WATCHWORD:
“One day children were brought to Jesus in the hope that he would lay hands on them and pray over them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus intervened: “Let the children alone, don’t prevent them from coming to me. God’s kingdom is made up of people like these. Then he laid hands on them…” Matthew 19:13-14
Meditation:
Learning Theory
I have this learning theory that I believe is logical, true and effective. I call it ‘Not by Accident’ and it suggests that what we have experienced or learned in our earlier days, we now pass on to others, intentionally or not, as we live our lives. These influences or lessons could be good or not so much.
On the ‘good’ side, how do we teach compassion? How do we teach love, or faith, or trust, or generosity, or something as basic as making and maintaining a friendship? Or, on a more practical side, how to make the world’s greatest potato salad?
We learn compassion because we have seen it acted out. We have watched those that we love and respect, reach out to others and make a difference.
We learn love perhaps because we have felt it, and because it was part and partial of our lives from our earliest remembrances.
We learn to trust because we have relied on it and it did not disappoint.
We learn about faith because of the model that was right there in front of us as we grew up, and somewhere between adolescence and adulthood it became our own.
How to make the world’s greatest potato salad? That’s what your mom taught you and now you are handing it off to the next generation!
There is a Hebrew word, ‘rahamim’, that has multiple meanings, one of which is related to unconditional love. We all have some degree of rahamim in our lives. One definition explains that it is the unearned love that a mother has for her unborn and undeveloped child that is growing within. It is that part of us that nudges us to do the right thing, because…it is the right thing!
It is not by accident that we are changing, that we are finding peace in previously unexplored ways, that we are drawing closer to loved ones, and drawing closer to our Lord. We are the recipients of God’s own version of rahamim. We have not earned it and, like a child, we just accept it and know. We just know. After all, God is in charge and God loves us, and His hand is on us.
Bulletin Board:
From Maury — Thanks for the daily devotions that help us start our day. In one of the early Lutheran weekend Rollos, this statement was made; “You can’t give a jump start if you ain’t got no battery.” The morning Watchwords charge our batteries, it gives us a good start each day.
From Graham — Thomas Merton – love your quoting TM ! From his “7 story Mountain” & many other books one can sense the authenticity of his living a monastic existence in Gethsemani (Kentucky)! I do ponder his JOYS!! Here are my thoughts: Solitude- meditation-teaching-writing (Stan!). A bit of trivia. Merton’s father, Owen, was a “Kiwi” (NZ).
I dare you not to smile: A Christian guy named Bill saw an ad online for a Christian horse, so he went to check it out. The horse’s owner said, “It’s easy to ride him. Just say ‘Praise the Lord!’ to make him go and ‘Amen!’ to make him stop.” Bill got on the horse and said, “Praise the Lord!” Sure enough, the horse started to walk. “Praise the Lord!” he said again, and the horse began to trot. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” he yelled, and the horse broke into a gallop. Bill was enjoying his ride so much that he almost didn’t notice the cliff he and the horse were about to go over. Bill shouted “AMEN!” at the top of his lungs, and the horse stopped right at the edge of the cliff. Relieved, Bill said, “Phew! Praise the Lord!”
Closing Prayer:
(Based on a quote from Merton)
Heavenly Father, we do not need to know exactly what is happening, or where all this is going, or even how this will end. What we do know is that your presence in our lives calms our fears and anxieties, and because of that, we can obey your command of ‘Peace, be still’. What we do pray for, Lord, is that you would open our eyes and tune our hearts to know the possibilities and graces offered by this present moment and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. We lift up to you Lord this entire world and all of its people, for we are sharing this present moment with all of mankind. Help us to have gratitude in our hearts, Lord, for those touches that we can offer to bring calmness and peace to others. The courage we ask for, Lord, is the courage to reach out, to be your hands, and your voice, and the instrument your peace to others. We give you all the honor and the glory, Father, in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
