Wednesday – Saints Cornelius & Cyprian

Gospel – Luke 7:31-35

My Way or the Highway

My Tennessee Driveway

One thing I dearly miss about Chicago is the grid system for the streets.  Except for a couple of exceptions (Elston, Milwaukee Avenue, for instance), the streets are straight – north and south, east and west, and the turns are exactly 90 degrees!  Easy to navigate and find your way!  Not so much here in Tennessee; here, all roads are 3D rollercoasters – up and down, back and forth, an unseen tight curve just around the bend.

And that is why I love having Google Maps show me the way!  A gentle voice telling you where to go and when to turn! And after a couple of years, I am finally at the point where I can choose to NOT plug in as I drive to a familiar destination!  Unfortunately, that also means I am getting to the point of thinking I know better than Google Maps!  Let me see if I can find a better/quicker way!  I prefer to listen to my own voice, my own thoughts.  I know what’s best and I have all the answers!

And that is exactly what Jesus is warning us about in today’s Gospel.  The Pharisees just won’t listen to anyone except themselves; they think they have all the answers.  And if anyone different comes along, they should be condemned and ignored, like John the Baptist.  Children play the flute but people refuse to dance; they sing a sad song but people refuse to weep.  They accept God, they believe in God, but only on their own terms!  They are blind to God’s truth and message.

Creator, teach me to listen!  To hear your voice and wisdom in the words of others!  Teach me that, if I follow only my own path, I will lose my way and stray from the one true path that leads me to You.

(PS – I never get lost; sometimes I just take the ‘scenic’ route)

 

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