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Today’s text
“A disciple is not
above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple
to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his
household!
Reflection
It is not an easy thing to be ‘like’ Jesus, not when they
called him a devil or the son of the devil for overriding ancient understandings
and practices.
Only once can I remember being called a devil. It happened
amid a fit of anger where I refused to be the verbal punching bag for someone
who did not like an article I wrote.
I remember the hatred he spewed when I refused to listen to
his rants. At that moment, I felt justified, and his anger didn’t wound my
soul.
But too many other times anger and rejection does exactly
that. It wounds souls, certainly mine.
Too many childhood wounds move me to avoid offending, to
hold back when I have faithful insights that might correct or critique
well-worn thoughts and unhelpful words an acts.
Needing to please is a common malady, and it is a spiritual
struggle. It is the refusal to be oneself, refusal to offer the insights and
wisdom of heart and mind, not in arrogance but as a gift to others who, surely,
are free to accept or refuse.
Dissatisfaction and unrest stirs the heart when fear of
differences or conflict binds us from being ourselves and expressing the truth we
see and feel, bubbling in the reservoir of our souls.
Jesus invites us beyond this, beyond our fear, beyond our
need to please and just go along with everyone else. He invites us to unbind
our hearts and live from the depth of our soul where love and wisdom abide.
He invites us to be and know … the soul we are in his love.
Pr. David L. Miller
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