Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26
I've written one thing and scraped it, now I've written another and scraped that too. Here I am starting a third time. Sometimes I think we try too hard. Too hard to find the nugget of the story, too hard to get the spiritual meaning, and when we're not doing that we're coming up with rules and measurements as if spirituality can be something we have a list we check off and say, "There done that, now onto the next."
Maybe today, maybe for these scriptures we should just be. Just take it in with all the rest of the listeners. Today, here what God is saying to the church in Jesus, through Jesus. Because in this story Jesus is on the same level as everyone else. Jesus comes down to be with the people and a lot is going on: healing, teaching the disciples (because those would have been the only ones able to hear him), a gathering crowd because of the healing. Jesus decides to teach right here. Right here with the people pressing in, right here as they are being healed, and right while there are more coming and pushing in on them all.
Into all of this Jesus speaks blessing and woe. Healing and watching. Not for measurement, but for us to realize in the midst of all which happens in this world, if we take the time, maybe just maybe we will hear Jesus.
How often do we listen for Jesus? Do we even try to recognize the voice? In both of these scriptures God/Jesus is talking to those who are going through hard times. In our hardest circumstances it is hard to hear Jesus. We get caught up in the whirlwind of everything which is going on around us. The loudest voices. The fear projected, the hurt we are in, the well intentioned noise from advice of others. We forget to pay attention to Jesus standing in the midst of us healing, loving, sending us a message.
This is all a part of our spiritual walk, our spiritual life. I'm rereading Brene Brown's book Braving the Wilderness and in it one of the things she talks about is intention setting. Giving ourselves permission to do things by way of sticky notes. Maybe we need to set one of listening to Jesus. Where is Jesus speaking? What is Jesus saying? Where is Jesus found in this?
It is a way of listening to our seasons of the soul. When we are frantic, hectic, in fear we need to pause and listen. Listen to find our compass, listen to hear the blessing in the face of all which would drag us down, listen to hear the voice which may be loud or may be small.
See none of this today is anything we can try to be. Well, we might want to try, but in the end life is what it is. We go through different times of lack and plenty. There are times we are a bush in the desert or a tree planted by the water. Nothing we do can make it any other way. It's the listening, the voice we need to hear. That no matter what we are not alone. So listen, listen well and try to hear the voice of Jesus calling out for us to hear.
I've written one thing and scraped it, now I've written another and scraped that too. Here I am starting a third time. Sometimes I think we try too hard. Too hard to find the nugget of the story, too hard to get the spiritual meaning, and when we're not doing that we're coming up with rules and measurements as if spirituality can be something we have a list we check off and say, "There done that, now onto the next."
Maybe today, maybe for these scriptures we should just be. Just take it in with all the rest of the listeners. Today, here what God is saying to the church in Jesus, through Jesus. Because in this story Jesus is on the same level as everyone else. Jesus comes down to be with the people and a lot is going on: healing, teaching the disciples (because those would have been the only ones able to hear him), a gathering crowd because of the healing. Jesus decides to teach right here. Right here with the people pressing in, right here as they are being healed, and right while there are more coming and pushing in on them all.
Into all of this Jesus speaks blessing and woe. Healing and watching. Not for measurement, but for us to realize in the midst of all which happens in this world, if we take the time, maybe just maybe we will hear Jesus.
How often do we listen for Jesus? Do we even try to recognize the voice? In both of these scriptures God/Jesus is talking to those who are going through hard times. In our hardest circumstances it is hard to hear Jesus. We get caught up in the whirlwind of everything which is going on around us. The loudest voices. The fear projected, the hurt we are in, the well intentioned noise from advice of others. We forget to pay attention to Jesus standing in the midst of us healing, loving, sending us a message.
This is all a part of our spiritual walk, our spiritual life. I'm rereading Brene Brown's book Braving the Wilderness and in it one of the things she talks about is intention setting. Giving ourselves permission to do things by way of sticky notes. Maybe we need to set one of listening to Jesus. Where is Jesus speaking? What is Jesus saying? Where is Jesus found in this?
It is a way of listening to our seasons of the soul. When we are frantic, hectic, in fear we need to pause and listen. Listen to find our compass, listen to hear the blessing in the face of all which would drag us down, listen to hear the voice which may be loud or may be small.
See none of this today is anything we can try to be. Well, we might want to try, but in the end life is what it is. We go through different times of lack and plenty. There are times we are a bush in the desert or a tree planted by the water. Nothing we do can make it any other way. It's the listening, the voice we need to hear. That no matter what we are not alone. So listen, listen well and try to hear the voice of Jesus calling out for us to hear.
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