There's a lesson here, someplace!

Jesus did not come into the world to do something negative but to fulfill a positive mission from Our Father.  He came to be the living embodiment of what the fulfillment of His Will would be like. He did not come to lay waste to the law and the prophets, but to explain them and have them make sense—“I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)

The laws, as Jesus points out, are all about unconditional love—love of God, love of neighbor.  Any time the law appears to get in the way of this, it is because we have failed in our understanding of the law. We need, then, only look to Jesus who taught the supremacy of love and deep compassion.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, of our lives, of our hopes and of our dreams.  He is the embodiment of love and compassion and He teaches us that if we are to find heaven on Earth, we are to do so by living the example of fulfillment that He has given.

 

I was shown His example of unconditional love quite eloquently a couple of times recently, by children(!).  I don't know why I'm surprised, because Christ Himself said "Believe me, unless you become like little children again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)  For some reason, children get it--and then they somehow "learn" otherwise.

My granddaughter came to me the other day and said "Oompah, let's watch TV together!  That's what friends do!"  After chuckling out loud, I responded affirmatively and tuned to the station she wanted to watch.  It was not, however, the program she intended seeing.  She told me so saying, "I want the show with the REAL kids playing!"  I told her that was not the show that was scheduled right then, but she was persistent.  In my frustration, I said "Lily, what do you want me to do?  I don't control the station.  I can't make them play what you want when you want!"  To which she replied "But you're OOMPAH!  YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!"  She had so much unconditional trust in me, and I felt pride at first, then inadequacy.  It made me realize the type of love I have for God, our Father in Heaven, but it also reminded me that I often take His love for granted.

The type of love we are to have for one another was also shown to me while I was watching some children at play today.  It was evident that they were children from different backgrounds and circumstances by their appearance and the fact that their parents were spread out along the line we adults were all standing in. (More on that in a couple of minutes.)  They were playing as children do, with a little bit of running, a little bit of climbing on benches, and a lot of screaming with laughter mixed in.  I heard no arguing or disagreements on what to play or how to play it that is sometimes the norm with older children and adults.  And when one of the smaller children (about 2 or 3 years old) fell and hurt herself, EVERY ONE of the other children stopped playing to attend to her needs and help her get over it!  In no time at all, she was laughing and playing with the rest of them as if nothing had happened at all.  What a testament to love of neighbor!

Reflecting on these incidents today made me think of my blog entry yesterday.  I am concerned that I am not observing Lent in a manner pleasing to Jesus.  I am also open to His will in showing me how I can better serve Him through penance and sacrifice.   I am hearing His voice ever so faintly in the hurdles I have faced in the last couple of days.  

First, there was the physical I had to undergo yesterday as a requirement of my work.  Since I sometimes have to drive a commercial truck, every two years I have to be certified by a doctor and the DMV as fit, and not a danger to myself or others I may encounter on the road.  My two years was up this week, and so I went in to the doctor.  It's usually just an eye test, a hearing test, a simple dexterity test and out.  This time, it was a new doctor in the office and he takes this DOT physical very seriously.  So my weight was taken, the usual "samples" taken, and he took my blood pressure.  As I usually do--and always with great accuracy--I proclaimed "I'll save you the trouble, Doc.  My BP is always 108 over 68!"  He replied with, "Mr. Farnsworth, I'd like you to lie down for a little while and we'll take it again in about 15 minutes."  I thought he was joking.  He said it again in a tone that told me I might be in trouble.  I asked what my BP was.  He said it was 139/78 and if it didn't come down, I wouldn't pass the physical and he would seriously consider having me picked up because it wasn't safe for me to be driving!  15 minutes later, it was down to a "safe" level again.  That's never happened to me before, and I was a bit startled (I'll admit I still am).  I didn't feel bad, so how could my blood pressure be so high?  The rest of the physical went without incident, other than the usual lecture about my weight that I have been taking to heart [pun intended] the past month or so.  I was then instructed to go to the DMV today and get my card signed off and return to work as usual for the next two years.  

I worked most of the  day out of town today, but returned early enough to go to the DMV.  When I got there, the line was about 50 deep outside of the entrance!  I almost forgot about the whole thing, but realized this whole mess may be the penance I'm supposed to be doing for Lent!  No one, especially me, likes to wait in line.  What made it more frustrating for me is that other disgruntled citizens were coming out fuming that it was about a 2 hour wait just to get a number that would be called in order to get served!  Again, since I've been prayerfully listening for God's direction this Lent, I decided to bear the inconvenience with an outwardly cheerful demeanor.  As the angry patrons would pass by grumbling to anyone who would listen, I just smiled and kept on watching the children give us adults a lesson in joyful patience.  I actually forgot about the bad news of the physical exam last night and focused on the joy of the children playing.  One young man in front of me must have sensed my serenity in the situation because he started asking me my advice as to whether he should continue to wait in line or try another day to get his first driver license.  At first my inclination was to tell him to go home [that would inch me closer to the front of the line, after all!].  But instead, I felt a tug at my heartstrings as I sensed he was feeling a little scared about the whole thing.  I told him "You've already invested over an hour into the wait.  You should stick it out."  He seemed relieved at that advice and became more talkative and inquisitive about the whole "getting a first license thing".  I helped him as much as I could and when we finally got inside the door, I directed him to the application form and advised him how to fill it out. 

It occurs to me now that in enjoying the love that was on display by the children and my helping another human being in a time of emotional distress, I was actually feeling very close to Jesus through it all and I was not burdened in the least by the long, long wait.

I'm sure there is a lesson here.  I'm just too elated from the experience to be able to explain it in words.  You'll just have to take my word for it.