Friday, November 6, 2020     (today’s lectionary)
Be still, and do not scratch
Late at night I give in to my stomach. Writing these devotions, surfing the internet, reading a spiritual book or one not so spiritual, I stay up too late and eat too much. In the morning the scale tells the tale.
For many, enemies of the cross of Christ, their god is their stomach. Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
The secret of fasting is to be still on the outside and passionate on the inside. That’s the secret of losing weight too, now that I think of it. And it’s the secret of not scratching an itch into an open sore. As my friend Chris points out, it’s our inner passion that allows us to follow God’s path with patience and peace rather than quiet desperation.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, which is Christ the Lord. He will change our lowly body to conform with his Glorious Body. Stand firm in the Lord, and wait for it.
So I don’t skip the election, but my heart is set on something more lasting. I don’t skip eating, but not the blueberry pie and ice cream late at night. When I want to scratch I remember the advice of Anthony DeMello, an Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist, who tells me to focus all my attention on the itch, make it the most important thing in the world. Cover it with my open palm, comfort it. Talk to it, even. Just don’t scratch it. It’s my inner passion, and respect for my body in sickness and in health, that keep my fingers still.
We have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. Let us go rejoicing into the house of the Lord.
We are going to Chicago-Jerusalem this weekend to shop a bit at Ikea and visit friends. We’ll stay six feet apart. We’ll eat and pray together. We’ll share stories and appreciate our unity of heart and soul. Then we’ll leave and not see each other again for months or years. Our acceptance of separation comes from deep within a mutual inner stillness. God is our source. Our friendships are the result, so we can laugh and share our lives, and then return to our source.
The master said to his steward, “You have squandered my property. After you have prepared a full account for me, you must leave.” Then the steward called in the master’s debtors and reduced their debts by removing his own commissions and any interest payments, hoping the debtors would be grateful and welcome him into their homes. The master was impressed and commended him.
Jesus knows how our Father allows consequences to play themselves out in my life. But never for a moment does he lose sight of my eternal life, my spiritual growth, or my ability to repent and change. So when I turn my life around, he commends me rather than holding a grudge about what I did wrong yesterday.
Of course he and I both know that this repentance will need to be repeated tomorrow for another sin. Another set of circumstances will beset me. Life is difficult, Jesus says. But I am with you always.
(Philippians 3, Psalm 122, 1 John 2, Luke 16)
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