Meditation for 21 October 2009

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Matthew 12:9-14

9 He left that place and entered their synagogue; ¹⁰a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?’ so that they might accuse him. ¹¹He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹²How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.’ ¹³Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Lord, I’m Grateful

I woke up this morning on a rather cold, snowy morning – in a warm bed, in a warm house.  And the first feeling that came over me was one of gratitude.  Hannah was already up and getting ready for school, singing softly to the song playing from her IPod, as she often does.

I dropped her off at school, and then sat down to read the Gospel for today (above), wondering if it would have anything to do with gratitude.  The context of the passage is really about Jesus being Lord even of the sabbath (see Matthew 12:8), and about folks who were out to accuse him, so that they could destroy him (see verses 10 and 14).  But tucked in the middle of the sabbath debate is the man who came to worship at the synagogue – the man with the withered hand.  I imagine this man was very grateful that Jesus didn’t go along with the conventional teaching of the day – that to heal someone on the sabbath was to “do work”, and thus break the sabbath laws.  I imagine this man was grateful that Jesus had a spine and didn’t succumb to the pressure and the implied threats of those who wanted to “catch him in the act”, so that they might accuse him, which – in the end – they did.

I, like the man with the withered hand, am very grateful to the Lord.

I am grateful, Lord, for Julia, the most amazing blessing you have ever blessed me with - for her deep commitment to learning, for the way she cares about me and about our relationship, for the way she is always thinking about how we can continue to grow in love, and how we can continue to delight in each other.

I am grateful, Lord, for our children, Zach and Hannah – for how self-motivated and passionate and compassionate and funny they are, and for all the joy they have brought to Julia’s life and my life.

I am grateful, Lord, for my parents and the family that I grew up in – for my parents taking me to church, for all the wonderful camping and hiking trips, for going to the beach and catching crabs, for holidays spent together, for all the letters that my parents wrote to me over the years, for times throwing the baseball in the backyard with my dad, for our family discovering the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, for four generations of us now being educated and formed at the University of Colorado, for my parents’ openness to switching to the Episcopal Church when I was 13, for all that my parents taught me about generosity and faithfulness and working hard and doing your best and volunteering.

I am grateful, Lord, for all the friends and teachers you have put into my life over the years.  Some were only for a season, but they were always the people I needed in that season – folks that I could learn with, laugh with, dream with, hike with, play with, cry with or be angry with – each one a distinct blessing, each one sent by You into my life.

I am grateful, Lord, to have a job where I can be with and pray with people during times of crisis, to have a job where I am paid to talk about how I see You present to the world and continually showering love and grace upon your people.  I am grateful to have a job where I can use my creative gifts, to have a job where I can learn about leadership and faith and love and forgiveness and grace and so many other things, with people who are very gracious with me as I learn.

I am thankful, Lord, for my dedicated and fun-to-work with staff.  I thank each of you – you make my job so much easier… you are a daily blessing!

I am grateful, Lord, for people who give me feedback, and for all the creative, loving, generous people who show up at St. Ambrose and in other places of my life, and for all that these folks teach me, and – most of all – for their example of faithfulness.

I am grateful, Lord, for Sophie, our dog – for all the runs she does with me, and for all she teaches me about unconditional love.

I am grateful, Lord, for my health – that I can still run (even if it’s more slowly) and climb mountains and pursue a dream of walking across America while I’m in my 50’s.

I am grateful, Lord, for the not-so-little things that I don’t often think about – for the fact that I can flip a switch and there is light (or darkness), for the fact that I can move a handle and clean water comes out of a faucet, for hot showers and dishwashers and flushing toilets and for washers and dryers, for computers (most of the time!), and for all the appliances and inventions and technologies that help us through the day – and for all the creative people who have invented them.

I am grateful, Lord, for all the good writers out there – writers of books or newspaper columns or magazine articles or emails or web-zines.  I am grateful for those who still take the time to write meaningful notes, letters, and messages.  I am grateful, Lord, for all the different people You inspired to write the various books of the Bible.  I am grateful for all musicians who make our world sing and dance, who generally lift our spirits and teach us how to feel and how to celebrate life.  I am grateful, Lord, for all artists and teachers and scientists and doctors and nurses and therapists and farmers and laborers and coaches and inspiring, courageous leaders, for all the behind-the-scenes people who show up to work every day and make life easier for the rest of us, for everyone who looks beyond their own interests and serves others, and helps to build your kingdom.  I am grateful, Lord, for all creative people everywhere.

I am grateful, Lord, for all the people You have put into my life who have been challenging for me to deal with – for these folks have helped me learn more about myself… these folks have often helped me to grow in big ways… these folks have taught me something about what it means to love and pray, no matter what the circumstances… these folks have helped me to hear the Gospel in new ways.

I am grateful, Lord, for the amazing beauty of your creation, for all of creation, and especially for those places that have nourished me so much in my life – for beaches and mountains and streams and lakes and wildlife - and even for one island nation that nourished me for almost three years, and for all the people that I’ve shared those places with.

I am grateful, Lord, for life - for You bringing meaning into my life, for transformation and hope and forgiveness and new life, for major events and significant people and challenging experiences in my life that have shaken me up and changed me or my perspective (which are sort of two sides of the same coin).

Lord, I could go on and on.  I could sing (or write) of your love and blessings forever, but at this point in my life I don’t have forever, I only have this moment.  So I pause to say, with all my heart… thank you, Lord Jesus, for healing this soul, this withered soul.  I love you, Lord, and I am so grateful for your presence in my life.