He is telling them, shake it off. Let it
go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t get focused on that last play,
that last pitch, that last swing. Let it go. Pick up your bat, dust yourself
off, and get back in the box; get ready for the next pitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And remember,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Babe Ruth struck out almost twice as often as he hit homeruns. Just
saying…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, what is the context for this piece of advice?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appears in all three synoptic gospels.
Jesus is sending the disciples out on their own and giving them advice about
how to behave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This advice is related what
might feel like a failure, like a strike-out; specifically, it is related to
being rejected by a town: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>“Whatever
town you enter and they do not make you welcome…shake the dust of that town off
your feet as you leave.”</i> (<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">cf. Mt. 10:14, Mk
6:11, Lk 10:11).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I like to think of this advice as especially necessary after
last week’s gospel reading. Last week we read the passage from Luke 9 in which
James and John ask Jesus if He wants them to call down fire from Heaven on a
Samaritan village that wouldn’t welcome them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>James and John are holding onto the hurt of the rejection. They want
revenge. They want to strike back. They want to lash out at the hurt they felt…
the hurt they still feel. Because they are clinging to the hurt. They are
holding onto the memory of that painful moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But Jesus says, no to such behavior. Jesus always says no to living in
the past. Instead—He reminds us again and again to be present to the grace of
the moment. This moment. Right here. Right now.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Bob Dylan once sang:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Wfm-wTqXHqQ">“Shake the dust
off of your feet,</a></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Wfm-wTqXHqQ">Don’t look back.</a></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Wfm-wTqXHqQ">There’s nothing that can hold you down</a></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Wfm-wTqXHqQ">Nothing that you lack…”</a></i></span><i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Life is full of disappointments, and sadly too often we
ourselves may be the cause of that disappointment. No matter how hard we try to
be good, we are human. We will fail. We may thoughtlessly reject someone, and
(in our turn) we too will probably be rejected. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t cling to the hurt. Don’t cling to the
painful memory. Don’t wallow in it and grow bitter or resentful. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Fred Astaire, another great American singer, once sang: <i><a href="https://youtu.be/AGUsRGuZb6k?t=17">“Pick yourself up, dust yourself off,
and start all over again.”</a></i></p>
<p></p>Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-1853371085740903792022-06-26T15:45:00.007-07:002022-06-29T16:08:11.940-07:00The Parable of the Actual: some thoughts on Mark 4 and hearing God's voice in daily life<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Take the fig tree
as a parable…”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Mark 13:28</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This invitation to “Take the fig tree as a parable…” has
planted a seed in my imagination. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I
hear in this verse is Jesus telling His disciples (even today) to look at the
world, at the actual and see with new eyes a parable,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a lesson, a glimpse of God’s glory
revealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with this in mind, I find
myself contemplating the rest of Mark’s gospel through this lens—the actual. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First, what is a parable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A parable is a figurative saying that draws attention to similarities
between two things, often quite distinctly different things. There is often a
paradox about this comparison that strikes the reader as impossible or not
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance: How could the
Kingdom of God be like a mustard seed? Or why would a shepherd leave 99 sheep
alone and at risk while going off to search for a single stray? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t make sense at first—but then when
we let it sink into our prayer, to our soul, to our heart… it begins to reveal a
kind of truth we might never have imagined.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me apply this for a moment to scripture itself: chapter
4 of Mark’s Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main body of
this chapter involves a series of parables and sayings about the Kingdom of God,
interrupted by a lesson about the meaning of the parable of the Sower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so, one might say that this chapter seems
to be a chapter about parables. Parables for Dummies, so to speak.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it is also interesting to note that this chapter is
framed by boats. The chapter begins with Jesus getting into a boat in order to
teach the crowd that has gathered. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And ends
with the famous scene of Jesus asleep in the boat during a storm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A chapter about parables ends with a story
that feels a little bit like a parable: the disciples frightened by a storm at
sea, and their teacher sleeping through it. When they wake Him, Jesus commands
the storm to be still, but to the disciples He only says: <i>Do you still have
no faith?</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(cf. 4:40) Clearly there
is a lesson to this little story about a stormy night on the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it seems to have nothing to do with
meteorology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, maybe it has something to do with boats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus gets into a boat in order to teach the
crowd on the shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then like a
farmer scattering seeds, He scatters a few lessons about; tells a story, draws
a couple of comparisons between a mustard seed and the Kingdom of God, the mystery
of God’s kingdom and the mystery of a sprouting seed, and then He starts
emphasizing the need to see, and to hear, to look and to listen, to place your
lamp on a lampstand instead of hiding it under a bed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Basically, He seems to be saying: pay attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then, the chapter ends with that brief but very famous scene
with the storm at sea; as if that storm and that boat and that sleeping Jesus were
the final lesson—a kind of pop quiz, if you will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember—He got into the boat so that He
could teach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here He is in the boat—still
teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the story, it seems like the disciples have not yet
learned their lesson. Jesus basically dope slaps them with his question about
their lack of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But—what about
us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have we learned anything?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What was the lesson? I think it has something to do with opening
our eyes to the mystery of God’s presence all around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His grace in the storm and the struggle as
well as in the tender moments of healing and joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I feel blessed, it is easy to feel like I am in the
presence of God. That I am loved. But, when I feel lonely, unwanted or
unnoticed, and everything seems to be going wrong—a perfect storm of mistakes
and insecurities and fear and anxiety rises up around me; in a moment like that,
it is pretty hard to feel God’s love. But, I think Jesus is saying: Look.
Listen. Pay attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Open your eyes
and you will see… open your ears and you will hear—I am there. With you. Always.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, how do we see God’s presence in our daily life? Through
the lessons of the parables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to
learn how to read our daily life like it was a parable. The parable of the
actual. This isn’t just about fig trees and scattered seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also about jammed staplers and flat
tires and neighbor’s dogs that bark all night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hear God telling me to open my eyes and see, open my ears and listen.
The neighbor with the barking dog, might need a friend. The flat tire might be
God’s way of asking me to stop rushing about, stop being so independent, and to
let other see me struggle, so that they will have the opportunity to stop their
rushing about and offer help to an old man who doesn’t even know how to use a
crowbar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the jammed stapler—well,
sometimes I can take these things too far.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Take the fig tree as a parable. Look at the real world, what is actually happening around you. Is it possible that that is where God is revealing Himself to you? Are you the neighbor who hears the ambulance or fire truck siren and steps outside to see if someone needs help? Or are you the neighbor who notices when a sprinkler is left on and shuts it off to save someone's water bill? Are you the one who puts bird seed out every morning for the blue jays or are you the one who carries peanuts in your pocket for the squirrels at the park? Do you notice the new people in your life? Do you notice the sadness in the eyes of a stranger? Or the smile on the face of the elderly couple who sit on their porch holding hands every morning? Look at the leaves. Look at the clouds. Look at the brown summer grass. Listen to breeze. Listen to the birds. Listen to your wife (or husband) even when they are telling you the same story for the 31st time. Look. Listen. And really hear, really see what is really right there before you. The face of God come to meet you on your journey.<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, I am trying to read my life as a kind of parable, the
parable of the barking dog, the parable of the one-eyed squirrel, the parable
of the lonely husband… whatever is happening, I am trying to focus less on my
own reaction, and more on the actual events. And what they might tell me about
God’s Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Where is God revealing Himself in your life? In a sink of
dishes? In a bowl of ice cream? In a cat curled in your lap? In an
uncomfortable conversation with your boss. Or in a happy hour beer with a
friend. Somewhere in your day, God is calling you: <i>Come, my beloved; come and
sit with me… </i>For myself, my hope is that I will stop looking for some
mystical sign and just open my eyes to the mystery and the grace all around
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in the moldy head of Romaine
that I forgot in the back of the refrigerator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I pray that for you, too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lord, open my eyes
to Your Word</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>That I can read it
more clearly;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Open my ears to
Your Word,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>That I can hear Your
message more fully;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>And open my heart
to Your Word</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>That I will be
filled with the Love</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>That is always
found there.</i></p>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-70735530783996797802022-06-05T10:50:00.003-07:002022-06-05T10:51:19.303-07:00Reading the boring bits--some thoughts on all those cubits, the new temple, and the love of God (in the final chapters of Ezekiel)<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> “The Lord is there…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>--Ezekiel 48:35</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> I just finished reading Ezekiel and was wondering a bit
about all those cubits and all those details about walls and widths and columns
and chambers and gates, that whole new temple thing that seem to take up so
much of the final chapters of this strange book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Starting in chapter 40 and through the end of
chapter 42 we get all these measurements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This wall or this gate or this alter is so many cubits by so many
cubits, etc etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It begins to feel like
an architectural plan more than a prophetic book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even St. Jerome was troubled by the
strangeness of this section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hoped
readers would not find them “frivolous” but admitted that they made him feel
like he was knocking on a locked door<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many specific measurements, it begins
to feel overwhelming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am certain many
readers are tempted to simply skip ahead—to the good stuff!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This temple (as described) was never built,
and according to many commentators, never intended to be built. It was symbolic;
representing to the reader an ideal or a vision of God’s eternal temple.
Something like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so, once we get
the idea—it’s big and its stately and it’s glorious—why bother with the minor
details: like how many inner and outer rooms and how many steps and how many
columns, etc. etc? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>What’s the point?</i>
Because there doesn’t really seem to be one…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, I have to ask the same question—only with a little less
exasperation in my voice: <i>What’s the point?</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
I am certain, in God’s word, there always is one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And here is what I would propose: <i>Consider the sparrows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are not five of them sold for two pennies and
yet not one is forgotten before God.</i> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(cf. Luke
12:6 & Matthew 10:29-31)</span>. Jesus reminds His disciples again and
again that the little things (and the little ones) matter; assuring them that every
hair on their head is numbered by God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
other words: details matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But why? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve been thinking about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if it has something to do with love?
When I first fell in love with my wife, everything she did fascinated me, every
opinion she had, every whim, every idea, every song she sang or book she read,
every flavor she liked… I wanted to know. I wanted to know whether she liked mustard
or ketchup on a hot dog, wanted to know which Beatle she liked better: John or
Paul, popcorn with butter or without, The Post or The Chronicle… I hungered to
know everything about her. And every little detail mattered. Everything she
shared with me—including her preference for ketchup on a hot dog (<i>eek</i>)--
was just one more reason to love her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
I remembered them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I was in
love, every detail mattered.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I wonder if –in some way—God isn’t reminding us of that here
in this lengthy list of seemingly meaningless measurements and boundaries. Is
God reminding us that everything matters. Everything we do, everything we
think, all of it matters. Because <b><u>we</u></b> matter. Because God loves us,
not just collectively, but each and every single one of us individually. He
loves us so much that He knows the number of hairs on each and every one of our
heads. And, even knows the number that fell out on the bathroom floor this
morning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One more thing to note.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The book of Ezekiel ends with these words:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“The name of the
city in future must be: The Lord is there.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is there…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the new Holy City, this symbolic city that Ezekiel describes. The Lord is
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This city where every detail matters,
where every small act is intentional. Where even the measurement of a wall or the
height of a step, matters. Everything matters. Because everything and everyone
is important—is loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord is there—in
that place of love.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What if we lived that way? What if we rose from bed every
morning certain that everything we were going to do that day mattered, not
matter how large or small the thing was. Everything from making the coffee to answering
the phone, from saying hi to a neighbor, to waving at the UPS guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From going for a walk to picking up the trash
by the curb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of it, each act, each
humble little deed of kindness or compassion, done with love and humility…
everything matters. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if we lived
with that much love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What kind of
witness would we be for the world? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think if we lived like that, people might look at us and
say:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>The Lord is there</i>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I guess what I am saying is this: when you are listening to
God, pay attention and don’t skip over the boring parts, even in life. Because quite
often that is exactly where God is waiting to meet you…</p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Dante",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Jerome Biblical Commentary 21:84 (Ezekiel 40: 5; p. 363); Prentice Hall,
New Jersey, 1968.</p>
</div>
</div>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-14648449747909967752022-05-22T13:52:00.008-07:002022-05-22T15:20:52.764-07:00Failure and the peace that transcends understanding<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> “My peace I give to
you…”</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">--John 14:27</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At this time of year we enter into something schools call: graduation season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is that time of year when speeches are made and there is too much talk of achievements and goals and
the glorious future that awaits all those graduating seniors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Yesterday I attended a graduation ceremony and
in less than an hour, </span>I think I heard the phrase: <i>change the world</i> come out of the mouths of three different speakers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, it is certainly possible, even likely perhaps, that one or two of
the graduates who will walk across the countless graduation stages this month will do something, someday, that
changes the world (or some corner of the world). Why shouldn't they? And, of course, it sounds encouraging and hopeful, something to aspire to. I guess.<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, my favorite advice to seniors at this time of year is
this<i>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Failure is always an option</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I mean that on a couple of levels. One, failure actually is
possible. Always. No matter how prepared we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter how hard or long we study or
practice or rehearse… failure is always a possibility. And, secondly, failure may even be a
worthwhile choice… if we aren’t prepared to go forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In this context, </span>I also like to point out to my students that
their librarian (me) barely passed high school and mostly due to the fact that he barely ever showed
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which, I also like to point out, has lead
to me being stuck in high school for the rest of my life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the immortal words of <a href="https://youtu.be/R8vh2MwXZ6o">Charles Barkley—I am not a role model.</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And yet… recently I learned a lesson about failure that I
can’t seem to let go of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I lead a Rosary at school every Thursday during the break
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This involves sending out an email
reminder the day before, and arranging to have my library covered while I go to
the chapel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a lot of
responsibilities there, but sometimes even that can overwhelm me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of weeks back, I woke up, shut off
my alarm and immediately realized: it was Thursday and I had forgotten to send
out the email, and had forgotten to get someone to cover the library for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was 5 am, there was still time…
but, my first thought was that no one had come to the Rosary the past few
weeks. I had been alone in the chapel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, I began considering simply letting it drop. Who would notice? Who
would even care?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the time I was headed to school, I was feeling guilty and
quite defeated. The voice in my head was reminding me of all those emails
teachers get every day asking for help, another meeting, another duty. They
certainly didn’t need another email from me. And especially not at this late
hour. I was certain that I wouldn’t be leading a rosary that day. In fact, I
was beginning to wonder whether I should just give up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been doing this Rosary thing at school
for over 20 years now. There had been some good years, but of late—not so much.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the real problem had nothing to
do with organizational skills, perhaps the real problem was me. My personality,
my goofiness, my reluctance to use a calendar! I had tried. And I had failed.
Maybe it was time to let this thing die, so someone else could start over and
do it better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was feeling pretty low when I got to school that morning,
but for some reason—instead of just letting go, the first thing I did was open
my computer and send out the Rosary email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I still didn’t have coverage for the library, but at least I had sent
out the reminder. It was kind of like a Hail Mary pass! So to speak. But, in a
way, it was kind of hypocritical. I think I was more concerned about how it would
look to my co-workers if I didn’t send out the Rosary email. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You know how every once in a while those passes get caught…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels like a miracle. Time is running out.
In desperation, the quarterback hurls the ball into the air—as high and far as
he can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And somehow it falls right into
the outstretched hands of the receiver—mid-stride—and sprinting across the goal
line where… Well... Enough football.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, that is kind of what happened to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost like a miracle, (like <a href="https://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-100-greatest-characters-billy-white-shoes-johnson">Billy
“Whiteshoes” Johnson</a> popping up in the midst of a bunch of Pittsburg
defenders) at the last minute, a volunteer walks in and asks if I have anything
I need her to do. Sadly, for a moment, I considered telling her no. But,
instead I asked her to watch the library while I went to the chapel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that is when the real strangeness began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked into the chapel and there was a
teacher already praying. Someone I had never seen in there before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She smiled at me as I sat down and said she
had come early because she had to go to a meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I looked a bit stunned or frazzled,
because she looked at me with a tenderness I cannot explain and asked how I was—as
if she really wanted to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway,
suddenly I was telling her about my life, my worries, my daughter’s health, our
family struggles and… and with a kindness and sincerity I cannot explain, she listened
and offered words of comfort and consolation. Even thanking me for making the
rosary available to the school every week, telling me what an important gift
that was. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we talked, a student came
in. Again, someone I had never seen in there before. When she did, the teacher
stood to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She assured me that she
would be joining me again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When she left, I asked the student if she were there for the
Rosary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was. When I asked her if
there was anyone she needed to pray for, she looked at me and I could see she
had been crying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hesitantly, she told me
it was the first anniversary of her grandmother’s death, and she really needed
to pray for her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she talked, I could
tell that her grandmother had been very important to her. It sounded like she
had been the glue that held their family together. And once this young woman
began talking about her grandmother, sharing memories and tears, there was a
lightness in her eyes that had been missing before. She was still sad, but she no
longer seemed hopeless. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, she
seemed at peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I guess I was too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, there you go: success or failure? I felt like I was a failure. And, in
many ways, I guess I was. I’m not good at organizing. Terrible at advertising. At
best I am a D- in calendar usage, and definitely an F- when it comes to asking
for help and yet… What seemed to me a failure was in fact a blessing. I think
God used that teacher and that student to make that lesson quite clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t asking me to be perfect or to be
successful. All that was necessary was the willingness to just keep
failing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The verse at the top of this piece is from John’s
Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is speaking to His
disciples who, a few hours later would scatter in terror and even deny ever
knowing Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And before night would fall
again, Jesus would be hanging on a cross. To the eyes of the world, an utter
failure. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, here is my graduation advice:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t worry about success or failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, that is God’s business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact is, you will never find peace in a resume
or a list of achievements. You were not made for success or failure. You were
made to be a gift; give yourself away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
let God do the rest. That is where you will find real peace.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every graduation address needs a couple of memorable
quotations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is from the Irish author Samuel
Beckett: <i>Ever tried? Ever failed? Try again. Fail again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fail better…</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And the second is from Mother Teresa: <i>God doesn’t call us
to be successful. God calls us to be faithful.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Class of 2022, don’t be afraid to go forth and fail… boldly,
when necessary. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-80749653830304019182022-04-15T11:25:00.004-07:002022-04-16T20:23:28.159-07:00Taking it personally --thoughts on reading scripture through the lens of Luke 8:10<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>“To you is granted
to understand</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>the secrets of the
Kingdom of God;</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>for the rest it
remains in parables,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>so that they may
look but not perceive,</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>listen but not
understand…” (Luke 8:10)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This verse has often troubled me, because of how exclusive
it felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea that Jesus would
intentionally make things obscure, so that some people would “look but not
perceive,” felt kind of cruel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
recently I read this passage and was struck by a new understanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me know if you think I am crazy (or just
plain wrong).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read this passage the
other morning and was caught by the word “you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yep… Sometimes that is all it takes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because, for the first time I had the sensation that the “you” Jesus was
referring to was me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just me, of
course. But anyone reading those words.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A little context, first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In chapter 8 of Luke, Jesus is going through the town and villages
teaching in parables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is His
disciples who ask Him—why? Why are You teaching in parables?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His answer is the verse above, and it is made
when Jesus is alone with them—in private, so to speak. He says it just before He
begins to explain the meaning of the parable of the sower: <i>the guy who sows
seeds on the rocky, the thorny, and the good soil</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, taking his personally, may sound a little bit
ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know these stories were
written down almost 2000 years ago, and their authors were often recording
events that probably happened 30 to 50+ years before pen was put to paper (or
papyrus, or whatever they first used).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
it is even possible that the persona writing it down only knew these stories,
these events, because someone else told them about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I am trying to say here, is that I understand there is
historical context, and a narrative context involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, as I read this passage, I realized
that in the story Jesus was saying something to His disciples that in reality also
applied to me. Off by themselves, the disciples asked Jesus to explain the
parable, and He says: I’m going to explain my parable to <b><i>you</i></b>, so <b><i>you</i></b>
can understand it better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not everybody
will get this lesson, but <b><i>YOU</i></b> will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And suddenly I heard this message in a new way. I was
sitting with my Bible, alone with the Lord. Listening to His words, spending
time in His presence (like one of the disciples), and as I read, He began teaching
in parable (in stories).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as I continued
reading—the story about Jesus-- He continued to teach, including a special
lesson to those who withdraw alone with Him. And in that moment, as I sat there—alone
with my Bible—alone with God’s word, I realized: who was He explaining it
to?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was speaking directly to me. Telling me, <i>I think</i>, that as we
read and reread God’s word, more and more of it will become clear to us, the
Holy Spirit will reveal more and more of the meaning to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if the real meaning of this strange verse
was:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To you who spend time listening to
me, who make time to hear and read and contemplate My word, to You it will be
given. The Holy Spirit will open your eyes that you can see, that you might
perceive, and open your ears that YOU can more fully understand God’s meaning,
God’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Does that make sense?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I think the real key is, we need to take it
personally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to make it personal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because, think about it, that’s exactly what Jesus
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here it is, Good Friday, a day to remember the hour when Jesus
made it all very personal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When He took
up the Cross and went to Calvary—not for some amorphous idea but for you. Personally.
And for me, personally. He died to free <b><i>me</i></b> from <b><i>my</i></b>
sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is my belief that He died for
all of us, but not as a group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He died
for each and every one of us, individually, and very personally. That doesn’t
mean we don’t need church or prayer groups or community. I don’t mean “go it
alone.” We need theologians and scholars and ministers and preachers and prayer
buddies to help us and guide us and keep us on track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Jesus gave His life for you, and for me, He made it very
personal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I am saying is, this Easter Season when you take up your Bible, why not return the favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592189309568927294.post-52939400255529266792022-04-09T15:01:00.004-07:002022-04-10T14:02:57.805-07:00Hidden in the storm--thoughts on the Gospel from the fifth Sunday of Lent<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>“Hidden in the
storm, I answered you.”</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>--Psalm 81:8</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve been thinking about the Gospel reading from John about
the woman caught in adultery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the
gospel for last Sunday, and it has been haunting me ever since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the surface, it is a frightening story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A woman is grabbed by a mob, dragged through the
streets and thrown to the ground in front of some stranger; where she hears the
mob prepare to kill her. But first they are going to ask this stranger what he
thinks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a moment and put yourself
into the scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you were this woman,
what would you be thinking? What would you be doing? Caught up in this horrible
storm of anger, rage, jealousy… brutality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are helpless and know that there is nothing for you but to scream
and plead for mercy but clearly there is no mercy to be had. The mob seeks only
your destruction. Or so it seems. Because, as the gospel tells us, they bring
the woman to Jesus because they want to put Him to the test. I look at this
scene and wonder—if Jesus had given them the “wrong” answer, would they have
tried to stone Him as well. Would they have accused Him of a different kind of adultery?
Adulterating their law, their faith, their God?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, instead Jesus defuses the situation by refusing to
engage in their anger, their wrath; by refusing to become fuel for their
storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, he grows quiet and
kneels down and begins to write on the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I love that we don’t know what He wrote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I love that the author knew enough to leave that out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my eye, that seems a sign of divine
literary inspiration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, over
the years, many scholars and saints have considered and proposed
possibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it was Augustine
who suggested that possibly Jesus was writing out the sins of the people standing
before Him. That seems as good a guess as any; but I prefer the mystery.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For me, the most important element here is the example Jesus
gives us of not entering into the argument, of refusing to add fuel to the fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gathers the focus of the crowd away from
the woman and onto Himself through His silence and his enigmatic action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are—in a way—stunned by the unexpected strangeness
of what He does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, instead of
debating them, He concedes their point, recommending only a minor
stipulation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Let the one among you
who is without sin cast the first stone.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then He returns to His work--writing on the ground. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At this point the crowd disappears, dropping their stones
and walking away. And Jesus is left alone with the woman, her heart still
bursting with fear. And He asks her, Woman, where did everybody go? Is there no
one to accuse you?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And she says, No one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And Jesus replies, Neither do I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go and sin no more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I love that image of God’s mercy showing up so quietly and so
tenderly and so beautifully unexpected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
reminds me of a verse from Psalm 81: </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>“Hidden in the
storm, I answered you…” </i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(81:8)</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the book of Job the voice of God is literally hidden in the
storm; it comes out of the tempest. And in this story from John's gospel we see the presence of God calmly waiting for us in the storm of suffering, the storm of rejection, the storm of confusion. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Think about it. We are about to observe
Holy Week, Good Friday, the Passion of Jesus, when the whole world came crashing down upon
Him. We see it all right there: the storm of the Cross becoming the silence of the tomb… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, we are blessed to know how the story
ends. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Easter morning, perhaps you could rise early and step outside into the early morning light; take a moment and just sand there. Listen to the quiet as the day
begins, the first hesitant singing of the birds, the stirring of the leaves in
the morning breeze; witness the awakening of the world to the Love that does not
condemn, the Love that has the power to calm all storms, the Love that died for
us that we might live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the old hymn says:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/x004IEwcYaI"><i>No storm can shake
my inmost calm,</i></a></p><a href="https://youtu.be/x004IEwcYaI">
</a><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/x004IEwcYaI"><i>While to that rock
I'm clinging.</i></a></p><a href="https://youtu.be/x004IEwcYaI">
</a><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/x004IEwcYaI"><i>Since love is lord
of heaven and earth</i></a></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://youtu.be/x004IEwcYaI">How can I keep from singing?</a></i></p>
Herman Sutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00176259342637082074noreply@blogger.com0