Choose humility: Mind your own little red wagon! – July 21

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 45; PM Psalm 47, 48; Joshua 8:1-22; Rom. 14:1-12; Matt. 26:47-56

“Mind your own little red wagon, Katherine.” My mom would say this to me often…which means that I went to her often with a complaint or report about actions of others in our household. It means, also, that I was the resident tattletale. I faithfully reported out-of-line behaviors day-in and day-out. “I’m gonna tell Mom!” was probably my most commonly uttered phrase for several years. I chose to be judge and supervisor of all sibling actions, as the oldest of three girls. (It’s a wonder my sisters still talk to me!)

Judgment. The apostle Paul asks in the letter to the Romans, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother?” In this time in the early Church, there was much strife over who was “in” and who was “out”. Was it just the Jews who were circumcised and followed the special days of devotion and ate a kosher diet? What about Gentiles, others from varied faith and ethnic backgrounds? Paul is trying to manage and quell tension from afar, and so we have this piece of his communique, issuing a command to stop their earthly nonsense, because it is God that is the supreme judge. We all will go before the Lord for examination, “For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.’” (I can almost imagine Paul shouting these words.) He takes this tone to grab their attention, and to make that command – that edict on behalf of God’s reign. The scripture he quotes is from Isaiah --

Turn to me and be saved,

            all the ends of the earth

            for I am God, and there is no other.

By myself I have sworn,

             from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

“To me every knee shall bow,

                    every tongue shall swear.”   (45:22-23)

We hear these words again, yet offered in a lyrical promise in the letter to the Philippians —

          …so that at the name of Jesus

                     every knee should bend,

                    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

          and every tongue should confess

                    that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.   (2:10-11)

Whether you hear better through a stern command or an appealing promise, the invitation remains the same. We are summoned to follow God. We are summoned to turn away from those other things in our lives that distract, disaffect, and discourage us. We are summoned to bow down to the Lord…and by humbling ourselves to God, our lips profess the Good News of God in Christ. Our eyes are opened to the deep needs and joys awaiting us. We can move, live, and grow in new and surprising ways, always following the footsteps of Jesus.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

  • Of what (or who) are you judgmental these days?

  • What does it take to get your attention: a gentle appeal or a demonstrative command?

Daily Challenge

Take time today to pray on your knees. If your body will not allow you to do this, then as you pray, imagine yourself on your knees in prayer. As you humble yourself before God, be attentive to the feelings that arise in you.

Katherine Harper