Luke 7:36-50
Hi Everyone,
Thought I would send a short follow up to Monday’s discussion of about “breaking the jar.” For those of you who might be stuck, finding it hard to let go of those stones of judgment or hurt, this practice might serve as a way in. As we considered the woman who came to Jesus, we saw that she gave lavishly, pouring out her perfume and holding nothing back. She came because she understood who she was and the extravagant grace of being forgiven. What she did was no idle gesture since she couldn’t get it back; she couldn’t save some for later; it cost her a great deal, maybe everything and; it couldn’t be paid back. What can we learn from her? Perhaps that just as we drop the stone when we recognize that we are guilty too, so we break the jar because we realize that we are forgiven.
And so we might ask ourselves “what’s in my jar?” What have I been saving up? What is precious to me? Our jars might hold things like:
- Our reputation.
- Our need to achieve.
- Our need to be right.
- Acts of kindness that we have been withholding from another.
When we break the jar, we act lavishly, emptying ourselves in gratitude at the feet of Jesus. Releasing everything. And how do we start? By pouring ourselves out for others.
This is not what we feel, but what we do. Especially when we find it difficult to drop the stone, we might try doing something more active, more tangible: By being kind when others are not kind to us. By refusing to return an insult or engage in gossip. By serving them in some small act of caring. By taking the time to really listen to them. Find some way to serve them. Don’t explain it. In fact, they don’t have to know what you are doing. Just break open that jar of all the stuff you have been saving and pour it out extravagantly. Maybe you have been holding it back for so long it has become stale and lost its fragrance. As you pour, watch it transform from something old and spoiled to something fresh and fragrant and beautiful. Think of it as aromatherapy. This fragrance will make you strong, revitalize you, make it easier to drop the stone and leave it there.
This is our second community practice. Breaking the jar.
How are you doing?
Blessings,
sam
