Sunday, September 25, 2005

The Gospel of the Two Sons

Today's Gospel (tied with the reading from Ezekiel on responsibility for one's conversion to or from evil) highlighted two ways of responding to God and the manifestation of God's will. The first is immediate rejection or refusal that still, somehow, opens in time to acceptance. The second is the religious equivalent of a "Yes, Dear..." that never goes beyond the words. Jesus told his hearers that the "tax collectors and prostitutes" were in the first group, heading for the Kingdom of Heaven. There is so much hope in that message. I was praying today for my own continuing conversion to the Lord, asking (I'm still in a "flood" mode) that his will "seep in" to me, the way the flood waters seeped into my parents' house through doors that were presumably (at least I haven't heard anything different) intact. Asked God to convert me through seepage, if I was at risk for giving him a "yes, dear" with little action. Let his will soak me through and through so it is as much mine as his.
On a more mundane (but related!) note, I learned this evening that Mom and Dad are planning to go home tomorrow to scope out the damage. Dad is also chomping at the bit to get to his office. (I come by my own activism honestly.) I think my sisters' dogs, sharing their temporary lodging in the north of the state, may also have had something to do with Dad's urgent need to get back. Mom is praying they just stay a few days. The house, it seems, has power, but the air conditioning unit was destroyed, and she doesn't want to stay in a moldy and non-air conditioned house for any length of time. It is such a blessing they have a house to return to, even if for only a few days.
May they be safe on the road.

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