Unreservedly

February 26, 2008

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received; As though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, So let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. Daniel 3: 39-40

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.” Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. Matthew 18: 26-27

Piety

A Prayer for Patience (from http://www.explorefaith.org/prayer/essays/patientpray.html)

Gracious God, it’s so hard to wait. To wait for new things to happen in my life. To wait for you to answer my prayers. To wait for the open doors that may lead me into a new way of being. During the time of waiting, it seems that all I can think of is having what it is I am waiting for. At times I feel weary of asking and waiting, and I wonder if you really hear my prayers at all, if you are ignoring me, or if you are simply refusing to give me my heart’s desire. A part of me knows that you want my best, and that your time is not my time, but Lord, it is still so hard to wait. Deepen my trust, O Lord, during the times when my heart longs for what can only come in the fullness of time. Give me a calm assurance that your will for me is grander than anything I could ever imagine. Still my mind and heart in your love so that I am mindful of the grace you are draping around me every single day, every single moment. I ask this for the sake of your love. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/022608.shtml

The servant in Matthew’s Gospel ends up in torment because he refuses to “suffer with” his servant, refuses to for-give. The king receives the debtor who comes to him with contrite heart and humble spirit. Our challenge is to receive others who turn to us in the same manner. Hand in hand with another compassion motif is the contrast of one servant offering himself to the Lord “unreservedly.” The sincerity of Daniel is contrasted with the lack of sincerity we see in the Gospel account. Yet, the Lord alone knows what is in our heart.

Not only does Daniel model for us following God without reservations, we see how patient God is with him and the servant in Matthew who pleads with God to be patient. God suffers with him and grants him the wish. Yet that servant is hardly as generous or magnanimous with those who “trespass against him” as God was with him.

We are not a patient people. Admit it. We hate waiting in lines, in traffic or in anyplace. We must think it is our mission to lead, not to follow. We want to lead but we want to arrive with reservations. Forget about following unreservedly. We want the room to be guaranteed when we arrive…with the sheets turned down and little chocolates on the pillow. We prefer to avoid the Department of Motor Vehicles when our license or registration must be renewed…and we face the lines. We prefer to avoid the doctor or emergency department…another wait.

It is the same way with God. "Help me God, to do this … to get that … to be taller, thinner, richer … And right away, please God. Now." We can not wait for God’s response.

How unlike our ancestors are we. They waited weeks for the crops to come in. We head to Safeway to buy the winter peaches from Argentina. They waited months for a letter to cross the country. We pick up our cell phone with unlimited minutes and call to check in with our friends. They waited years for visits from relatives in the “old country.” We head to the airport to pick up Aunt Sarah for her Thanksgiving visit. They waited thousands of years for God to send the Messiah. When He came, his parents had no reservations in Bethlehem. There was no doctor’s office or emergency room. There was certainly no Bethlehem Hotel. Yet Jesus never said life was unfair.

He unreservedly gave up everything, including the very last threads of clothes on his back to cash out our sins. He unreservedly chose to wear a crown of thorns, accepted a good whipping, and endured the excruciating pain of a few good nails through his flesh and bones in order to suffer with our sins. Yet Jesus never said life was unfair.

He never said, “I did not sin.”

He never said, “I did not lie.”

He never said, “I did not envy.”

He never said, “I did not lust.”

He never said, “I was not greedy.”

He never said, “I was not angry.”

He never said, “I did not hate.”

While all these statements were true, he did not use them because he unreservedly accepted the consequences of our sins.

Action

How can I ever repay you?

Ever have one of those experiences where someone does something for you that goes so far “above and beyond” their normal obligation or duty? Take a minute today and send that person a card or a note saying how much their help meant to you at the time and how you have never forgotten their kindness.