Help support the vision of Woodland Hills Community Church!

Help support the vision of Woodland Hills Community Church!
For those of you who would like to support the vision & ministry of Woodland Hills Community Church (the faith community I serve that continues to encourage me to minister outside the box), please click on the link just above.

Monday, June 22

Today’s Readings: Psalm 22:1-15; 1 Samuel 16:14-7:11; John 19:17-24; 2 Corinthians 10:13-18; Psalm 22:16-31

There are usually certain moments in a person’s life that define that person’s character. And for me, these moments are usually not the big moments that people not – they are often the smaller moments that often go unnoticed by most. I’ll use a former colleague of mine named Linda as an example. I had known Linda for two years. During this time she revealed herself to be a wonderful advocate for the marginalized. She was especially committed to helping kids that society had thrown away. I grew to admire her deeply for what I perceived of as her capacity to care for those that others didn’t. One day we went out for lunch and the waitress made a mistake with our order. I didn’t think it was a big deal – so I expected Linda not to make a big deal about it either. I was wrong. Linda ranted and raved about how horrible the mistake was, and she ended up publicly humiliating the waitress. I never saw Linda with quite the same eyes again. Today’s passage from the Gospel of John reveals a similar moment when Jesus revealed his true character in a small moment. That moment didn’t occur during his arrest, trial, or early crucifixion – it occurred in his final moments when he showed concern for his mother’s well being by turning the responsibility for her care over to the beloved disciple. At a moment when most of us would have been lost in our own pain and suffering, Jesus was thinking of another. That small moment is what I think of most clearly when I think of Jesus propensity for self-emptying, sacrificial love. So if I were to watch a video tape of your life as you live it today, which small moment would best reveal the quality of your character? Til next time…

1 comment:

Dutch Bieber said...

God said nothing. Only the NRSV reads Psalm 22:21b as past tense. In two paraphrases and the Jerusalem Bible it is still part of the list of pleadings. God has done nothing. Then the writer begins praising God, as if God had protected her and provided for her welfare. As if God will do good by her. As if God...

If I begin telling my story as if my future was going to be great rather than lousy I have begun to make it so. If in the presence, in meditation, in writing, I move from complaining about the past or even the present and turn toward the future expecting good ... I wonder. God said nothing but I was transformed - just in the act of praying?