Matthew under the arm 99

Two men were staring into a field, as we passed them yesterday. Columba was fascinated. 'What are you looking at...?' There was a deep sigh from one of them. 'Look at the cattle. Wonderful. beautiful condition, great pasture... They must produce superb milk.' 'What is that to you?', asked Columba rather cheekily. 'Well, you should see my cattle', said the other. 'Dreadful condition... poor pasture and I don't make enough money to feed them or winter them properly.' Columba paused for a few moments then asked: 'What do you want?' There was nervous laughter between the two envious men. 'Come on!' pressed Columba. 'Don't know really...!' 'Yes, you do!', Columba said with a wry smile. 'You want these cattle.' 'No, No, No.....' came the rather weak denial. 'Well, if you don't want them, do you wish that this farmer had cattle in the same condition as yours' . They were angry now, not suprisingly. I was embarrassed and felt that an ugly scene was ensuing. 'Well, alright. Yes, we do want their cattle. But we can't have them, can we?' 'Yes, you can', replied Columba. 'Go and learn how these cattle are reared and looked after. Then you will have cattle like them. And stop complaining.....' I was even more embarrassed. 'By the way,' added Columba. 'These cattle are not the possession of this farmer. Maybe what you really want is a superior farming image for yourself, not the cattle at all'. I wandered off thinking to myself that Columba can be pompous! [I'm away for a few days break from Tuesday next week... ]


Matthew 20:29-34….
The crowd feels that Jesus is its property. ‘Our’ Jesus must not be interrupted by ‘you’, even when there is some urgent request for help from someone not part of the crowd. Perhaps, they cry for pity because it feels to them that they are inwardly blind as well. They do not want to articulate their real desire in front of the crowd of followers, in case they might be ridiculed. Jesus insists that they name exactly what they want. They must take responsibility for what they desire. We avoid that because we have a self-image that we want to protect. To name what we want seems either aggressive or demeaning and might lead to rejection.

Open your heart and mind that you may trust Me with your desires


In some cultures, their language does not have possessive pronouns, like ‘mine’, ‘ours’, ‘yours’…. In English, it is not possible to do so without losing meaning. But Jesus cannot be owned. He is not the property of Christendom. Jesus comes to me to stimulate me to take responsibility for all that I am, including what I desire. Use the sentence for a good stretch of time and then express clearly and simply what it is you desire. Notice your feelings as you name them. Be simple, direct and don’t try to be too sensible! Then ask Jesus…!

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles