“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well.” Matthew 5:40 (NRSV)
You think Jesus meant that? What kind of love acts like this? Have you ever witnessed such love? What happens in the face of such love?
The following story is long but worth it and is found here: http://www.npr.org/2008/03/28/89164759/a-victim-treats-his-mugger-right
Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.
But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.
He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.
"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."
The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"
Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me... hey, you're more than welcome.
"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.
Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.
"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"
"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"
Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"
"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.
Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.
The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.
When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."
The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."
Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."
Kindness in the face of evil can truly do some incredible things. Love instead of hate can change a life. I’m not saying that we can all do this or that it can be done well. What I am saying is that love often wins when practiced, and in the end love will win!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Casting Anxiety Upon God
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. – 1Peter 5:7 (NRSV)
What anxiety do you have right now? Have you tried to give it to God? Do you believe God cares? What happens when you feel God actually take your anxieties?
The following story was e-mailed to me:
I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse. He had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, the electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me to meet his family.
As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterwards he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."
"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick ‘em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."
Sometimes just not holding on to all of our worries to enjoy the gifts God has given us means that we have given God our anxieties. When we worry it is hard to love others as we should. I don’t know if we should have a tree like in the story, but God knows we should have a prayer and go rejoice in those we love, praise the beauty that there is, and hope that tomorrow can be better. Peter was right, cast your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What anxiety do you have right now? Have you tried to give it to God? Do you believe God cares? What happens when you feel God actually take your anxieties?
The following story was e-mailed to me:
I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse. He had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, the electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me to meet his family.
As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterwards he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."
"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick ‘em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."
Sometimes just not holding on to all of our worries to enjoy the gifts God has given us means that we have given God our anxieties. When we worry it is hard to love others as we should. I don’t know if we should have a tree like in the story, but God knows we should have a prayer and go rejoice in those we love, praise the beauty that there is, and hope that tomorrow can be better. Peter was right, cast your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Our Christian Hope
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. – Isaiah 25:8 (KJV)
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? – 1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)
What do these words mean to you? Do you live life free from the fear of death? Have you seen anyone who lived in such a way? What were they like? What does this say of Christian hope?
Tom Long told the following story in his sermon, “A Living Hope”:
In her beautiful book, “Intensive Care,” Mary Lou Weisman tells the moving and tragic story of the death of her fifteen-year-old son, Peter, from the terrible disease, muscular dystrophy. She tells about an astonishing thing that happened right at the moment of his death. Peter’s body was completely paralyzed in the final stages of his disease, and the delirium of death was taking over his mind in his last few minutes of his life. He was moaning, random and disconnected in his thoughts. His voice, wrote Mary Lou, “sounded so far away, so lost.” But then, suddenly, in a surprisingly clear voice, Peter spoke directly to Larry, his father.
“Daddy, what does ‘impudent’ mean?”
Bewildered and frightened, Larry and Mary Lou looked at each other. What could this strange question from their dying son possibly mean?
“Daddy, what does ‘impudent’ mean?”
Even though he had tears streaming from his eyes, Larry answered Peter matter-of-factly. “Impudent. Son, impudent means bold. It means shamelessly bold.”
Peter paused for a moment, death closing its grip on him, and then he said, “Then put me in an impudent position.”
And sure enough, just before their son died, Larry and Mary Lou, positioned Peter’s arms and legs in a posture of bold defiance, an “impudent position” in the face of death.
I suppose the question for us now is how might we live in an impudent position as we go about life? Our Christian hope in the defeat of death allows us look over a chaotic world while we exist in it and know that God is not done! The last word is not death, nor disease, nor war, nor troubles, nor persecutions, nor anything of the vast array of evil that wishes our depression and our defeat. The last word is the One we call the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the One who defeated death itself. Therefore we can stand as a resurrection people and in an impudent position, ready to take on the trials of life with the hope of God!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? – 1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)
What do these words mean to you? Do you live life free from the fear of death? Have you seen anyone who lived in such a way? What were they like? What does this say of Christian hope?
Tom Long told the following story in his sermon, “A Living Hope”:
In her beautiful book, “Intensive Care,” Mary Lou Weisman tells the moving and tragic story of the death of her fifteen-year-old son, Peter, from the terrible disease, muscular dystrophy. She tells about an astonishing thing that happened right at the moment of his death. Peter’s body was completely paralyzed in the final stages of his disease, and the delirium of death was taking over his mind in his last few minutes of his life. He was moaning, random and disconnected in his thoughts. His voice, wrote Mary Lou, “sounded so far away, so lost.” But then, suddenly, in a surprisingly clear voice, Peter spoke directly to Larry, his father.
“Daddy, what does ‘impudent’ mean?”
Bewildered and frightened, Larry and Mary Lou looked at each other. What could this strange question from their dying son possibly mean?
“Daddy, what does ‘impudent’ mean?”
Even though he had tears streaming from his eyes, Larry answered Peter matter-of-factly. “Impudent. Son, impudent means bold. It means shamelessly bold.”
Peter paused for a moment, death closing its grip on him, and then he said, “Then put me in an impudent position.”
And sure enough, just before their son died, Larry and Mary Lou, positioned Peter’s arms and legs in a posture of bold defiance, an “impudent position” in the face of death.
I suppose the question for us now is how might we live in an impudent position as we go about life? Our Christian hope in the defeat of death allows us look over a chaotic world while we exist in it and know that God is not done! The last word is not death, nor disease, nor war, nor troubles, nor persecutions, nor anything of the vast array of evil that wishes our depression and our defeat. The last word is the One we call the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the One who defeated death itself. Therefore we can stand as a resurrection people and in an impudent position, ready to take on the trials of life with the hope of God!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
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