After 64 years in the same house, it was time for Jack the
Hoarder to move.
But Jack did not want to go. Even though his children,
neighbors, and Social Services had visited the home repeatedly, to urge Jack to
leave behind the mounds of newspapers, rotting food, Styrofoam containers, and
other assorted clutter. “This is my happy home, since 1950,” he would tell
them, “Why must you torment me?”
Those with Jack’s best interests at heart were certainly not out
to torment him. And eventually they won, and he left. Jack went to a
brand new assisted living apartment where, remarkably, 6 months later he was
happy as a clam, “They make meals for me, change my sheets, and I don’t even have
to go shopping,” he told his niece. What we may think of as hurt often turns
into the healing we never knew we needed.
This Sunday we’ll hear a familiar story about a mentally ill man
who urged Jesus to go away – not to heal him, ‘Do not torment me,’ he
exclaimed. But Jesus was not out to hurt; he was out to help. And by the end of
the story we find that Jesus knew better, and the man became well.
You and I frequently do things like this. We look at life’s torments as malicious. We look at those who criticize us as way off base and we rationalize. Yes, we see the bankruptcy, the illness, the bad review, the dashed relationships as torturous episodes we fight tooth and nail to avoid. We forget that God is the benevolent force of love who is working hard at every turn to not only make us our best selves, but to bring about changes in the world for the better.
You and I frequently do things like this. We look at life’s torments as malicious. We look at those who criticize us as way off base and we rationalize. Yes, we see the bankruptcy, the illness, the bad review, the dashed relationships as torturous episodes we fight tooth and nail to avoid. We forget that God is the benevolent force of love who is working hard at every turn to not only make us our best selves, but to bring about changes in the world for the better.
What seems like criticism and pain is often a passageway to
becoming a better version of ourselves. So let’s not shun the tough decisions,
hard words, and cutting advice. Hurt often turns into healing.
