Meditation for 26 August 2009

From The Rev. Peter Munson

Mark 14:1-11

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; ²for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’

3 While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. ⁴But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? ⁵For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.’ And they scolded her. ⁶But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. ⁷For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. ⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. ⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’

10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

Where Does Your Energy Go?

The older I get and the more I learn from Gay and Katie Hendricks, the more I seem to be thinking about energy.  What am I putting my energy into?  Is it going into the things I love to do, or into the things that I'm not very good at, or into the things that I can do but which aren't the most important things for me to be doing?  Am I totally wasting my energy by spending it being critical of others?  And if I am spending my energy this way, do I realize that it is taking away from the energy that I could be using to do something that is creative and loving?

As I read this passage from Mark, it is interesting to look at it from an energy perspective.  I don't think any of us are plotting to kill someone, but on the other hand, perhaps we are spending too much of our time being critical of what others do, even the good things that others are doing (i.e., like those who criticized the woman for anointing Jesus).  Have you ever betrayed a friend, maybe not so dramatically as Judas' betrayal of Jesus, but maybe in this way:  your friend was not present, and others you were with began to "badmouth" or attack or slander your friend, and you said nothing.  If so, then your energy was directed toward "being one with the group", as opposed to standing up for another in a faithful and loving way.

Having sent our first child off to college last week, I get another reminder that life is cruising by quickly.  I want to use my energy in the best way possible.  I want to have better relationships - with God, with family members and friends and parishioners and with the downtrodden, and with myself.  I want to laugh and sing and have fun.  I want to be creative.  I want to do something each day that makes a difference - for good - in this world.

What I want to do less of is to complain, to be critical and/or judgmental of others, to waste energy beating myself up.  I want to do less blaming and much more appreciating.  I want to do less worrying and be more generous, and take risks of faith, and get outside more, and see the stars and hear the birds, and be as present as I can be with the person who I am with in that particular moment, and be honest and open in sharing my feelings, my dreams, my desires, and how I see God at work in my life, in our community, and in the world.

Where did your energy go yesterday?  What got your attention?  And where do you want your energy to go today?  It seems to me that we can set some intentions about our energy, and ask God to help us, so that we are enabled to use our energy in fun, creative, and loving ways - in ways that bring peace and joy and encouragement to others.  Then we would be truly living a "green" life, when it comes to using our energy in the most efficient and most productive ways.