“Do, do not merely Say” by Beth DeCristofaro
(Jehoiachin) did evil in the sight of the
LORD, just as his forebears had done. At that time the officials of
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under
siege. … Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother, his
ministers, officers, and functionaries, surrendered to the king of Babylon,
who, in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive. And he carried off all
the treasures of the temple of the LORD and those of the palace, and broke up
all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel, had provided in the temple
of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold. (2 Kings 24:910, 12-13)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone
who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the
one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
Piety
My brother, Jesus, awaken me today to
acknowledge the moments in which I am sidetracked, pursuing my own or someone
else’s will. Lead me back into the will
of God. May I put God first and live -
lovingly, humbly, serving, thankful, and forgiving.
Study
Have you ever sat in a meeting or accepted an
obligatory phone call only to find your mind wandering while your mouth and
maybe even your posture said “yes” as if in assent? But it is not consenting; it is
posturing. Heaven forbid your boss or
friend notices and calls you out. The
shame of being discovered can make me frankly defensive and crabby. I might turn that internal shame into anger
or peevishness towards others. It’s much
more difficult to accept and make amends – and subsequently, pay attention with
authentic acquiescence.
Obviously Jehoaichin did not even bother to say
“Lord, Lord.” Even as a new king, he and his court adopted pagan worship. In
another story from Kings 19, the king of Judah, Hezekiah, stayed true. He
implored God to save the Kingdom, and God defeated the King of Assyria.
Richard Rohr makes an insightful observation:
“Jesus is a map for the time-bound and personal level of life, and Christ is
the blueprint for all time and space and life itself.”[i] Jesus
does not want us to be an absent-minded friend or a distracted and
disinterested follower who mechanically dots the I’s and crosses the t’s. He invites us, as Christ, to be fully
invested in the universal Word, the will and the gracious, loving mercy of
God.
Action
Jesus is fully aware of how difficult the
task is to stay on task! He repeated his
teachings again and again, even to those who loved him but did not
understand. He watched followers reject
him and he saw his faith tradition betray him. He sweated blood as his passion
approached. How “all in” do you find
yourself today? Are your lips saying “Lord,
Lord” while your mind and heart are otherwise engaged? Pray for the grace to place yourself into the
will of God today.
[i] from
Richard Rohr, Christ Cosmology and Consciousness: A Reframing of How We See,
(CAC: 2010)
Photo: https://www.localprayers.com/US/Camarillo/287864504679427/Mount-Cross-Lutheran-Church%2C-Camarillo%2C-CA
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