Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 148; Genesis 1:1-2:3; Matthew 17:22-27; Philemon 1-14; Psalm 8
From my early twenties through my mid-thirties, I had a clear pattern when it came to my living situation. I would live in a place for a couple of years and then move to a new place. In fact, during that time period the longest I lived in one place was three years. One of the reasons I moved so frequently was that I loved the notion of having a fresh start. By this I mean I could move in to a sparkling clean apartment (I hated cleaning so after the first couple of months my place was anything but sparkling) in a new neighborhood that I could spend time exploring. I loved that! During this time period, however, I never pushed myself to see if I could make the old situation seem new. In today’s sacred reading from Philemon, that is exactly what Paul is challenging two people to do; he’s asking Philemon and Onesimus to return to their previous situation and treat it as if it were a new circumstance. So what would have changed in the arrangement that might have suggested the possibility of change? Their faith, that’s what. So often in our lives, we find ourselves doing what I did in my young adult years; spending time and energy “moving” from one situation to another. If we get into relationship troubles, what do we do? We move on to a new relationship. If we have trouble at work, what do we do? We move on to a new job. If we get bored in the city we are living, what do we do? We move on to a new city. Rarely do we follow Paul’s admonition to put on our new lens of faith and see the same old things with new eyes. Today, I would invite you to do just that. Spend some time exploring a challenging area of your life with new eyes and then see what happens. Perhaps you’ll have the opportunity to experience a taste of new life in the same old place. Til next time…
From my early twenties through my mid-thirties, I had a clear pattern when it came to my living situation. I would live in a place for a couple of years and then move to a new place. In fact, during that time period the longest I lived in one place was three years. One of the reasons I moved so frequently was that I loved the notion of having a fresh start. By this I mean I could move in to a sparkling clean apartment (I hated cleaning so after the first couple of months my place was anything but sparkling) in a new neighborhood that I could spend time exploring. I loved that! During this time period, however, I never pushed myself to see if I could make the old situation seem new. In today’s sacred reading from Philemon, that is exactly what Paul is challenging two people to do; he’s asking Philemon and Onesimus to return to their previous situation and treat it as if it were a new circumstance. So what would have changed in the arrangement that might have suggested the possibility of change? Their faith, that’s what. So often in our lives, we find ourselves doing what I did in my young adult years; spending time and energy “moving” from one situation to another. If we get into relationship troubles, what do we do? We move on to a new relationship. If we have trouble at work, what do we do? We move on to a new job. If we get bored in the city we are living, what do we do? We move on to a new city. Rarely do we follow Paul’s admonition to put on our new lens of faith and see the same old things with new eyes. Today, I would invite you to do just that. Spend some time exploring a challenging area of your life with new eyes and then see what happens. Perhaps you’ll have the opportunity to experience a taste of new life in the same old place. Til next time…
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