Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Cease doing evil; learn to do good
Make Justice your aim: redress the wronged,
Hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow
Matthew 23:1-12
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever
they tell you,
But do not follow their example
The term “integrated” comes to mind.
But it isn’t that easy. I like to believe myself a wonderfully
integrated person of faith. It isn’t
until I take the time to reflect honestly that I begin to catch the rift between
my words and deeds. Isaiah is on to
something when he calls for the ceasing and the learning in the same
thought. The ceasing makes space. The learning fills it.
I find myself loving the learning…and ignoring the
ceasing! That way I can spit shine my
speech without any real change. I simply
haven’t made new room in my heart. And
without real intention I slowly begin to resemble the lengthy tasseled
Pharisees in today’s gospel.
I understand discipline when it comes to diet and
exercise. But the discipline of
self-reflection is harder for me latch on to.
May this Lent be fertile time for both the ceasing and the learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment