Giver of Good Gifts

GiverofGoodGiftsProper12C, Sullivan Park Care Center, July 28, 2013 by Annette Fricke

                Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does. ~William James~ The devotional I follow on a regular basis, ‘For All the Saints’ this past week had this to say on the Lord’s Prayer: I cannot pray "Our" if my faith has no room for others and their need. I cannot pray "Father" if I do not demonstrate this relationship to God in my daily living. I cannot pray "who art in heaven" if all of my interests and pursuits are in earthly things. I cannot pray "hallowed be thy name" if I am not striving, with God's help, to be holy. I cannot pray "thy kingdom come" if I am unwilling to accept God's rule in my life. I cannot pray "thy will be done" if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life. I cannot pray "on earth as it is in Heaven" unless I am truly ready to give myself to God's service here and now. I cannot pray "give us this day our daily bread" without expending honest effort for it, or if I would withhold from my neighbor the bread that I receive. I cannot pray "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot pray "lead us not into temptation" if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted. I cannot pray "deliver us from evil" if I am not prepared to fight evil with my life and prayer. I cannot pray "thine is the kingdom" if I am unwilling to obey the King. I cannot pray "thine is the power and the glory" if I am seeking power for myself and my own glory first. I cannot pray "forever and ever" if I am too anxious about each day's affairs. I cannot pray "Amen" unless I honestly say, 'Cost what it may, this is my prayer.' This was written by the famous person known as Anonymous.

            The Lord’s Prayer or what some know as the Our Father or the Pater Noster has been prayed over and over so many times by most of us, that many times, I think we pray it like we are just going through the motions.  We know what we pray, yet sometimes it is just a hurried exercise to get to the end…like an obligation.  The point is, as a prescribed ritual, it becomes the ritual rather than the rich prayer it was meant to be.  Gerhard Ebeling, in his book about the Lord's Prayer, says on p. 4, "Today's text urges us to pray. That is help in the radical sense only when it does not urge us to a particular religious exercise but aids in bringing about what is absolutely necessary for life."  From time to time, we need a refresher on just what we are praying when we pray this prayer as well as to whom it is we are praying.

            First of all, the doxology, “for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever or forever and ever” are words that were added at a later date, most likely by Protestants.  Secondly, the whole prayer is about our relationship to God.  It is not a new prayer.  Pieces of this prayer had been said throughout Judaism.  Who is this God?  Is God in heaven above us or is God right here beside us?  When Jesus explains to us this prayer in the second part of our gospel text, he makes it very clear that 1) God is hospitable to us at any hour of night or day. 2) God expects, no commands us to prayer: asking, searching, and knocking and 3) God will give us good gifts, including the gift of the Holy Spirit just as a parent will give a child good gifts.  We pray in and with Jesus Christ.  Throughout the Gospel of Luke, we see that Jesus was a man of frequent prayer.  He sought to carry out God’s will and therefore was always in communication with God. He sought to be of service to the people around him. Jesus was in communication with God in a sense as child to parent. Jesus has closed the gap so to speak, and we too, can approach God in the same way as a child does a loving parent. Children pick up from their parents how to love and care for others.

            In a Christmas story called, “The True Gift,” we learn about a boy and his older sister who spend every winter break from school with their grandparents on a farm near a small town.  Liam and Lily are probably an updated version of what yours or my childhood was like, but I think this story illustrates an important point about what constitutes servant hood. When Liam returned to the farm this time, he noticed that there was just one cow.  The donkey that previously had been there was gone.  His grandfather said that the donkey was there only on a temporary basis and went back home with the return of its owner. Liam sensed that the cow was lonely, so he enjoined his sister to spend time with the cow.  The cow’s name was simply White Cow.  Big sister Lily was not convinced, so Liam did some research in his grandfather’s study.  Sure enough, he found evidence for his belief in a book: “Cows are social beings.  Cows have feelings.  They have been known to bear grudges.  They live in families and are capable of grief, loss, and loneliness.”  From that point, Liam was determined to do something to relieve the loneliness of White Cow.  He decided that they need another cow for her.  Older sister, still claiming to know better, protested and said that he was dumb and they could not possibly afford another cow.  So Liam proposed getting a calf instead.  Liam sold his books to the used bookstore in town and they pooled their Christmas gift shopping money.  Liam tacked and taped up posters all over town saying such things as, “Once upon a time there was a White Cow, all alone, at Christmas.  She was sad and lonely.  She lives on South Street.  If you have a cow friend for her, please call Liam.” He left his grandparent’s phone number at the bottom of each poster. A boy named Thomas called after seeing one of the posters Liam put up in town.  Thomas was grieved because his father was selling their calf.  So their next move was by the help of their grandmother.  She drove them to Thomas’ house just in time.  The calf had been sold and was being led onto a truck.  Thomas’ father gave the check back to the buyer, and took the money offered by Liam and Lily without counting it.  They asked Thomas what the name of the cow was.  He said it didn’t really have a name.  It was Brown Cow. Thomas then had the opportunity to see the calf as much as he wanted.  They walked the calf home and to their delight, White Cow and Brown Cow enjoyed each other’s company.[1]  

            That kind of deep love displayed by Liam for the welfare of a cow, in all its depth, concern and compassion is far surpassed by our gracious God. The notion of a vengeful God which is found sprinkled through the pages of the Old Testament is not what Jesus reveals to us.  God is not out to get us, just as most parents seek to give their children the best that they are able.  God is not interested in destroying us or even in ignoring us.  God sees us as we are and wants deeply that we somehow find connection both with God and each other.  God is about building relationships and helping us to build relationships with the world about us, with people, animals, and our environment.

            The next time you see someone who is lonely, think about the example that Jesus has given us here, and give some time and attention to that person, forgetting momentarily how that person may have offended you in the past.  You might be surprised at the response.  You have the potential to become a best friend where there was no friend before.  Give that person what they need just as God has given to you. Amen.

           

           

           

 

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[1] MacLachlan, Patricia “The True Gift: A Christmas Story,” Atheneum Books for Young Readers: New York, 2009.

Hapless Hospitality

MaryandMarthaProper11C, Sullivan Park Care Center, July 21, 2013 by Annette Fricke

            “Jesus, tell Mary to help me!” I don’t know about what your take might be on this text, but I want to know just what is going on with the preparation.  Are there more people besides Mary and Jesus?  If there isn’t, why all the fuss?  Is Martha trying to impress Jesus by the perfect food and drink, served in the best manners and the best presentation?  Is she trying to be a Martha Stewart ahead of her time?  I see several things in this passage, but mostly I see this: 1) Martha is annoyed at both Jesus and Mary, 2) Martha is anxious, and 3) Mary is taking on a non-traditional role by listening to Jesus’ teaching.  Mary is learning how to be a disciple, a place previously reserved for men.  Role reversal, to use a modern term is more common now than at that time in history, although still fraught with gossip and wonderings by others to this day.  Just a few years back, we didn’t see male nurses and assumed that all nurses were female and most doctors were male.

            Anxiety can lead one to drink caffeinated beverages which leads to dehydration, confusion, and increased chances of incontinence, as well as high blood pressure.  Anxiety and excessive worry can wreak havoc on a body and produce hyperactivity and excessive verbalization. Anxiety can decrease productivity and ability to concentrate causing poor performance in job interviews, on the job, and on examinations for class. It can pretty much paralyze a person both emotionally and behaviorally. It can cause stomach upset and gastric reflux.  “What am I to do?  Jesus is here!  Mary, please help me!”

            It only takes one unusual occurrence to set a person on edge. A male nurse friend of mine and I were recently discussing certain things that certain aids somehow can’t handle in the performance of their jobs.  I personally never thought that there was the option and always picked up the slack for my co-workers.  But as I say, it only takes one unusual occurrence to set a person on edge.  One such situation occurred at the beginning of this past week.

            The daughter had been there just the day before and had returned to Seattle.  It was Monday, and as with many Mondays, things do not go smoothly.  It was also dinner time when we set up the tables with ice water, set out the butter and creamer.  It was when we gather the residents who are unable to walk by themselves.  My co-worker was becoming frustrated and anxious with a resident.  She asked me to take her down the elevator to the main dining room, the other option for our residents.  As I was descending the elevator with the server for our kitchen and her, she began not feeling well, so asked to eat in her room or our dining area.  We pushed the button to return to the third floor.  By the time we arrived at the third floor, the resident began to collapse.  I was unable to move her, so I called out to my co-worker to help me, “Svetlana, please help me!”  She came and helped me put the resident in a sitting position and we wheeled her in her walker quickly to her room, just a couple of doors down the hallway.  Not responding, so I called our male nurse and got out the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope.  Svetlana asked me if I heard anything, and I nodded and said, “No.”  The nurse arrived and cranked up the oxygen, but still nothing.  She was gone.  The nurse picked her up and placed her on the bed and we were ordered to make her look comfortable for the family.

            We did what we could with what we had.  There was no time to be anxious.  Afterwards, my co-worker wanted to know if she did wrong by ordering me around.  Well, I had not seen it that way.  I felt we had done what was necessary and I told her that.  Some anxiety is necessary because it motivates you to perform.  In the case of Martha, though, it was overwhelming to where she could not think straight.  Both Mary and Martha were trying to do a good thing and I think that both of them had their hearts in the right places.  Martha probably had higher expectations than Jesus, which fed into her anxiety.

            Relating to Martha and Mary’s hosting of Jesus, how do we welcome Jesus?  Do we make people feel comfortable or do we, by our anxiousness, cause them to feel anxiety? Are worried and distracted by many things, or able to focus on the one thing needed? There was a lot more to that story of our resident who died.  There were many questions about procedures and protocols where we could have been distracted, allowing our anxieties to take over, but we kept our focus and will deal with some of those details at a later time. 

            How do we welcome Jesus into our lives?  I don’t think we should take sides.  There are elements of both Mary and Martha in each of us.  I think Jesus is trying to point out here that when we have a guest, our focus should be on listening to and being attentive to the guest.  A guest is like a stranger.  In light of the previous story in Luke about the Samaritan left on the road half-dead, the question becomes how do I make a stranger feel at home?  A guest is to be treated with dignity and respect.  A guest is invited so that you listen to the guest with all of your focus and attention. In a culture of hectic schedules and the relentless pursuit of productivity, we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others. We often see Jesus’ words to Martha as a rebuke or scolding. However, Jesus’ words to Martha are more of an invitation rather than a rebuke. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” The one thing needed is for Martha to receive the gracious presence of Jesus, to listen to his words, to know that she is valued not for what she does or how well she does it, but for who she is as a child of God.

            God asks us to be of service to our neighbors, our strangers, and our guests; but our service needs to be grounded in our active seeking of God’s presence, strength, and guidance.  If, in all our activities, we have no time to be still in the Lord’s presence and can’t make room to hear God’s word, we are likely to become anxious and troubled. We are likely to end up with a kind of service that is devoid of love and joy and resents others.  It takes both listening and doing. Being open to receiving God’s Word and serving others in the spirit of Christ are vital to living the Christian life.  They go hand in hand.

            Jesus invites all of us to sit at his feet and learn the way of God, to learn servant hood, to drink in God’s mercy in order to be strengthened for the journey of discipleship.  He who calls us, who calls all of us, has paved the road and gone ahead of us.  His invitation remains to follow him.  His hospitality to us is the standard to imitate.  He calls us to bind ourselves to him in outrageous abandon, focusing on nothing else but his abiding words and presence.  You will not always be certain of the steps to take, but God has promised to walk with you and forgive you all your missteps.  God has done far more for us by his sacrifice on the cross than we can repay.  Indeed, we owe a debt that we are unable to pay.  But God has won for us the victory of life, life in the here and now as God’s disciples.  Let us heed his words and share his hospitality.  Amen.

The Merciful One

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is the commonly known title to this section of Chapter 10 in Luke.  However, it is not properly a parable nor is there anywhere in the story that indicates that the Samaritan is either good or not good. The story is so well known, and the use of the terms Good Samaritan for laws of the country and the names of various healthcare facilities, that we assume we know what it means.  When a story becomes familiar, we tend to tune it out to the point where it no longer has that initial shock or tug it had when we had our first insights as to what it was trying to convey to us.

            Here is my story that I think encapsulates the meaning of our story in Luke. There was once a woman who had begun to give up on her health.  She had suffered pain in her neck and back nearly every day, so she decided that because of it, she would take all her meals in her room and withdraw from others.  She began to complain about other people and how mean they were.  When questioned about needing a pain pill or a companion, she denied needing anything.  She said she was fine.  She was independent and did not need a companion. She complained to her daughter who complained to the staff of the facility. Every night she would ask the nursing assistants why the woman across the hall was allowed to live there.  She would say day after day, “If people who are mental cases are allowed to live here, I’m moving out. Who can I talk to about this?” The nursing staff was at their wits end.  She would not see things any other way.  They were ready to give up.  She was an angry woman who insisted that she was independent and yet craved the attention she saw the staff giving others. And she was right about everything, wanting no input from anyone else. They tried everything including checking on her every hour and offering a sip of water.  She even claimed to be the most compassionate person around and yet she continued to complain about nearly everyone around her.  Things came to a head.  One of the aids who had witnessed her accidentally burning herself with the curling iron several times put her foot down and said, “Give me that curling iron!” That was the turning point. A few days later, someone or something convinced her that she should start getting out of bed and have her bed made like others on the floor. She began participating in activities and headed up the movie committee.  She began socializing with people at her table and encouraged others to participate in activities and get out of their rooms.  The next activity she decided to attend was Bingo and she inspired two other residents to go with her. What happened to her fully affirms the truth of a quote from Steve Maraboli, “…the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” That can be a real challenge and yet it is a challenge that we are called to do.

            She has not overcome her pain, but has, in some ways, learned to live with it.  She has learned to accept help. The man who was left half dead on the road in the gospel text is in much worse shape.  His options are far less than hers.  He really is at the mercy of someone else to take care of him. He does not live inside the insular walls of a nursing facility.

            What if, in this text, we see God as the one who is half dead?  What if caring for someone we actually despise, as illustrated in this gospel text, means that we care for and love God?  Is this not some sort of measure as to our commitment to and love of God?  Why else would Jesus tell us to love our enemies and pray for them? There is a sense in which God and our neighbor are one and the same.  If the answer to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength and your neighbor as yourself is this story, then it helps to think of it in that way.  I am showing my love for God when I show it to others.  The words of I John echo in my mind: You cannot love God whom you have not seen if you do not love your neighbor whom you have seen.

            The truth is, many of us engage in tribalism frequently without even realizing it.  And just what is tribalism?  Tribalism is a noun that means, “1) The state of existing as a separate tribe or tribes, 2) The customs and beliefs of a tribal society, and 3) Loyalty to a tribe or tribal values.” In high school, we called these groups cliques.  Cliques had unwritten codes of values and conduct to which members of a clique subscribed.  If members did not adhere to those codes, they were ostracized from the group, possibly even shunned, or became the object of cruel jokes.

            We tend to associate with the people that we feel most comfortable with and who make us feel loved and welcome.  We sense that there is a risk when we travel outside our comfort zones.  When in conversation with others, we try to fit in and not bring up too much controversy for fear that it will offend others in some way.  Yet sometimes, when we dare to throw caution to the wind, we realize that the person we thought was an enemy was someone with whom we did have some common values.  We are all human and all equally children before God and each other.  We need the reminder that God expects us to love each other as God in Jesus Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a living sacrifice.  God entered our story most profoundly in Jesus when Jesus dared to break down the barriers between male and female, the rich and the poor, the Samaritans and the Jews. In uniting with us, Jesus became one of us.  Jesus is both the neighbor who binds our wounds and heals our illness as well as the hated one left for dead.

            How should we approach others who may not meet our criteria of shared values and behavior?  The same way that a young child approaches Mom or Dad when being picked up from babysitting or daycare—with open arms, with energy, smiling and with expressions of joy and excitement.  We need to open our minds to the possibility that we could be wrong about others and their intentions.  People are often contrary when they are not feeling well or their minds are drawn to financial worries.

            Who is my neighbor?  The person you know and love.  The person you can’t stand to be around.  God is your neighbor.  If you have given a drink to the least of the children of God, you have done it to God.  Remember that your names are written in heaven and in thankfulness for that, reach out to others with the same love with which God loves you and Jesus died for you on the cross in order that you may be with God, love and serve God forever and ever.  Our hope and trust is in God because in Jesus, all things are possible, all things are made new and in God is eternal life forevermore. 

            To live into God’s love, we must show mercy to others because God is mercy. By its very nature, mercy is to be shared.  We should not fear, no matter how rough the pathway, because God has tread the pathway beforehand, goes with us and will always be there to strengthen us, and guide us, and bless us with God’s ongoing outpouring of mercy.  The merciful one asks of us just one thing---that we show mercy to others. Amen.