I was thinking yesterday that I have nothing to write this week. I confess to being a bit depleted. The pandemic has isolated me as well as most of you. The goal of these offerings is shortchanged for lack of environment. How can one ‘EXPLORE what it means to live in Christ’ when the only thing noticeable is the matted pathways of the worn-down living room carpet? (Ok - I could probably make something out of that. Another day, perhaps.)
Even though we are beginning to circulate more, it’s clearly not the same. Public expeditions are stiff and uncomfortable. We back-off rather than embrace. Hesitation conquers advancement. Yesterday’s full-steam-ahead is vanquished as we now tread lightly.
But, as often happens, something happens!
Without introduction, it comes from oblivion. No warning. No preamble. One minute, nothing. The next, “Here I am!” And with that, fingers mirror pistons. I now confess a little excitement even if this turns out to be a bust. I know that I’ll start typing without thought for a while. And then, after a few more hours this little article will be published.,
Alright, I’ve built this up but was smart enough to allow space to be wrong with that ‘bust’ comment. Maybe the political climate is rubbing off a little.
Moments ago, at the end of a television show, I heard a song called “Take Care” performed by Beach House. Because it seemed to strike a chord (I can be SO funny!), I did the customary YouTube search and successfully unearthed the 2010 video. I rarely read the comments on YouTube but today my eyes were drawn to this section.
And suddenly, I knew I would share.
With every musician’s performance, (or anything else in this online world), some people proffer their blessing with a thumbs-up while others voice displeasure with the thumbs-down button. As of this writing, twenty-thousand people said, “Yes”. Three hundred sixty said, “No.”
Comments are also judged but this one is distinctive. The remark instigating this article displays 1,600 accolades with NO dissenters. What? That MUST be a mistake! There is ALWAYS someone who says, ‘Not me’.
Here’s the thing. An assessment of the writer's revelation could easily be described as chillingly honest. Baring one’s soul isn’t what people do because it exposes vulnerabilities. It paints a public moment with thin dull colors while cracks and holes and stains fail to be concealed.
In this world of me-ism, maybe this incorruptible innocence, this nakedness immediately followed by sincere gratefulness exposes the raw nerve of need in all of us. Perhaps this contributed to the quieting of negative behaviors in favor of a reflective moment in even the most critical of us. It's probably much deeper than that, however. This experience culminated in one's life being saved. It doesn't get more serious than that.
I wonder if we ever realize what differences we can make in the turmoil of another's experience. If we knew, would we be more forgiving, more open to sharing with friends and even enemies, to listen in silence, to comfort and console our hurting neighbors?
His Kingdom Come.
This is what it might look like if we neglected the fear of unveiling our own broken humanness while asking others to 'Take Care' of us in our need.
And this is what it might look like if we entered the realm of compassionate godliness by urgently taking up the challenge of caring for those who asked.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11: 9-13
This is where we come in. This is how the Kingdom on earth is built. God is asking me to show His love for others. He's asking you, too.
Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”
But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money[g] to buy food for all these people!”
“How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.” Mark 6: 37-40
I remember the first time I heard this song. I was writing the last thing I'd say to everybody. In a way, this song saved my life. I started thinking how all I ever wanted was for somebody to say they'd care. maybe I just needed a sign to remind me that I wanted to live. either way. I started to cry and I stopped writing and just found the whole album and listened to it. So, thanks Beach House. This song gave me a sign. Now in a year, I'm getting married and this is the song we will be dancing to.
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