On the Path, with Dr. Beth

-

 Have you ever gone to God and said, “God I need you to do this for me!” or “God, only you can make this happen.” Today, I am taking a passage from Luke 5. In this passage, we find a man with leprosy. In Jesus’ time, it separated you from family, friends, and community. Upon seeing Jesus, the leopard doesn’t demand Jesus to heal him, instead, he asks him to heal him in a most unusual way. Luke 5:12 states:  “Now there was a man full of leprosy* in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” If you wish, are his words. More importantly, his faith shows by the simple words, “you can.” It is hard to surrender ourselves to anyone and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. I'm am a person who has to be in control of my life, so this vulnerability is a painful act. Yet, the man with leprosy had nothing to lose. His faith in Jesus allowed him to surrender so that the will of God might be done. Our actions, especially in difficult times, point to who we are, what we are made of, and to whom we align. I have watched loved ones die, and strangers. Their actions, and how they handled the situation spoke volumes to who they were and what they were. I pray, that my actions can point to a character that is of Christ and that I have the strength to always be vulnerable to God. Sometimes this hurts, and sometimes the answers from God are painful. Sometimes we do things others don’t understand, but they set us right with God. As we journey together, know that God’s love walks with you and that the love of community walks with you. Even when our not-so-good sides show. We are not alone, and our vulnerability is held with reverence as we continue on the path…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mercy a tribute to Pope Francis

-
Mercy “  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”  Psalm 145:9 (NIV)   Pope Francis was a man of mercy. His life, his Pontificate, were all ways he lived out mercy. He chose to live with the poor, not in a Vatican apartment. He called a synod that included the voice of women. He hired women for roles at the Vatican. He was going to do a pilgrimage with the LGBTQ community. He lived out mercy because he knew that all that God made was good and deserved compassion. John Paul II said to go be scripture scholars, so I did. Pope Francis has led by mercy, and it is up to us to continue the path he his light. A path of mercy and compassion. Today, walk humbly, walk with mercy, be filled with compassion, be a good Samaritan on the path…   Jesus, you said to feed my lambs if I love you I love you, and know all children are your lambs to feed with food, with kindness, with you Jesus, you said if I love you, to take care of my shee...
Read more

New Things

-
  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” ( Isaiah 43:18-19)   New Things. It is not easy to move forward. It is not easy to make your way through the wilderness and streams to the wasteland. The wasteland, to me, is the unknown. Yet to grow, to be fully alive, we must venture into wastelands. Sometimes we are thrust into it: a child comes along, when aging parents face their decline; job changes, or retirement can all be the time when we find ourselves in the wasteland. Forgetting former times isn’t about forgetting memories, but more about what we thought it would be like when we reach the wasteland. The ideas, ways things should be. Be situationally aware and embrace the joys, the difficulties, LIFE, for it is in the wilderness we face ourselves and find out what we are made of and who we really are as a child of God on th...
Read more

Red Sky

-
  “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:31      Red Sky. This morning, the sky was red and pink. My grandpa taught me the saying, “Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors warning.” The vibrant colors of the morning sky was helped by the Canadian wildfires. Reading the sky or the situation is important to our survival. The faithful of Christ gathered in a room because they knew they needed to stay together. They “read” their sky and felt that without Christ, they were in danger. They knew they were stronger together. Their reward was the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave them courage and wisdom to continue the work of Christ. Together, we can create a red sky at night for others to see. We can help them to see the delight in following Christ. As I wait for the “littles” to come out so they get a ride home...
Read more