Change is hard - September 28
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144
Hosea 4:11-19; Acts 21:15-26; Luke 5:27-39
When I was growing up, we lived in an old two-story house built in the 1910s in Old Cloverdale, a neighborhood in Montgomery. The wooden floors were creaky and the ceilings were high. When it was time to come downstairs for breakfast or to get out the door for carpool, Mom would call up to us from the sunroom. Her voice would reverberate up the cast-iron spiral staircase and bounce down the hallway to summon my sisters and me. Virginia was generally the first to respond and get ready. Wayles would dawdle and make her way downstairs. Though the oldest, I was always the last to get ready. Wet-headed and shoes in my hands, I would run barefooted to the car. I was always the hardest to get to move on to the next thing. I resisted changing direction…even if that looked like going toward a good thing, like Eggo waffles.
In the gospel passage appointed for today, we hear stories of change. There is the inspiring story of Matthew the tax collector (here called Levi) and his story of answering Jesus’ call, “Follow me!” Others around the scene did not so readily drop everything and transform. The Pharisees and scribes – religious Temple folks who ascribed to many rules and jumped through many hoops of piety – muttered and grumbled to Jesus’ followers, asking “Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?”
We have record of how Jesus addressed this question…perhaps he overheard the complaints or got word of them from others. He answers, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Jesus offered stories and guidance about change. “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old.” In this and the parable about the wine and wineskins – and the wisdom of not mixing them - Jesus acknowledged that to start a new thing with old knowledge is probably the hardest conversion.
That is where prayer and support for one another is so important. To turn away from what we know and lean into trusting God more fully, we need a community to lift us, encourage us, love us. If you were on the Saint Stephen’s physical mailing list this spring, then you may have received a postcard recently, letting you know that you were prayed for this summer. When we planned the “Summer of Prayer” initiative to pray for each household, we had no idea of the big changes that would take place in our community. We had no inkling that tragedy would strike and we would be rocked to our core in loss. We had no clue. And yet, we prayed for each name on our rosters. Prayers can help us and those around us in the middle of changing times. Join me in praying for all of those affected by the changes and chances of this moment, for we are all in need of Jesus the Healer and Redeemer.
Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
What change is the hardest for you? How do members of your family respond to change?
How does your faith move and change?
Daily Challenge
Spend time in prayer today for the changes in your sphere. Pray for others who resist change. Ask God to open your ears and heart to be receptive as you are called to follow Jesus.