Persistent
Loving! By Wayne Miller
Meanwhile, Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and
one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua
mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Exodus 17:8-13)
Our
help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The Lord is your
guardian; the Lord is your shade; he is beside you at your right hand.
(Psalm 121)
Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed… All Scripture is
inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and
for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work. (Letter to Timothy 3:14 – 4:2)
The
word of God is living and effective, discerning reflections and thoughts of the
heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The
Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then
secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he
be slow to answer them? I tell you; he will see to it that justice is done for
them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1 – 8)
Piety
Father God, thank you for offering me Your eyes to see, Your ears
to hear, Your heart to feel, and Your voice to speak Love to my brothers and
sisters. And thank you for choosing to
always be at my side, even when I don’t choose to be with you.
Study
Unlike Joshua, I have never “mowed down’ an invading army, but I
am constantly in awe and thanksgiving for the brothers and sisters that appear
at precisely the right moment to support my weary arms and get me through the
next challenge of the day.
I have been LOVED repeatedly by God and His Children – even when I
wasn’t in a particularly good relationship with them – even when I didn’t
really “like” them at the moment. The Psalmist knew this. We are all God’s arms and hands and voices.
When I feel the most tired or lifeless or disinterested, I realize
THAT is the time to hang on to the core elements of my faith. Paul had great
advice for Timothy: never stop doing the things that build a relationship with
God and your brothers and sisters! I don’t always recognize my blessings in
bright, immediate flashes. So often, I don’t see the loving until I look back
and realize how I was blessed. A lifetime of practice seems to be reducing the
“epiphany delay,” but I always need to see it through the loving lens of Jesus’
eyes. My life-learned lesson is that it takes
constant practice.
I wish St. Luke hadn’t chosen to describe Jesus’ lessons by using bad
actors (dishonest judges, greedy stewards, and others). I would much rather ignore
the ne’er-do-wells and spend my precious time contemplating the loving heart of
Jesus. But there they are – Jesus telling me there are all kinds of ways to spread
His Love. Maybe I don’t like the grumpy/greedy ones because the description
hits way to close to home!
Despite all the grumpy/greedy ones, I know with complete certainty
that the Son of Man delights in the faith that He finds each day in each one of
us – whether I am full and robust or meager and shaky at any given moment. In
every circumstance, our faith is sufficient, even if we’re not moving mountains
or slaying armies. Sometimes my faith is just enough to know that Jesus is with
me when I am most alone and vulnerable. It is in those quiet, empty times that
I often feel best-loved.
Action
Dorothy
Day said, “We only love God as much as we love the most unlovable person in our
life.”
I
know that to be true. I persistently
pray for God’s miracle of seeing how He loves that person so that I can pass His
love on to them.
May
we all experience His Presence every day, encouraging and leading us to Love
all His Children.
De
Colores!
1 comment:
So beautifully written and speaks to my heart— esp the Action section. Thank you Wayne!
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