I sat at my desk today with my large blue St. Ambrose mug in my hands, warming them, and I stopped to breathe deeply of a very wholesome smelling tea. Whether you like tea or not, some smells are just wholesome, not homey and sweet like homemade cookies, but wholesome and healing.
As I prepare for the Great Banquet, I keep coming back to Matthew 13:17, as well as the story of the Great Banquet. It’s been seven weeks last Sunday that I’ve been hobbling around with an injured ankle and knee. In that time I wondered many times why this happened, frustrated at my lack of mobility. But, it was in the stillness that I found God’s whisper of peace and healing. So, the banquet in the Bible, it became a feast for the lame and blind. I was reminded during this time that I know what it is to be feeling stuck, as my leg doesn’t want to function properly, to hurt with each step or when there aren’t any steps being taken. I know what it’s like to be metaphorically blind, to not see until I run headlong into the wall that life has thrown up in front of me. With all of this slowing down, I have found myself focusing on this upcoming weekend, wanting to be prepared and that is when I found Matthew 13:17. The many righteous and the prophets longed to hear God’s word, to see what this select group had seen and heard – and yet didn’t.
Why didn’t they? Why were they blind and deaf? Maybe they were like mis-functioning antibodies. Antibodies, the protectors of the immune system sometimes don’t work like they should. Sometimes, they get confused about what they think is good and what they think is bad. This thoroughly wholesome and wonderfully designed protection malfunctions, a sort of cellular misfire. But why? Well, if we look earlier in this same chapter, we can see that Jesus tells his disciples that knowledge is out there – God will give the knowledge. But, this group doesn’t really see, doesn’t really hear or understand. Instead, it talks about their hearts being calloused, with ears that are hard of hearing and eyes closed. Now as funny as that image sounds, you should give it a try (carefully) and walk around with your hands over your ears, eyes closed and with an uncaring attitude, the funny part wears away quickly. It sounds like some strange cartoon character or sci-fi creature coming to life away from the screen. However, there are times when I know I have been the same way – thus running into things and missing the point until it’s too late (eh, what did you say???)…. So, hear I am – just really a few weeks away and I am asking – are my eyes open, are my ears open, is my heart soft?
The body of Christians can act like these antibodies as well. Imagine the body working, everything is going along just fine and then whoosh – the antibodies sense a threat. And they march in ready to defend the body. But, what if your antibodies have ear plugs in and have their eyes closed? Or, what if your antibodies are there and healthy, but you ignore them? As the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to act in a healthy manner; it’s a very holistic and organic idea. So, I prepare to go and be of soft heart, with open eyes and open ears. Then, may I be ready to serve as needed, to listen, to see, to heal, and too let God heal.
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