Surprised by Kindness

 

Monday, May 31, 2021

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Romans 12:10

Elizabeth and I were on a mission several years ago.  We were hunting-down a larger cooler for grocery shopping.  The store we favor is a 30 minute drive and, when the thermometer tops 90°, it’s not good to have your veggies and frozen fish melting in the trunk.  Our pitiful little cooler was hardly big enough to hold a dozen eggs and head of lettuce.  This was a must-accomplish task!

One of the chief characteristics of people who laser-focus on a task ahead is how they’re so surprised when they discover the task has already been accomplished.  That’s me; guilty as charged! 

Here’s how it happened:

On roughly the 189^th store we entered that day (I’m normally good for 2) we found what we’d found 188 times before…not a cooler that came close to what we wanted.  On the way out we saw it; a lady had the best cooler ever in the check-out line.  Elizabeth walked up to her and asked where they kept those prized little gems.  I couldn’t hear, but I saw the lady shake her head “no”.  They talked a few moments (while I figited, figuring this meant we would head for store #190 shortly).  Then, the lady picked up the cooler and handed it to Elizabeth.

YES!  189 stores and no more!  I was about to pick up my bride and twirl her in that romantic dance move all around the check-out area; we had prevailed, accomplished the mission.  That’s when Elizabeth unveiled the surprise.  The lady was about to purchase the last cooler in the store; it was on sale, for a ridiculously-low price, and had released the coveted trophy into our keeping with these words:  here – you take it.  I already have one, and you need it.

I was shocked to a standstill.  I felt like Moses; I wanted to take off my shoes and stay at this holy ground burning bush forever.  Where, o where, was that kind of kindness found anymore?  I wanted to run after that woman and sit at her feet like the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration.  This was a miracle.

Now, that sounds like a good cue for the swell of heartwarming music at the ending of a Hallmark movie – but it’s just the beginning. 

Since that day, whenever it’s grocery store day, as I’m loading ice or groceries in the cooler, or wheeling the little igloo into the house for unloading, or cleaning it out afterward, I think of that woman’s kindness.  Truth be told, I cannot remember what she looked like or the sound of her voice, but the kindness, simply setting her own wishes aside so she could bless a couple of strangers….well that speaks so loudly to my soul I can never get the image out of my heart!

For You Today

As a pastor I’ve heard from many believers, followers of Jesus Christ, that they don’t know how to be a witness for Jesus; it’s a daunting task that requires too much risk or personal theological expertise.  It’s just above my pay-grade, pastor!

Well, can you let go of your hold on the cooler?  Can you let someone go ahead of you in the line?  Can you smile at the poor woman behind the counter at the Vehicle Tag office?  If you will give that a whirl, when it comes to being a disciple, a witness for Jesus, you’ll find you’ve got a lot more game than you thought! 

Go ahead – BE the Surprise!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

---

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

God's Surprises

 

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me—also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.  They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!  Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, “Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.”  And the Most High will personally bless this city.  When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, “They have all become citizens of Jerusalem.”  The people will play flutes and sing, “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!”  Psalm 87:4-7

“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain, so will you always be my people, with a name that will never disappear,” says the Lord.  “All humanity will come to worship me from week to week and from month to month.   Isaiah 66:22-23

And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Matthew 8:11

They are way too many to count, all those little hints in Scripture, that we humans are miles off-course when it comes to living out God’s plan for humanity.  These three little samplings of today’s readings (Psalm, Prophet, and Gospel) are a stark contrast to the way we see things in the 21^st century.  The cultural lens, particularly in government, colors everything in hues of friend or foe.  Consider the evidence:

          ·       Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Homeland Security

          ·       Republicans…Democrats…Libertarians…Independents

          ·       Born and bred in this region or that (and fiercely loyal within)

          ·       Citizens by birth – naturalization – or illegal alien

          ·       Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, whatever…

On the religious front there is also the kind of division that makes Heaven weep.  Friend or foe separation is endemic to belief systems.  Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists, along with the agnostics and indifferentists, are only a starting place.  From there we separate into what kind or brand.  In Christianity there is Calvinism, Arminianism, Free-will, Independent, Roman Catholic, and a thousand other choices. 

And don’t even start on the denominations within the brands.  And where did it all come from?  Our division comes from the perception that the other person is either just plain wrong, or just doesn’t get it ALL quite right.  And so you have people separating from each other, building bigger walls, wider divisions, longer tunnels of doubt and suspicion.

And then, there is God in Heaven, perhaps with a tear in His eyes, but unworried.  And what God said through the Psalmist, the prophet, and the Gospel writer, is that, someday God will bring together all those who have so successfully divided themselves from each other, and every dividing thought will melt into a wisp of thin air, every harsh idea will crumble like Babel’s tower, and brothers will be reunited like Jacob and Esau, falling on each other’s necks, glad to be together.  There will be singing of a new song, dancing to match the angel’s clapping time, and a newness to fellowship that will not disappear…ever.

This…is something we can never do here…all we can do is point to it, in faith, and lift our collective little voices and pray, even so, COME, Lord Jesus.

For You Today

After you’re done reading this devotional (or listening), take a few more moments to go back and read today’s full lection (Psalm 87, Isaiah 66 and Matthew 8).  As you read, open the lens in your heart that sees with the kind of love God has for everyone, and measure that against some of the things you’ve either been taught, or have come to believe about others.

And then, spend a little quiet time, not speaking, just being silent, and listening for that still, small, sound of sandaled feet coming near.  God has some surprises in store for us; don’t let the sounds of hatred, violence, and greed drown out the good news.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

VIDEO

Title image Pixabay.com ∞  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on God’s plan for the Gentiles see God Always Has a....Plan-B

 

Startled!

Good Friday of Holy Week, April 10, 2020

See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted.  But many were amazed when they saw him.  His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.  And he will startle many nations.  Kings will stand speechless in his presence.  For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.  Isaiah 52:13-15

To say that Peter was startled when Jesus began to wash his feet is to muddle around in the understated.  Peter was mortified that the Holy One could even bear to have him around, much less treat him so well as to kneel in front of him like some faceless servant.  But that’s the nature of the greatest of all; he is willing to become the least of all to lift up the most lost of all.

Isaiah’s prophecy pointed to the startling, amazing, mouth-dropping reaction we have at seeing a humbled God…a crucified God.  And it worries us greatly, because, if he’s like that, and we are his disciples, the specter of becoming like that is in our future.

It’s in our DNA, this understanding of God’s image in us; we hardly think about it with the front-burner of our minds, but, deep inside we want to be exalted, lifted-up, and the center of attention – if you doubt that, just watch a two-year-old for a while.  But, at the same time, because of God’s image/stamp on our souls, we know our sin disqualifies this self-worship and separates us from even being near the throne, much less on it!  Like Peter, we’re startled, even repulsed by the thought of it.

This is what troubled young Francis of Assisi as he struggled with the pathway of his own conversion to Christ.  According to one story of his journey, early in the process of committing his life to God’s way, Francis was riding a horse down a road that passed a leper colony.  Lepers were the dirty side of life, emaciated, gray, and despised.  The horse saw the leper in the middle of the road and was startled.  When Francis got the beast under control, he saw the bedraggled, nearly former human standing in front of him.  After a long, frightening, paralyzing moment he dismounted, went to the man (who was motionless, expressionless, nearly lifeless, except for the automatic, unthinking breathing of lungs and beating of what was left of his heart). 

Doing the unthinkable, Francis took the leper’s hand.  It was a poor emaciated hand, bloodstained and cold like that of a corpse.  Francis pressed the hand and brought it to his lips.  As he kissed the lacerated flesh of the creature, who was the most abject, the most hated, the most scorned of all human beings, he was flooded with a wave of emotion that shut out everything around him….it taught him that following Christ may require doing some things that repulse us.  What Francis didn’t know then was that something greater was prompting him, allowing him to do that which, humanly speaking, he was incapable of doing.[1]

Perhaps the greatest lesson Francis learned in this moment was what Jesus did for Francis; when Jesus died for Francis on Calvary, he was kissing the sin-lepers of all eternity. 

And that kiss makes us whole.

For You Today

There’s no shortage of lepers in this world.  When’s the last time you kissed one? 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO 

Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on Isaiah 52 and Good Friday see This Holy Week – Part 5

---

[1] Taken from Arnoldo Fortini, Francis of Assisi, Crossroad Publishing. The Pastor’s Workshop

Suddenly

[1]

Monday, December 24, 2018

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home.  He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.  He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.  And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to her firstborn son.  She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.  That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.  

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.  “Don’t be afraid!” he said.  “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign:  You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”  Luke 2:4-14(NLT)

Surprises come suddenly.  (Now there’s a news flash!)

I’ve never actually liked the idea of surprises.  But surprises don’t ask if they can happen; they just happen.  That is why they’re called surprises – they surprise you!  They’re autonomous – they decide when, where, how much, and with what purpose they happen.  All you have is your reaction to the surprise.

This is why surprises aren’t my favorite thing; I’d like to be able to pick and choose which things life has permission to throw at me.  That surprise 16^th birthday party was ok, but nearly severing my big toe back in 1987 was something I would have crossed-off the dance card if I’d known about how weak that aquarium glass was if you put your foot against it to scoot it across the carport.  Surprises sometimes include blood!

The shepherds understood surprises; you don’t care for flocks of sheep, notoriously dumb animals that wander around, falling into all kinds of troubling predicaments, without being familiar with surprises.  It’s just that the shepherds weren’t prepared for an angel and a choir the size of the New Year’s Eve Times Square crowd floating in the night air above.  Surprises can sometimes be terrifying.

But now, later that night, look at the faces of those shepherds, and tell me what happens when a surprise from heaven settles-in to do its work in your life:

Notice that all six faces in the picture (7 if you count the cow) are illuminated.  The artist wanted us to know something about these faces and the worth of this surprise.

We know Mary’s face, a young teen with her firstborn; how do you put into words the joy and overwhelming sense of fearful wonder that you won’t be good enough for all this? 

At Mary’s side, with his hands folded on the cow’s head, we see contented joy.  This shepherd is just taking-in the human moment…and why not?  It’s not often a common shepherd gets to participate in a world-class event…and in a front-row seat!

The Man in the lower left with hands clasped in a prayerful pose shows wonder, his face is an I-don’t-know-what-to-make-of-this prayerful plea of anxiety over what this will mean; will it all be alright?

The boy next to Mary is pure, excited joy.  “Do you believe this; man, this is great” is the expression of youthful naiveté, who cannot possibly see anything but the upside.  This is the Hallmark moment under the Christmas tree; all gift, no grief.

And lastly (besides the cow who may be looking more at the hay that was supposed to be her supper), at the far (upper) left is a man’s face that speaks the shadow of the cross to me.  His right hand is near his heart, and the left raised in something of a benedictory pose.  At first glance I saw just a bland, unfeeling look on that face.  But on deeper examination I see the pathos of future surprises for this child that transcends such a serene moment of a new baby’s untouched life.  This prayerful shepherd understands life will not be all picnics and walks in the park. 

There are indeed hard times ahead for the Christ child.  His willingness to accept all of it, so I can experience His joy, is present enough for me.

For You Today

My deepest prayer for you today is that whatever you’re preparing for, and whomever you will celebrate this Christmas eve, and the season with, that all these emotions and assurances will be yours, like the suddenly surprises the angels brought so long ago to the shepherds.  Contented joy, mixed with a little anxious anticipation, regained naiveté, and the wisdom of preparing for the cross.  Blessed Christmas…. good tidings!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

Go to VIDEO

---

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com