Stretch our Hearts - June 7

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:49-72; PM Psalm 49, [53]; Deut. 13:1-11; 2 Cor. 7:2-16; Luke 17:20-37

Different cultures have different understandings of beauty and physical appearance. In some cultures, people will deform their bodies to meet societal norms around appearance. I can remember reading old National Geographic magazines growing up and being fascinated by the images of people in Africa and Asia who would elongate their necks or shape other parts of their bodies. In the United States (and places such as Amazon Basin, Kenya, and Thailand) people will stretch their ear lobes to be much larger than normal and adorned with interesting jewelry sometimes creating large holes. 

I’ll admit, this is not what I expected to be writing about for today, but it certainly seems like an entry point to this passage from 2nd Corinthians where Paul writes to his friends in Corinth asking them to make room in their hearts for him.  What would it look like to have to stretch our hearts to have the capacity to care for more and more people? Would it require some kind of exercise or practice or discipline? Is it possible that it’s not possible unless we do something to increase our capacity?

Prayer certainly seems like a practice that might be able to stretch our hearts. I’d suspect engaging in practices that bring us closer to engaging with people’s suffering and deepening our own capacity for compassion would too. And it might be helpful to remember that it doesn’t come naturally, we have to work at it. 

God, stretch our hearts to care about the whole world as you do. Doesn’t seem like a bad thing to pray for at all, and it might be a charitable place to begin to acknowledge it’s not the place where we all begin.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  How could you stretch your heart?  What are practices that make you more compassionate? Can the inverse be true too and how might you guard against that?