October 15, 2010
Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church
By Melanie Rigney
Brothers and sisters: In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. (Ephesians 1:11-12)
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. (Psalms 33:12)
“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:2-3)
Piety
Lord, I tremble at the thought of my whispers being proclaimed to all. Help me to understand I am Your own, warts and all, and to be transparent in a way that is pleasing to You.
Study
My friend Cec Murphey, a retired Presbyterian minister and coauthor of Ninety Minutes in Heaven and dozens of other books, recently wrote a column titled, “What I Say about Myself.” It began:
People often tell me I’m transparent—and perhaps that’s accurate. They don’t realize that being open is part of my plan for self-growth and an important ingredient for me to tell others of my self-perceptions. I say it this way, “I know of myself only what I say of myself.” I also believe that the more I know who I am, the more open I am to know and understand God at work in my life.
Transparency is a good thing, but hard to achieve. We make nice at work, then grumble about our boss at home. We make nice at church, then grumble about the pastor in our prayer groups. We make nice with our families, then grumble about them to our friends.
And what would be accomplished if we said the same things to the very people we’re grumbling about? We might be surprised. People generally find out about the things we’re saying about them behind their backs anyway.
May we give thought before we speak in a whisper and otherwise, so that we reflect Christ in those whispers as well as in our public proclamations, in what is said in the darkness as well as in the light.
Action
What are you saying in the darkness? Pray for the strength to say it in the light as well.
