Making Space for the New - September 30
Today’s Readings - AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; Hosea 4:11-19; Acts 21:15-26; Luke 5:27-39
One of my first jobs was recruiting and managing volunteers for a non-profit in downtown Jackson, Ms. The agency managed several different ministries: a men’s shelter, a home for abused women, a soup kitchen, a clothing closet and a laundry. They eventually expanded to include a health clinic for minor ailments and injuries. One of my first presentations to recruit volunteers was to a wealthy neighboring church. It was very prominent with an impressive sanctuary and campus that was the largest in the downtown area.
I presented all my best-selling points, explaining our multiple opportunities for volunteers. They weren’t buying any of it. None of it appealed to them. In not so many words they told me that the people we ministered to had chosen to be where they were and they’d rather not spend their time or resources helping them. They chose the people they helped through an interview process, selecting only people they felt deserving. I remember feeling shocked and foolish. It didn’t take long for me to become indignant and angry. I thought some awful things about them and eventually realized I was as judgmental as they were.
Admitting personal fault and the need for help is often the key to real spiritual health, the key to healing that can only come from Christ. However, if you can’t admit or see that you’re “broken’ you can never be open to change, to correcting what is broken, to healing. Not being able to see our own biases or being open to examine our self-awareness can be one of the greatest roadblocks to spiritual healing and growth.
In Luke’s gospel for today, Jesus proclaims to the pharisees and scribes that he came to call not the righteous but the sinners, to repentance. As I was thinking about this, I wondered what Jesus meant when he referred to the Pharisees as righteous. Webster’s definition of righteous doesn’t seem to fit those to whom Jesus is referring. The Pharisees seemed to be more concerned with keeping the letter of the Jewish laws rather than the inner transformation of the heart that comes with true righteousness. They trusted that as children of Abraham they had earned their acceptability to God and so their focus was more on public appearance rather than what Micah had proclaimed: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.
Choosing to follow Jesus as Levi did, requires his leaving behind everything, and changing the direction of his life. It means being open to a new way of living that Jesus is offering; one that offers grace and acceptance rather than strict observance of rigid laws and compliance of religious traditions. By leaving everything behind it may also mean leaving biases or prejudices behind as well.
Perhaps the reason my ideas were rejected at that presentation so long ago was because I was trying to squeeze a fresh new way of looking at our fellow human beings into an old, hard and fast system, to increase awareness on the needs that exist. The Pharisees were threatened by the change they feared Jesus was bringing, a new spiritual reality that was unfamiliar and as unwelcome as new wine in an old wineskin. It meant letting go of some of the control the old system provided. We all find ourselves in that unfamiliar place from time to time and God willing we will be open to the opportunities for grace, mercy and love that come our way.
Faithfully,
Salyy+
Questions for Reflection and Challenge - When have you tried to “patch” your life with new “cloth,” forcing new ways into a life that isn’t ready or willing to embrace the change? How did you facilitate the change, making way for the new?