Living in the Present Moment Intensely

Give generously to your needy brother and do so without a grudging heart. Deuteronomy 15:10

If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward. Matthew 10:42

There is a single word that jumped out at me in these readings this morning: "grudging."

With every passing year, I have become more aware of the poison that grudges are. Like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt someone else, anger, resentment and grudges held...these things only hurt us.

A quick surface reading of the passages for today makes it seem like they are just about being generous to those in need...but I think the deeper call is to live in a generous way. We are called to a generous spirit; to love, to grant good intentions, to let grudges and resentments go...and THEN to respond to those in need in any way (not just those in financial need). 

And the biggest barriers to this generous spirit? Anger, resentment, grudges...and their cousin, self-righteousness. All of these over-focus on the self, ignoring the larger world and community into which God has placed us.

I want to end by sharing with you a quote that came to mean a lot to me this summer on sabbatical. These words are from Brother Roger, the man who started the Taize Community in France. Taize now stands as a place of peace and reconciliation in a world in which both are desperately needed. Reading his words, you'll get a sense of the Spirit that permeates that community...and flows to us as well.

"Jesus the Christ does not invite you to be preoccupied with yourself. But to a humble repentance of heart. What does that mean? It means that movement of trust whereby you cast your faults on Him. And there you are, released, even liberated, ready to live in the present moment intensely, never discouraged because always forgiven." - Brother Roger

May we be released, liberated, and ready to live in the present moment intensely today.

Prayer:

O Lord, give us compassion for the poor and powerless. Warm our cold hearts to reflect in them your love for all people. Teach us humility and forgive our feelings of self-importance. Remind us that all we have—even our next breath—comes from you. Amen.