Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent - February 26, 2013
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Matthew 23:1 – 12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
He may have been the closest thing to an enemy I’ve ever had. He was relentless in trying to find a chink in my armor, in finding a soft spot in which to goad me, in looking for ways to publicly “put me in my place” – it felt more like humiliation to me.
I learned to pray the psalms that refer to “enemies” because of this man. I was determined to fight the war through my prayer, not through retaliation.
At first, it angered me when a friend suggested that I could learn something about myself from this person’s persistent onslaughts. I bristled at the thought that his attacks and meanness could be my teacher.
But it was true.
I have learned that all situations, even the most painful and humiliating, can be my teachers. If I stay open to them, God uses everything in life to teach and mold and grow. But too often, when something feels bad or hurts too much, I get caught up in pain management, or the injustice of the attacks, or fending off of the onslaught . . . and I miss something more basic and transformative in the situation.
Jesus told his followers that they could learn even from hypocritical teachers and religious leaders. Amazing . . . but true.
Matthew 23:1 – 12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
He may have been the closest thing to an enemy I’ve ever had. He was relentless in trying to find a chink in my armor, in finding a soft spot in which to goad me, in looking for ways to publicly “put me in my place” – it felt more like humiliation to me.
I learned to pray the psalms that refer to “enemies” because of this man. I was determined to fight the war through my prayer, not through retaliation.
At first, it angered me when a friend suggested that I could learn something about myself from this person’s persistent onslaughts. I bristled at the thought that his attacks and meanness could be my teacher.
But it was true.
I have learned that all situations, even the most painful and humiliating, can be my teachers. If I stay open to them, God uses everything in life to teach and mold and grow. But too often, when something feels bad or hurts too much, I get caught up in pain management, or the injustice of the attacks, or fending off of the onslaught . . . and I miss something more basic and transformative in the situation.
Jesus told his followers that they could learn even from hypocritical teachers and religious leaders. Amazing . . . but true.
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