Luke 5:26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. (Authorized Version/KJV) [emphasis mine]
This was the last verse of the Gospel lesson for today's Morning Prayer service. As the Gospel lesson is always the last reading, this made the words "We have seen strange things today" the last words of scripture read aloud before approaching God with our petitions and thanksgivings (i.e. prayer).
I was so struck by that last line, I actually repeated it while reading the lesson aloud. I believe it is no less true today than it was over two thousand years ago on the day that Jesus healed a paralyzed man whose friend's faith so impressed Christ that he was compelled first to absolve him, and then to heal him. And the faith of these friends was no small matter. They "tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus." (Luke 5:18-19 NIV) Now whether they had to open a hole in the roof, or it was an atrium where Jesus was in the house and the roof was already open is unclear from Luke's account. But when was the last time you and a few of your friends actually carried another up to a roof, without the aid of an elevator, escalator, or even stairs?
These guys (one assumes they were all men, but a strong woman too could have helped schlep the man onto the roof) were convinced that if they laid their friend at Christ's feet, he would be healed. And nothing, not even the crowd could prevent them from doing exactly that. How often do we come across such a challenge in our walk with God and just give up? There is always an alternative; challenges can be met. We may have to drag a paralytic onto a roof and lower her/him back down inside, but we can still place her/him at Christ Jesus' feet, both literally and/or figuratively.
But I was struck with the idea of witnessing "strange things". And indeed, even now, it is strange things I see God doing in my life and the lives of those around me. And when I say strange, I mean strange. Yesterday, I went by the elementary school two blocks from my parish church. Our parish has a long-standing partnership with them and I'm doing some volunteering there this year. Anyway, I had simply stopped by to drop off fundraiser money and pick up more product to sell. I had a ton of things on my to-do list, most of it related to the church. So, my plan was to run in/run out, dash off back home, and sit down and write the article that was this blog's first post. KD[i], a member of Christ Church coordinating with the web-designer on our parochial website's redesign, had been nagging me for weeks to get something written so she could pass it on to our parish secretary to translate into Spanish; so that it, along with all the other English/Spanish copy could be forwarded to the web-designer to be uploaded to the draft site. I also had a list of phone calls to make to help move our project to get a new sign moving while KP is on vacation. And I desperately wanted a nap because I had stayed too late Sunday night at a birthday party.
God, of course, had other plans for me. At the school, there was a person, lets call him/her Anon, who just needed somebody to listen, somebody with whom s/he could be vulnerable for a few moments, somebody with whom s/he could let his/her guard down. I know that God has allowed me to build the relationship with Anon for such moments as yesterday. I started to tell Anon that I really needed to leave, I had a ton of stuff to do. But I felt the corrective prompting of the Holy Spirit showing me: "NO, I (GOD) need you here in this instance. I need you to be my ears and just listen. If you walk away from Anon in this moment of vulnerability and open brokenness, how is that loving Anon?" I recognize that in this particular relationship, I have presented myself as Christ's ambassador for lack of a better term. When Anon and I first met I was there as a member of the local church. So in that moment how I responded to Anon reflects on Christ. Just as a parent who admonishes a child to "Behave, or people will think I'm a lousy parent," my interactions with Anon are what s/he sees of God. Far be it from me to be the one through whom an offense comes (Luke 17:1-3), and even further be it from me that such an offense I have made be perceived as God's rejection.
And yet in the midst of the pain, both physical and emotional, about which Anon was sharing, s/he gave thanks for that fact that s/he is "soooo blessed." Anon, and perhaps our religious culture, have placed undue burdens on him/her in terms of what it is to be a [good] Christian. Anon carries guilt at not being perfect, as many of us do. I see that God is giving me the heart to teach, not so much in words, but definitely by example, that His love is ever-reaching, and completely independent of anything we do or say. All God expects of us is relationship. That's all He asks. We humans are the ones who have complicated things with our rituals and traditions and acts of piety, etc., etc.
And these are certainly strange ways of thinking for me. Strange, in that they are new and different, and therefore uncomfortable. And yet, I don't think I'd want it any other way. What strange things are you seeing God do today?
[i] Initials used for
anonymity.
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