We Are Chosen

Unlike other rabbi’s of His day, Jesus didn’t wait for disciples to come to Him.  Instead, He invited specific people to follow Him.  Consequently, Jesus’ disciples were a very diverse group.  It’s really clear that He picked unlikely people to be His followers.  It’s also clear that He avoided holier-than-thou types.   

So Jesus’ disciples include tax collectors, fishermen and public sinners.  He welcomes people of ill repute and a few whom He’d healed of demonic possession. He even has a follower who was a Samaritan woman with 5 husbands. (John 4:17-18) (Incidentally, Jesus was also the only rabbi of that era who had women disciples.)  

Why did He choose these people? My guess is that Jesus simply loved down-to-earth folk whose lives were messy, but who also had good hearts.

Remember: In Baptism you were also chosen by Christ.    

Why do you think Jesus chooses you?  What does He see in your heart?  What makes you an unlikely follower of His?  

                                                                        Blessings

My father wasn’t the kind of dad who said “I love you.” And I followed suit.  So our conversations were normal everyday kinds of things.  But we didn’t say the things that I thought fathers and sons should say to each other.  And I regretted that.

He had heart trouble.  At one point he was in the hospital and he was scared. And he asked me to shave him…a thing I’d never imagined doing. There was something intimate in doing that for my dad.  So I seized the moment and blurted out the words that were stuck in my throat for many years. “I haven’t said this for a long time, but I love you dad.” 

Dad didn’t/couldn’t say anthing in return.  I was hoping he would.  

A week later I visited him at home. He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed it...a hug really. And that felt so good.  I knew it was his way of saying “I love you too.” A couple of weeks later he died.  I’m so glad we blessed each other before it was too late.

Blessings can be words or gestures.  Who blesses you and how?  Whom do you bless and in what ways?  Think of someone you’d like to bless this week.

                                              What’s the Picture God Wants You to See?

Two weeks ago I had a horrible dream. I was a passenger in a car that was rounding a curve on a mountain pass.  The tires, on my side of the car, hit loose gravel and we started sliding off the cliff.  My heart was racing when I opened my eyes and realized that I’d been dreaming.  It took me a while to calm down.

Why did I dream that? I think it has to do with my fears/worries as I face the ‘cliff’ of retirement. A part of me is happy to retire, but another part of me fears the unknown. 

It comforted me to write about that dream and to remember that Jesus had fears too.  But the best insight came when I wrote a prayer about this. The concluding line was: “Lord, help me see the picture that you want me to see.”

When I look back at the dream, I realize what I hadn’t noticed.  I hadn’t seen who the driver was. In hindsight, I think it was the Lord. And that’s really the best part of the picture. So, even if I’m going off a cliff…the Lord is with me and everything will be OK.

What is difficult in your life right now?  Ask God to help you see the picture He wants you to see in that difficulty.  What do you think you will see?  

                                                                 A Spiritual Exercise

Control is an issue for me.  Recently it caused me/others grief. So I followed a spiritual exercise that helps me.  Here’s my method:

1. I write down everything I can think of regarding the issue.  It includes a description of my current situation, the problems that my control causes, and the origins of my need to control so much.  I write until I have nothing more to say.   

2. Then I try to recall an incident in Jesus life when He dealt with the same issue. And I write down what comes to me.  So I remember the wedding at Cana.  Jesus doesn’t want to solve the ‘wine’ problem because “His hour had not come.”  But Mary pushes Him into it.  Jesus lets go of control and does what Mary wants. And the most wonderful thing happens.

3. Remembering the Cana story helps me realize that Jesus understands my problem.  He lets go of control and that leads to something unbelievable.  Then I write a prayer.  I thank Jesus for understanding me and ask for His help with my problem. This exercise helps me.      

Are you struggling with an issue in your life right now? Try this exercise.  Maybe it will help.  

                                                                  

                                                                        Weeping

Not long ago I told some friends that I get a little weepy when I think about retirement.  And then last weekend a High School Senior mentioned the same thing to me about graduating.  It reminded me that a lot of people have moments like this.       

As a child, my dad simply stated that “boys don’t cry after the age of 7.”  So I grew up feeling embarrassed when something made me tear up. Eventually I understood that my dad was wrong about weeping. Shedding tears is simply human.

We know that Jesus wept too.  He wept over the city of Jerusalem when He foresaw its destruction. (Luke 19:41-44)  His emotions ran especially deep because He knew He was also going to die in Jerusalem.  Jesus was as human as we are. 

Jesus also wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. (John 11:35)  And we learn that Martha and Mary comforted Jesus when He was overcome by that emotion.  Jesus not only wept but He also needed comfort.      

Remember a time when you were a little weepy.  What brought on the tears?  Who comforted you?  Then remember this: Jesus understands tears.

                                                                      Magnets

As a child I was fascinated with magnets.  It’s still hard for me to explain how they work.  But I know that magnets can attract or repel each other.  And I know that a magnet is at work in every compass…which always points north. 

I think about magnets when Jesus says: “I will draw everyone to myself.” (John 12:32)  It’s as if God were a magnet. 

What is it that draws us to Jesus?  Is it His words or values or actions which attract us? Or is it something deeper…a desire to be whole, a longing for closeness, a yearning for a more satisfying love?

Sometimes I’m aware that there is a hole in my heart…a kind of empty space.  It’s as if something is missing. Some things fill the hole for a while…a beautiful sunrise or a good talk with a friend or holding a child in my arms after a baptism.  Each of these moments connect me with God…who draws me close to Him and who will ultimately satisfy my hungry heart.

Is there a hole in your heart? How does God fill that hole?  Is God drawing you closer to Him…like a magnet?  

                                                     Jesus Knocking at the Door

Did you ever see that picture of Jesus knocking at a door?  (If you haven’t seen it, just google it and you will see many renditions)

The most interesting detail in that painting is that the door does not have a doorknob. Most people who notice that, think the missing doorknob indicates that we have to open the door from the inside in order to let Jesus come into our hearts.

With Pentecost still in our rear-view mirror, our question may be: Have we wholeheartedly opened the door to let Jesus’ Spirit into our hearts?    

But Pope Francis has a different take on that image of Jesus knocking at the door.  He says: “I have the impression that Jesus was locked in the church and that He’s knocking because He wants to get out.” That turns things upside-down.

From that perspective Pentecost isn’t about our personal life in the Spirit.  It’s about taking the Spirit of Christ out of the church and into the world…making it a little more God-like!     

So here’s a new question: As a spirit-filled person, how are you reshaping the world?