My first difficulty in posting something about this text is finding an appropriate illustration. I know those pictures of severed hands and feet are out there, but I’m not looking for them! Of course the rather graphic language of the passage illustrates Jesus’ point all by itself: This is serious. Some stuff just doesn’t belong in your life. And that’s not a message I’m typically preaching. I like to talk about transformation, gradual change and the journey. This black and white, Just-say-no! stuff is not my style!
I might not like to say it, but this black and white, Just-say-no stuff is definitely part of Jesus’ journey. There is some baggage we need to leave behind if we are going to be following Jesus. Sunday I identified that baggage as whatever gets in the way of affirming our God-given identity as God’s people, made in God’s image, redeemed and empowered (note the Trinitarian theology!). For some of us that might take the shape of certain activities or distractions, maybe the influence of particular situations or opinions. For me, it’s primarily negative thoughts, which keep me from seeing that God’s Kingdom does indeed have the victory. It all seems impossible and pointless sometimes.
My suggestion Sunday was that we start each day reminding ourselves of our God-given identity, just as Sunday worship is the way of starting each week with that reminder. A couple days into my own advice and I’m hearing it like a 12-Step program: My name is Meg, and I’ve remembered my identity for three days! Still, I think it’s a good beginning. What I have found, in this short experiment, is that with the excuses out of the way, now I do have to do something about who I am and what God is calling me to be, and that’s a little daunting. No excuses–take another step on the journey. We’ll see how this is at the end of the week.
How is it going with you, two days past Sunday?
2 Responses
One of the things I really connected with in last week's message is the idea that I *don't* necessarily need to “focus on the positive,” but instead to embrace reality as it is and try to do something about it as a means of honoring God. Also, it's helpful for me to remember that even my imperfect efforts at being who God calls me to be are a step in the right direction! It's so easy to get discouraged when things don't as we'd hoped, but really that's just another excuse.
I connected with this week's message as a great reminder of how to live as God's people – through introspection, which means not to judge myself or others, but to notice and be aware of what I'm thinking, how I'm speaking and reacting; remembering that as a CHILD of God, I am imperfect, with built-in challenges that I need to learn from. If I am aware that these challenges are what brings me to God, I then realize that there's work to do, that I need to pause and listen to the words of Christ's teachings of forgiveness and mercy. I need to let go of negative thoughts, feelings, or actions when they arise, by forgiveness and turning them over to God.
SW