Well, I am preparing for the memorial of a very special man. He was a person who adored his family, a man who raised his kids well, who brought a wonderful sense of stability to those who surrounded him even though his life as a child knew no such stability at all. He never complained about his lot, chose to nor rewrite the terrible chapters of his life over, and he stayed true to the values and virtues which make peoples lives better. As I think about all the secret message aspects of Jesus' ministry, I am drawn to those who, as B Mc lifted up, make such a difference without having to get credit for their "good works". In their jobs, while on the road, compassionate at unexpected times; these mark a message in which faith is not "measured" but experienced. Not that measuring our faith is a bad thing! We should always measure our own discipleship with the anticipation of growing and glowing in the best of ways! What we really like to do, however, is measure others. And when the message is less concrete, less verbal, less obvious; then it is hard to measure the health and state of others. The secret message gives us the opportunity to feel the warmth of love found in discipleship, without having to always "show off". As I say goodbye to him with his family, I am awfully glad that he didn't take the shortcut of blaming the world, carrying anger and projecting his tough past out on others. He chose the better way, as Paul calls it, the most excellent way, and in doing so avoided skeletons in the closet as his model for behavior and instead chose love.
0 comments:
Post a Comment