Sunday, August 8, 2010
Hebrews 11: 1-2 Luke 12: 32-48
Sisters and brothers: faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.* Heb.11:1
The letter to the Hebrews actually comes after the Gospel of Luke in the Bible. It is amazing how it can bring a smile to our faces, when we hear Jesus as he makes the connection between the two passages and says to his followers, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”
This is Jesus’ assurance that if we go the path he has laid out, if we give of ourselves and our goods in order to give to the marginalized, the lonely, the heart broken, we will be storing up for ourselves treasures that do not wear out, do not deplete. We will experience inexhaustible blessings in this life and in the next. Jesus reminds us that where we place our values, that is where our hearts are.
“Gird your loins and light your lamps.” To contemporary listeners that may sound odd. In the time of Jesus, girding one’s loins meant tucking up the long loose robes worn by men and tying them in a knot between the legs in order to prepare for hard work, running, or fighting. Jesus, the teacher, was warning for then and for now that following in his path would not be easy.
Lighting a lamp was always wise as of course there was no electricity and we know from other parables like that of the of the wise virgins and the widow who swept her house looking for the lost coin, how necessary it was to keep the lamps filled with oil. Jesus wants us to be spiritually, physically, and mentally alert in order to ward off the forces of evil, but also to be ready to welcome the God who called us to service when we are called home.
Whenever I truly am stumped by any of the teachings of Jesus, I look further into the gospels to see if the lesson is brought up again for the purpose of further clarification. I usually find it referenced by Peter. I relate to Peter; we both find it difficult to just accept the order of things without understanding. However, once we “get it,” we are on board.
Peter takes the girding concept even further in his first letter to new Christians in parts of Asia Minor. “Therefore,” he says to them, “gird up your minds, be sober [as in serious]. Set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you from Jesus Christ. Do not be conformed to the habits of your former ignorance. He who called you is holy. Be holy as well in all your conduct.” Peter 1:13-15
As we take these admonitions to, “gird our loins” and “gird our minds” to heart, we can bring them into our own everyday lives, especially into the life of our work.
There is some physical girding going on as support partners and therapists don their Gait belts to assist residents or patients to stand or walk. We are so easily made aware of our own mortality when serving the sick and elderly.
“Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” John 21:18.
According to the writers, Jesus used this metaphor to show by what death Peter would die; for us it may serve to remind us of our own journeys forward and provide us with the graces of patience, compassion, and friendship toward our fellow travelers.
In closing, I refer back to Peter 1:15. Each and every person who ministers at St. Mary’s Health Care System was called by a holy God, (a wholly good, wholly trustworthy, wholly loving, and kind God). Be wholly as well in all things.
Go gently, go well, and whole.
Elizabeth Lowe, Chaplain
St. Mary’s D’Youville Pavilion and Rehab Center
Tags: Hebrews, Luke, Readings, St. Mary's Pastoral Care, Sunday Scribes
