Thursday, February 17, 2022                        (today’s lectionary)
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Change my heart, O God
Listen, my brothers and sisters. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
Nevertheless, I hold on tight to my privileges and position. I worked hard for them! I do not give myself away, nor do I give away much of anything if it hurts. And that’s the key measure, isn’t it, give until it hurts? The years of my life are piling up, and I have yet to learn this way of living in my blood, in my bones, in my soul.
In my pocketbook.
The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I do spend a significant amount of time feeling guilty about this, however. And my self-pity does turn out my pockets now and then. But then I go back to holding on. Sometimes this seems like a deep sin that refuses to be broken. Now that I think about it, it kind of sounds like I’m being oppressed by a demon.
If it is (a demon, that is), I wonder how many generations back it goes. And I wonder how geographic it is: America is full of selfish white guys like me, who think they are more righteous than others think they are.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him.
So here’s the deal: if I rebuke the spirit of grasping and greed, and tell it to leave me and go to the foot of the cross of Jesus, and Jesus delivers me from this ugly thing, I will give more away. Give until it hurts. You can’t take it with you, they always say. I noticed a few months ago, when Mom died and was buried, that she took nothing with her.
I am already skeptical; how long with it last? I clearly have trouble trusting Jesus with this one.
Clarence Heller helps:
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Distracted by Clarence Heller  Careful, lest you get distracted, praying to a God who does not exist, or rehashing the life of a man who lived two thousand years ago, rather than embracing the gift offered through the Christ who lives today.  Careful, lest you get distracted, doing good things at the expense of being the goodness of God, all the time, whether or not you do a damn thing.  Careful, lest you get distracted, seeking affirmation, confirmation, satisfaction, avoiding conflict, rejection, isolation, because God is with you closer than you know, closer than you know, if you just pay attention. |
How long, O Lord, how long, until I open my heart to your sweet antidote for the Protestant work ethic? For more than just a moment now and then, let me live, “being the goodness of God.” You are the doer; I am not. What good I do comes through you, and not as an offering to any hungry idol of my own making. Golden calf? What golden calf?
Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. And then Jesus, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter.
Jesus knew what he was doing, and he knew that all of it was coming through his Father. Jesus was “being the goodness of God,” and he would give himself entirely away. But did Peter understand? Do I? And how long before I forget? O Lord, who will rescue me from this body of death?
Jesus said to Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
(James 2, Psalm 34, John 6, Mark 8)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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