Thursday March 1st, 2007
Thursday of the First Week of Lent
March 1, 2007
“Treat others the way you would have them treat you.”
Matthew 7:12
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I just heard this story and found it curious. This girl picked up her friend at college and drove her to see her boyfriend. Along the way, the girl who was getting a ride asked if she could stop and get her boyfriend some flowers and a card. They did and she was going to give the flowers and card to her boyfriend at the bowling alley where he was bowling in the bowling league that night. My questions were, “Does this guy even like flowers? How would he feel about getting flowers around his other friends? I know that it is the thought that counts but how much do the flowers mean to him and how much do they mean to her?”
I think a lot of times we love others based on ourselves rather than on the person we are trying to express our love to. Yes, we are commanded to treat others the way we want to be treated but that means doing what really speaks to their hearts which might be something that really would not be of too much interest to us. For the sake of example, say you want to send someone out for a nice dinner. So, you really like this fish house and you get them a hundred dollar gift certificate there. But, unbeknownst to you, that person does not like anything about the taste, smell and thought of eating fish. What they really like is pizza. And they like it thin crust. And there is a certain pizza parlor that is their favorite. The question is how far will you go to find out how you can best communicate your love for them by doing what most speaks to their heart. I mean it would not be difficult at all to find out that this person really likes pizza and what their favorite pizza place is. And just think how loved the person getting the pizza certificate there would feel compared to getting one for a fish dinner.
One time I was watching the play “Godspell” and there was a particularly moving part in it for me. John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River and Jesus came on the scene. He was greeting all those he came to befriend and save. What was interesting was that he greeted each person differently. He “read” the person to see how they wanted to be greeted. To some he gave a hug, others got a handshake, others a wave of the hand, some a high-five… Seemingly, he was trying to greet each person in a way that they felt most comfortable. I took it as Jesus loving them right where they were at in a way they felt the most honored. Then, at near the end of the play when Jesus was saying good-bye to his friends, Jesus remembered how he greeted each friend when he first met them at the Jordan. It was so moving because Jesus' love was about speaking to each particular friend’s heart in a way that it could be most spoken to.
Is my love really speaking to another person’s heart? How far have I gone to find out what really moves them and makes them feel honored and loved because I have gone the extra mile to find out exactly what most speaks to them?
Live the confronted life!
+Fr. John
I think a lot of times we love others based on ourselves rather than on the person we are trying to express our love to. Yes, we are commanded to treat others the way we want to be treated but that means doing what really speaks to their hearts which might be something that really would not be of too much interest to us. For the sake of example, say you want to send someone out for a nice dinner. So, you really like this fish house and you get them a hundred dollar gift certificate there. But, unbeknownst to you, that person does not like anything about the taste, smell and thought of eating fish. What they really like is pizza. And they like it thin crust. And there is a certain pizza parlor that is their favorite. The question is how far will you go to find out how you can best communicate your love for them by doing what most speaks to their heart. I mean it would not be difficult at all to find out that this person really likes pizza and what their favorite pizza place is. And just think how loved the person getting the pizza certificate there would feel compared to getting one for a fish dinner.
One time I was watching the play “Godspell” and there was a particularly moving part in it for me. John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River and Jesus came on the scene. He was greeting all those he came to befriend and save. What was interesting was that he greeted each person differently. He “read” the person to see how they wanted to be greeted. To some he gave a hug, others got a handshake, others a wave of the hand, some a high-five… Seemingly, he was trying to greet each person in a way that they felt most comfortable. I took it as Jesus loving them right where they were at in a way they felt the most honored. Then, at near the end of the play when Jesus was saying good-bye to his friends, Jesus remembered how he greeted each friend when he first met them at the Jordan. It was so moving because Jesus' love was about speaking to each particular friend’s heart in a way that it could be most spoken to.
Is my love really speaking to another person’s heart? How far have I gone to find out what really moves them and makes them feel honored and loved because I have gone the extra mile to find out exactly what most speaks to them?
Live the confronted life!
+Fr. John
posted by Patti @ 7:37 AM
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