Today’s scripture: Luke 23:35-38 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Steve Adams):
When reading about how the leaders scoffed at Jesus, I’m reminded of a story from my younger days. I was listening to a church leader tell about talking to a man he was trying to get to come to his church. During the conversation, a tape of Martin Luther King, Jr. giving a speech played on the nearby television. The man said to the leader, “Now that was real preaching, wasn’t it!” The leader’s reaction — hogwash! He didn’t say this to the man at the time (other than recommending he hear his church’s preachers give a sermon!), but he thought Martin Luther King was irrelevant at best, and had absolutely no appreciation of him! It’s hard to believe someone could think this of such a brave and eloquent man, but he did.
How inspiring, though, that even though the leaders scoffed at Jesus, and the soldiers mocked him, the people didn’t! Instead, they watched. And I think many were deeply, deeply moved — to the point of tears. So, it was the people who were in sync with God’s spirit, God’s character, and not the religious elite.
On a practical level, how can we apply this lesson? How can we choose love and concern over callousness and contempt? I think a big part of it is learning to appreciate the love around us.
Recently I had the joy of observing a lady in a waiting room at Methodist Hospital. She was so wise, loving, and supportive of her son and daughter-in-law who were there with her. Her tone and her words were refreshing, making for a spring-like atmosphere in the room. She was open to love! And she was the one who was there for treatment!
When love starts to saturate our lives, we get to the point where, many times, it’s automatic. It’s the very core of us — the basis of our initiatives, and naturally flows out of us in response to whatever or whoever we encounter. We invest lots of time. We invest lots of emotions. We run the risk of loving so much we may even get over-attached to our loved ones.
I remember my grandmother from Illinois urging me, as a young teenager, to call her when I arrived back home in Indianapolis after visiting her — and it always made me mad! She’d say it every time I was getting ready to get in the car, and the resentment would start welling up before she even finished her sentence! I’d try to hide my irritation, and mumble, “OK,” being unsure if I’d have the resolve to carry out such a trivial task three hours later. But, you know what? As I remember her saying that now, my heart is warmed and my eyes moisten! Nana loved me! She cared about me! She knew that sometimes kids were killed in car wrecks. Maybe she was over-attached to me. Where do you draw the line between love and over-attachment? Sometimes it’s hard to tell, but, you know what? I’d choose loving to the point of (occasional) excess attachment over the cold hearts of those leaders in Luke 23 any day!
Thought for the day: God, please open my eyes to the gifts of love around me, so that instead of being oblivious to it, I can see the beauty of it, sense the nature of it, catch the energy of it — and join you in the expression of it!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.