During our chat in Fellowship Hour, Ron B. talked about the lack of workmanship in the roofing industry. It never came to my mind that an actual hammer was used to fasten roofing shingles before a nail gun or stapler. According to Ron, it requires skill to put shingles together. To do so, a hammer is preferred over a conveniently manufactured stapler. Otherwise, nails that are not as durable as they used to be become easily rusty after about eight years. This can be a cause for leaks.
There’s simple wisdom in Ron’s story. My takeaway is that there’s a tension between a long-term and short-term solution. A quick fix is always tempting and popular, especially in our fast-paced culture. Fast food, for example, alleviates hunger quickly. Instant gratification and dopamine are closely linked in the brain’s reward system, which influences decision-making, prioritizing immediate pleasure over long-term benefits. What makes our decisions skillful is looking at their long-term effects. In the gospel lesson this morning, we see the constant following of the crowd wherever Jesus goes. There seems to be an invisible tension between what Jesus wants and what the crowd wants. Usually, we would assume that tension isn’t a positive thing, but not always. The tension between Jesus and the crowd keeps its balance by Jesus’ compassion. His desire to “teach” is challenged by the crowd’s desire for a cure, yet he doesn’t push his wish. He does what he can while taking all his chances, I imagine, to teach the presence of God. Unfortunately, the gospel lesson doesn’t tell us if anyone from the crowd “learned” from Jesus’ teaching. All are there to be cured. The crowd’s desire for a cure from Jesus is understandable. Who doesn’t want their loved ones to be cured of illnesses? We all do, and Jesus does get the urgent need. I guess the tension between Jesus and the crowd isn’t so much about either/or but his compassion for them to go beyond taking advantage of his miraculous power of curing the ill. He wants the crowd to move beyond miracles. He wants to offer them long-term relief and resolution to their sufferings in life that don’t always require his physical presence as well as his supernatural power. What then is this long-term resolution Jesus so desires to teach? Again and again, for him, there’s nothing more imperative and essential than the presence of God within. All those whom he miraculously cures would eventually die. Think about Lazarus. He is returned to life after he dies, but this doesn’t mean he’s immortal. He dies again. All, yes every single human being and all living species, are subject to aging, illness, and death. Considering these human conditions, medicine still is a short-term resolution. It’s no big surprise that modern medicine always strives to be a long-term answer for humanity to live forever. Jesus finds his long-term solution to human conditions within. No need to look further but always and only within. The presence of God within costs nothing, but one has to “pay” full attention. It’s always free and always available to all, but one has to “invest” one’s time. Perhaps its hidden nature in plain sight and one’s ignorance would be why no one values it though it is priceless. The presence of God within may be the overlooked jewel. Nevertheless, Jesus continues to cure, not just for the sake of quick relief but for the long-lasting relief that no longer requires him physically, so they would cultivate God’s presence within themselves. This cultivation of the presence would be what St. Paul talks about in his letters to the Ephesians: “In him, the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.” (Ephesians 2:22, italics mine) So my friends in Christ, quick fix or enduring remedy? Prayerfully, the latter! |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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