And Then There Were Two -- Craddock Story #4
A Reading from Matthew 6
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before people, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by people. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you…
16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to people that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you…
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?...
A Story from Fred Craddock
The pastor was excited about being called to the congregation. His family got unloaded and settled in the new house. The women of the church filled the kitchen with food. The men put in the furniture. It was great.
The chairperson had the minister’s family over for a big barbeque.
As they stood around the grill, the pastor said, “It is a delight to come to a church and know that you’ve been chosen to come by unanimous vote.”
The chairperson said between flips of the burger, “Well, it was practically unanimous.”
“What? What do you mean ‘practically’?”
“Let’s just call it unanimous. Let’s just say…”
“What was it? What was the vote?”
“Well, it was 234 to 2,” the chairperson said.
Who are the two? The pastor spends the next six months trying to find who they are, and the next six months trying to please the two.
At the end of the year, he is fired – 2 in favor, 234 against.
Reflection and Prayer
How much of your well being has to do with what others think of you?
Do you experience the answer to the previous question make you feel free or trapped? As something else?
If your identity were really caught up mainly in God’s love for you, how would this change the way you act in your daily world? How you look in the mirror? How you interpret criticism and compliment?
How do you communicate what you think of someone else?...To the person directly?...To others?...With awareness that you are to love the other person as you do yourself?...With awareness that God values them more than you can imagine?...With compassion?
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before people, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by people. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you…
16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to people that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you…
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?...
A Story from Fred Craddock
The pastor was excited about being called to the congregation. His family got unloaded and settled in the new house. The women of the church filled the kitchen with food. The men put in the furniture. It was great.
The chairperson had the minister’s family over for a big barbeque.
As they stood around the grill, the pastor said, “It is a delight to come to a church and know that you’ve been chosen to come by unanimous vote.”
The chairperson said between flips of the burger, “Well, it was practically unanimous.”
“What? What do you mean ‘practically’?”
“Let’s just call it unanimous. Let’s just say…”
“What was it? What was the vote?”
“Well, it was 234 to 2,” the chairperson said.
Who are the two? The pastor spends the next six months trying to find who they are, and the next six months trying to please the two.
At the end of the year, he is fired – 2 in favor, 234 against.
Reflection and Prayer
How much of your well being has to do with what others think of you?
Do you experience the answer to the previous question make you feel free or trapped? As something else?
If your identity were really caught up mainly in God’s love for you, how would this change the way you act in your daily world? How you look in the mirror? How you interpret criticism and compliment?
How do you communicate what you think of someone else?...To the person directly?...To others?...With awareness that you are to love the other person as you do yourself?...With awareness that God values them more than you can imagine?...With compassion?