Today’s Readings: Psalm 57; Genesis 41:1-13; Luke 4:22-30; Acts 17:21-28; Psalm 113
Jesus’ experience as told in today’s reading from Luke is certainly one that resonates with my soul. You see I had deep roots in the small town in which I was born and raised. I was the third generation of my family to live in that small town. In fact, my mother was not only born and raised in the very house in which I was raised – she still lives there to this day with my father. As the youngest of four kids in my own family, I was well known by all of my teachers before I even set foot in the classrooms. Instead of trying to coast on my family’s coattails, however, I took the opposite tact and nearly killed myself in order to earn the love and respect of folks in my community. I did everything (and then some) that they asked for me. During my high school years alone I was everything from ASB President to Youth Group President to salutatorian. Nevertheless, when I was in my mid-twenties and shared a new piece of myself – my sexual orientation – I was summarily rejected by many members of that community. Ironically, I was led to share this controversial piece of myself for two reasons: (1) because of the values my family and the members of the community had instilled in me (“always tell the truth” and “everyone is a valuable child of God”); and (2) because of my call to be a prophetic voice. Little did I realize how true Jesus’ words that no prophet would be welcome in his or her hometown would be! I’ve spent a little time over the years wondering why that’s the case. I’ve concluded that its because when it comes to those who are closest to us, its difficult to let go of our expectations of them and receive them for who they are - not who we want or need them to be. One of the greatest gifts we can ever give a loved one is to do that: embrace them on their own terms. Perhaps there’s a relationship in your own life where you are facing this challenging: a relationship filled with tension because one of you isn’t accepting the other for who the other person is. If that’s the case, take the bold step of welcoming the fullness of that individual into your life. While it may not be easy at first, your act of gracious hospitality might take that relationship to amazing new places. Til next time…
Jesus’ experience as told in today’s reading from Luke is certainly one that resonates with my soul. You see I had deep roots in the small town in which I was born and raised. I was the third generation of my family to live in that small town. In fact, my mother was not only born and raised in the very house in which I was raised – she still lives there to this day with my father. As the youngest of four kids in my own family, I was well known by all of my teachers before I even set foot in the classrooms. Instead of trying to coast on my family’s coattails, however, I took the opposite tact and nearly killed myself in order to earn the love and respect of folks in my community. I did everything (and then some) that they asked for me. During my high school years alone I was everything from ASB President to Youth Group President to salutatorian. Nevertheless, when I was in my mid-twenties and shared a new piece of myself – my sexual orientation – I was summarily rejected by many members of that community. Ironically, I was led to share this controversial piece of myself for two reasons: (1) because of the values my family and the members of the community had instilled in me (“always tell the truth” and “everyone is a valuable child of God”); and (2) because of my call to be a prophetic voice. Little did I realize how true Jesus’ words that no prophet would be welcome in his or her hometown would be! I’ve spent a little time over the years wondering why that’s the case. I’ve concluded that its because when it comes to those who are closest to us, its difficult to let go of our expectations of them and receive them for who they are - not who we want or need them to be. One of the greatest gifts we can ever give a loved one is to do that: embrace them on their own terms. Perhaps there’s a relationship in your own life where you are facing this challenging: a relationship filled with tension because one of you isn’t accepting the other for who the other person is. If that’s the case, take the bold step of welcoming the fullness of that individual into your life. While it may not be easy at first, your act of gracious hospitality might take that relationship to amazing new places. Til next time…
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