Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 59; Ezekiel 4:1-17; Matthew 15:1-20; 1 Corinthians 16:1-9; Psalm 61
I learned an important lesson growing up in a dysfunctional local church. I learned that there is a huge difference between serving God and serving self. Let me tell you how I learned that lesson. You see there was a couple in my local church who were seen by the people in our community as the backbone of the church. They gave generous financial contributions to the ministries of our church; they served on numerous committees and boards; and they devoted an inordinate amount of energy to support the day to day operations of the church. There was only one catch: they did these things as long as they got their way. If they didn’t get their way, then we saw another side of them. They often “ruled” through fear and intimidation. Rumor and innuendo were favorite tools of theirs in order to get their way. Today’s words from Matthew reminded me of this situation. In the passage, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah as noting: “These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshipping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy” (Matthew 15:8-9 – The Message). Of course, it would be easy for me to hear those words of challenge and think only of the couple from my childhood. To do so, however, would be a mistake. For I believe that whenever we come into community, each of us has our own challenge grappling with ego and personal agenda. I know I do. Today I invite you to examine your own heart and see if there are ways in which your ego and agenda are driving your attempts to live in community (religious or otherwise). Then, spend some time re-claiming the spirit of the simple prayer that Jesus’ taught us as together we pray “Thy will be done”. Til next time…
I learned an important lesson growing up in a dysfunctional local church. I learned that there is a huge difference between serving God and serving self. Let me tell you how I learned that lesson. You see there was a couple in my local church who were seen by the people in our community as the backbone of the church. They gave generous financial contributions to the ministries of our church; they served on numerous committees and boards; and they devoted an inordinate amount of energy to support the day to day operations of the church. There was only one catch: they did these things as long as they got their way. If they didn’t get their way, then we saw another side of them. They often “ruled” through fear and intimidation. Rumor and innuendo were favorite tools of theirs in order to get their way. Today’s words from Matthew reminded me of this situation. In the passage, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah as noting: “These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshipping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy” (Matthew 15:8-9 – The Message). Of course, it would be easy for me to hear those words of challenge and think only of the couple from my childhood. To do so, however, would be a mistake. For I believe that whenever we come into community, each of us has our own challenge grappling with ego and personal agenda. I know I do. Today I invite you to examine your own heart and see if there are ways in which your ego and agenda are driving your attempts to live in community (religious or otherwise). Then, spend some time re-claiming the spirit of the simple prayer that Jesus’ taught us as together we pray “Thy will be done”. Til next time…
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