Humility is the mother of all virtues;
purity, charity and obedience.
It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent.
If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace,
because you know what you are.
If you are blamed you will not be discouraged.
If they call you a saint you will not put yourself on a pedestal.
Mother Teresa
- Light a candle to remember Christ’s presence with you.
- Sit in silent meditation 5 to 15 minutes paying attention to the breath.
- Focus on Mother Teresa’s words above.
- What word or phrase captures your attention?
- What freedom do you notice?
- What tension or bondage do you notice?
- What hope do you encounter?
- Is there a message from God to you?
- Is there a call to action?
- Give thanks to God for this time in humble remembrance and thanksgiving. Give thanks to God for anything new that has been revealed to you.
- Share as you feel led in the reply box below.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, October 30, 2011, the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
Joshua 3:7-17
Psalm 107: 1-7, 33-37
I Thessalonians: 2:9-13
Matthew 23:1-12
If you use these prayers in other groups, please give credit to author.
Permission to use in not-for-profit settings The Rev. Lil Smith, M.Div., DASD
Obedience captures my attention this morning. Obedience connotes command and control issues, and yet it doesn’t have to be understood that way. Obey is the root word coming from the Latin word “audire” meaning: to hear. This means that obedience is about listening, about hearing what another person is really saying, not what I think she might be saying, or what she usually says, but what she actually said, right now. When I really hear what another person said, then I am called to respond, which is the second part of obedience, tailoring my response to what I actually heard.
The Marines have an acronym that applies to obedience for me – OODA – Observe, Orient, Decide then Act:
1) Observe – Listen reflectively aware of my own needs and circumstances.
2) Orient – Consider the speaker’s needs and circumstances.
3) Decide – What response reconciles the speaker’s needs, my needs and God’s presence?
4) Act – Respond, then return to active listening.
Obedience is about so much more than ‘merely’ following commands. Obedience is about relationship and community. Obedience is about God’s love, still and small, acting through our obedience, hearing each of us at the point our need, freeing us to grow into a greater understanding and presence of God’s love by one person listening and responding to another.