Discipleship requires a certain amount of flexibility. Actually, a better term would be acrobatics. I’m thinking of something along the lines of what the performance group Cirque du Soleil does. Discipleship is easier when you have no bones to break in the process.
Isn’t it great to be noticed, appreciated, and wanted? Don’t we all love to be included in the adventures unfolding around us? Even if we decline an invitation when it comes, we usually prefer to be asked.
How important are appearances in revealing someone’s true identity? We’re familiar with the story of the prince and the pauper, distinguishable only by the clothes they wore. Once the pauper was in regal attire, he learned to value himself as a person of significance. Once the prince was in rags, he learned how fragile and vulnerable human life can be.
The day for dismantling the Christmas tree was always the saddest day of winter vacation. Our spruce or pine, once a glorious symbol of the season, was gradually transfigured into a fire hazard as it dropped needles liberally on the carpet.
Most of us like to keep things simple. In life we draw up a plan and then step-by-step try to put it into action. Get an education, get a job, start a family, build up savings, then retire. It sounds so easy and straightforward, doesn’t it?
The word for today is eternity. It’s not a word we mortals generally have much use for. We know all about beginnings and endings, birth and death, but we don’t know a whole lot about what comes before the start of things and what happens after the finale.
Many of us have a relative who knows everything—or is at least convinced that he or she does. This person will be the first to tell you what’s wrong with the current economy and how to right it; what the president should be doing with our tax dollars; what crucial decisions the pope should make to keep the church on track; how crime can be brought to a halt, wars won, disease eliminated, renewable energy sources found, and environmental extinction averted.
This has not been my favorite year, nor yours, I expect. Given the state of our world right now, what chance do we have for a happy ending to 2020? Even if we lower our gaze from the global picture, we still find that the year has not always been kind.
Recently I heard a preacher say, “Every gospel story comes down to the same message: We have to change.” I was struck with how truthful a statement this is.
Are we good people or bad people? Many of us would readily identify with our good side. Occasionally we are impatient or selfish or deceitful, it’s true. But basically we are honest, decent, hardworking people who wouldn’t dream of doing something criminal or morally objectionable.