“Healing and Loving” by Beth DeCristofaro
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of
David. Saul discussed his intention of killing David with his son Jonathan and
with all his servants. (1 Samuel 18:9, 19:1)
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his
disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing
what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from
Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He
told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd so that
they would not crush him. (Mark 3:7-10)
Piety
Help me, Lord, to know when I need
healing. Please help me to turn to you
in moments of jealousy, betrayal, anger, frustration and offer the force of
those hurts to you that you may transform them into goodness. May I show your glory in my choices.
Study
Saul had been God’s chosen, anointed to
kingship. Yet he plotted to kill David,
also chosen by God. It is hard for me,
at times, to accept that the anticipated course of my life, or that the
expertise I bring to a task might be overshadowed and pushed off course by
another. It is also difficult to not act
on those feelings of resentment, frustration, being pushed to the side. I’ve been guilty of resisting changes and
even sabotaging people that I feel are undermining me – sometimes ignorant of
the good which could come from the changes and sometimes choosing to misread
the goodness.
A more profound difficulty is suffering guilt
for having those feelings even when choosing not to act on them. Corrosive, negative emotions can tear us up
like demons. Jimmy Carter’s famously commented, “I lusted in my heart.” This phrase has been used to explain why we
wallow in guilt. Perhaps Jimmy did, in
fact, let his guilt lead him but we don’t know.
What we do know is that he acknowledged the feelings that he knew could
lead to sin and acted instead to remain steadfast to his wife, Rosalynn, to
evangelize as a Sunday school teacher and to spend his retirement in bettering
the world through simple service in his community.
Even though Saul’s son Jonathan counseled him
against acting on those feelings of hurt and anger, Saul chose a path of
violence, retribution and ultimately rejected his own God. With awareness of his human nature, Jimmy decided
to take a better path modeled by Jesus’ loving healing of the multitudes.
Action
Guilt can drive wedges between people, isolate us, or
propel us into terribly unproductive activity.
There are so many ways to suffer in this world rather than seizing the
joy Jesus wished for the crowds and us.
Acknowledging negative emotions yet not acting upon them and letting go
of guilt – even when justified – allows space in our hearts for the love Jesus
wishes to fill us with. What negative emotions obstruct the joy Jesus desires
for you? Ask for the peace of Jesus’
healing upon you and choose loving action.
Illustration: ”The Sick Await the Passage of Jesus,”
James Tissot, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Sick_Awaiting_the_Passage_of_Jesus_(Les_malades_attendant_le_passage_de_J%C3%A9sus)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg
_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg){kind=link}
No comments:
Post a Comment