Read Luke 7-9. Chapter 7 is complex and convoluted and
causes conflict in my soul. First, the
whole premise of the centurion (who is part of the Roman military industrial
complex machine) having a slave who needs healing sets my teeth on edge and makes
my soul queasy with too many emotions.
And even more flummoxing and frustrating is that the centurion (this
outsider) is said to have more faith than those in
Israel, which feels like we are rating and ranking faith. And this would have been offensive to any
Jewish person and can still be offensive for us inside the church. At this point my mind is twisting and turning
like Simeon Biles doing her gravity-defying summersaults. Then, Jesus goes and heals the widow’s son,
which seems a bit more in line with the ways I like to define (or should I say,
confine?) Jesus. Like
John’s disciples, I come to Jesus asking, “Who are you?” I have questions about Jesus, who I seek to
apprentice under. Why can’t there be an employee manual for
being a Christian that is clear, concise and to the point? (Steve Cuss likes to say that we are not
God’s employees, we are God’s beloved. Just
like I didn’t give my kids a manual for being part of the family, neither does
God). Chapter 7 wraps up and winds down
with a woman being forgiven for her past while the Pharisee (one who polishes
his halo every day) misses the point ~ which is sort of where I feel I am at
when I read this chapter. I am not
convinced I understand what Jesus is teaching and telling. Perhaps it is to receive the person in front
of me ~ whether I fully agree with them, whether my heart breaks for them,
whether they are questioning and confronting me, whether they have a past that
has some baggage ~ to see and receive the person as beloved. This is a practice that I will never get
“right”, because featherless bipeds (that is humans) are wonderfully creative
at causing all kinds of frustration to each other. I don’t know if squirrels gossip. I don’t know if trees hide knives in their
words with the sugary sweetness of a pecan pie and end by saying, “bless his
heart”. I don’t know if creation causes
the amount of emotional and spiritual pain that humans cause each other. The truth creation tells us that there are
predators and prey in the wilderness.
Life is complex and scripture doesn’t frost over the burnt cakes of life
saying, “It’s all going be alright”.
When you read these chapters, what is provoked or evoked for you? What stirs and swirls? What parts feel like sandpaper to your
soul? Continue to notice and name what stirs
to your faith, what stretches your faith (perhaps in directions you don’t want
to go), and what is downright offensive to your faith. May your insights and questions continue to
bless you as you seek with Luke to live your faith in service to others amid
the mountains and storms of life. Amen.
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