"I thirst"

"'Jesus said, 'I thirst.'"

John 19:28

 

Jesus' words from the cross were the beginning of our silent retreat last weekend at Nazareth.  The theme of the retreat was "Praying with Mother Teresa" and these two words of Jesus, "I thirst" marked the beginning of Mother's "call within a call." We were asked to pray with these words the first evening.  It was such a powerful time for me, just sitting and praying with Jesus' words.  I found myself asking Jesus, "What do you thirst for, Jesus? I want to help!" Let's all spend some time this weekend, sitting in silence with Jesus and his words, "I thirst."  It is an amazing prayer.  Blessings on your weekend and your special time with Jesus.  Love, heidi
                
                                                                                 

Changing our desires...

"Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant..."

Matthew 20:26

 

I freely admit that one of my greatest flaws is that I love being the center of attention.  There, I said it.  If it was up to me I'd always want to be the bride at the wedding or the corpse at the funeral.  I was the only child of older parents and always had to perform when my parents had friends over--be it playing the guitar, flute, dancing, you name it (aren't you glad you weren't invited to my parents' home?)  And I still have that inkling to perform. I'm working on it, please believe me!  I feel so called now to fade into the background and be the servant that Jesus is describing here.  I feel called to take my name off the program and just be in the back row of the chorus...the very back row. Or better yet, be waiting in the wings for the show to be over so I can sweep the stage!  It feels kind of strange after living so many years wanting to be the star!  But, that desire is changing.  And God is the one changing it.  God can actually change our desire if we just want it changed and it fits with God's will.  God can change our desires.  Let's think about that today.  That is an amazing truth.  Love, heidi

Scrub up!

"Wash yourselves clean!"

Isaiah 1:16

 

Interesting that today's admonition to "wash ourselves clean" falls on the same day that Paula Huston in her Lenten book, "Simplifying the Soul" has us forego our daily shower.  Hum...what gives?  Well, of course, Isaiah is speaking of washing ourselves clean of our misdeeds.  Ms. Huston is urging us to appreciate the pampered cushy lives we enjoy in comparison to those who suffer in real poverty.  Two different things, but the words "wash yourselves clean" are worth pondering.  What are we to wash off ourselves today, even as we skip the shower?  Well, we can wash off unkind attitudes and harsh judgments. We can wash gossip from our mouths. We can scrub off prejudices and misconceptions about people and groups. There is plenty we can rinse off ourselves as we heed Isaiah and wash ourselves clean!   What would you like to see go down your drain?  Love, heidi

Loving Jesus in our neighbor

"Stop judging and you will not be judged."

Luke 6:37

 

It's no accident that the readings of Lent help us to pry open our hearts and see where we'd really like to change, right?  This time of repentance and renewal give us a great opportunity to take stock in how we treat others. Is how we treat others an accurate picture of how much we love God?  Because God seems to think so.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40, "Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine you did for me." How we treat others is a reflection of our love for God.  Startling isn't it?  It's so easy to love God but so much harder to love our neighbor. How we treat others gives a brief glimpse at how we would treat Jesus if (when, really) Jesus shows up in our daily lives. Let's be really aware of our thoughts and words today as we begin this second week of Lent.  If we find ourselves forming judgments or negative attitudes about others, let's stop. Would we say these words about Jesus? Would we ever call Jesus lazy or irresponsible? Would we make fun of Jesus' appearance? Would we criticize Jesus in any way? Certainly not!  So, let's love our neighbor the same way.  Love, heidi