Gospeling Your Life ~ Beyond "Supposed to"

 

Read Luke 10-11 ~ One of the reasons why I find it meaningful to read bigger chunks of Scripture ~ whole chapters ~ it allows us to follow the thread of the narrative.  Luke 10 contains one of the most well-known passages and parables of the Good Samaritan.  But before you get to that, you get to the mission of the 72, notice that it is more than the 12 disciples Jesus sends out.  Jesus blesses a whole group of people.  I wonder if there is a connection between being sent out and the story of the Samaritan’s loving kindness to the one in the ditch?  Maybe as we go about our life, we will get interrupted and disrupted by the sacred in serendipitous ways.  Maybe I need to be careful not to let my calendar or agenda or to-do list blind me from seeing the person right in front of me.  Chapter 10 wraps up with another wonderful story about Mary and Martha.  You have probably heard enough sermons about this passage to know that the “correct” answer is to be Mary, not Martha.  We want Jesus to give us the gold star and badge for our heavenly sash.  But wait, am I supposed to be the Good Samaritan out helping/healing a hurting word OR am I to be sitting at the feet of Jesus listening/learning…because honestly…there is a tension here.  Remember back to Peter walking on water in Matthew, how I noted over 90 percent of the disciples stayed in the boat and got to the same conclusion (worshiping Jesus) without getting drenched and doused by sinking in the water?  Part of the problem is when we think we are “supposed” to be like the main character.  We can reduce the complexity to a moral lesson of being like the Samaritan and Mary and the disciples all at once.  The result is that faith becomes demanding rather than grace filled.  We can feel like a hamster on a wheel going nowhere, but we keep racing and running praying that God is giving out good grades for participation and effort.  Grace is not achieved.  Grace is not earned or ever deserved.  Grace is freely given…and that message contradicts everything you learned in college economics class and when your grandma said, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”.  No wonder grace doesn’t make sense, no wonder Jesus seems to be talking in circles and not giving us a step-by-step manual to follow that is sure to bring success.  Faith and life continue to evolve and expand.  There are moments when I am called to sit, moments I am called to serve, moments I am sent out and times to stay.  And the challenge is when all four of those are clamoring for my attention at the same time.  I ask you to ponder the situations you are facing right now, the ones that weigh on your heart ~ should you continue with a volunteer opportunity, should you call that person who hurt you, should you give money to that organization, should you have the doctor do that test, should you continue or change parts of your life?  There are not clear answers in life, we live the questions as Rumi said, and by grace we stub our toes on the love of God as we stumble forward.  Sometimes it helps to talk to others and my door is wide open to chat.  I pray you will find ways to explore how and where God is showing up in your life this day with grace and love to be fully yourself.  I encourage you to pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer in chapter 11, letting every syllable and sentence of this prayer sing/sink to your soul.  Amen.