<html><body>draft - part 2<div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b><u>THAT’S</u></b> news we can take to the bank! If Rabbi Wolpe is correct in his assessment about our lack of any sense that tomorrow will be any better – or even four weeks from now will be any better – if this assessment is correct, then Jeremiah has a word for us. Something completely new, something quite revolutionary will come about. God will make a presentation and all we need to do is to open our hearts, our minds, our hands and reach out to take in what God says so that our lives and the lives of everyone around us can be transformed and the storms subside.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Spoiler alert! If you haven’t read ahead in the story, the people of Judah <b><u>DO</u></b> make it back from Babylon! Fantastic news! They come back, they find devastation. Very little is as they remembered it, but they were home. And then they blew it, again. And again. And again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The point is, wrote Jeremiah, knocking pays off. You and I <b><u>HAVE</u></b> to keep asking. And we have to keep mulling over in our minds whether or not God is knocking on our doors. Or whether we’re knocking on God’s door. O whether we’re knocking on others’ doors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Life is <b><u>SO</u></b> complicated! There’s so much to remember, so much to consider, so much that we have to do to examine ourselves and our motivations. There’s <b><u>SO </u></b>much work that we have to do to reverse that pessimism which Rabbi Wolpe feels is at the heart of our dysfunctionality, both as human beings and as children of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> One of the problems, I feel, is that we’ve pre-conditioned our ears, our eyes, our hearts, our minds to expect knocking to sound and look in one particular way. We forget that God operates in an infinitely unending number and manner of ways – and God’s people must operate likewise. In addition, we think that only certain people should be allowed to knock, and only certain people’s knocks should be recognised and given any attention, never mind a response.<br> That parable told by Jesus: most scholars agree that only part of it came from Jesus, but that it was radical enough they <b><u>ARE</u></b> His words. It’s so incredibly radical. <sup>3</sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Think about that characters. There’s a judge. All we know about the judge is that he isn’t afraid of anything. That’s good, actually. He’s an authority who makes up his judgement based on the merits of the case. Nothing is said about whether or not he takes bribes. Nothing is said about whether or not he plays favourites in the community. He’s simply “The Judge”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> There’s a widow. Now, our mind may leap, immediately, in sympathy for her. Widows didn’t have any claim on their late husband’s property. Probably widows would be flung out on the street.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Not so, especially in this case. Nothing is said about her standing in the community. Nothing is said about her economic status. Nothing is said about her needs and desires. She’s just “A Widow”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Then there’s the “opponent”. He or she is someone against whom the widow has brought a claim. Nothing is said about whether that person lives in the same community. Nothing is said about the age of the opponent. Nothing is said about whether the widow and her opponent know each other. Nothing is said about what the cause of disagreement is.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> However – and it’s a colossal however – however, translators from the get-go have laundered the language of the story. The word used in our versions for “justice” actually is “vengeance”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The widow yells and screams at the judge that she wants her opponent to be squished into the ground, humiliated publically. Sounds just like the people of Judah when they reached Babylon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> And a final non-fact about the story is that we have no idea whether or not any of the players in the action were justified in what they were doing. Each person <b><u>COULD</u></b> have been a royal pain, a nightmare neighbor, the citizen from hell! And we wouldn’t know whether or not this was true, based on Jesus’ story. The point is that God will hear everything. God will answer everything. God will respond to everyone, no matter whom, no matter what’s been said and done. The real point of this, as the evangelist presents it, is whether or not the three characters, and all the rest of us, will have faith in God and God’s love. That’s all. And, incidentally, if we have faith in God and faith in God’s love, then there are ways that we have to behave.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The writer of that article in <i>“Christianity Today” said that “</i></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">we inadvertently imply that God loves only those who believe and obey the truth—namely, us. Consequently, we come across as smug and self-righteous, embracing an ugly orthodoxy.” At the same time, he wrote, we forget also that every last one of us <b><u>DOES</u></b> have responsibility, for ourselves and for others, to live the life of the Good News as Jesus told it – loving, respecting, affirming, listening to people, starting with those whom society neglects and ignores. Our first task is to ensure that we can hear whoever may knocking, from whichever side of the door it comes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Let me tell you more about Bekah. She wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “Dear barista,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “You didn’t know me and you didn’t know my story. Most importantly, you probably didn’t know writing the simple word “smile” on my order would change my day for the better. When you look at me, you might assume I’m happy, bubbly, outgoing and full of life. But you don’t really see the complete me. You wouldn’t know that behind this plastered smile is a girl who has broken and fallen to pieces. You wouldn’t know this girl had so much self-hate, she starved herself for over half her young life. Or that she’s tried to end her own life five times. I’m guessing you didn’t know these past few weeks, and that day particularly, had been extremely hard. You were just going about your job, unaware that writing a minuscule word on my drink would change my day and possibly my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “Maybe you wrote ‘smile’ on my drink because you saw the feeding tube. Or maybe you could see past my fake smile because you’ve been where I am. Either way, I’m grateful. You didn’t have to make my order special. You could have treated me like another annoying customer. But you took that extra second to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://themighty.com/category/disorder/add/" target="_blank" title="View more add stories"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">add</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>some positivity to a life that’s been filled with so much negatively lately.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “You see, my day consisted of a horrible doctor’s appointment and a horrible therapy session. I was filled with hopelessness, and my suicidal thoughts were getting worse. When my anorexia is bad sometimes coffee is the only thing I can drink. But I was afraid to consume even coffee that day. If I hadn’t encountered that cup, I could have done more damage to myself that night. When I read that word, I couldn’t help but smile, literally.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “A simple act of kindness can mean the world to someone. It can provide hope for the hopeless. Now I plan to pass this hope along. So barista, thank you. Thank you for turning my day around.” <sup>4</sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> There <b><u>ARE</u></b> people knocking, every day, everywhere, hoping that you and I will hear them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">NOTES:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">[1]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> <i>“Driver: Her face was 'priceless' when man has pizza delivered to check on grandma after hurricane” </i></span><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">by:</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">WFTV</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;"> Updated:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Oct 11, 2016 - 2:37 PM <a href="http://www.kiro7.com/news/trending-now/driver-her-face-was-priceless-when-man-has-pizza-delivered-to-check-on-grandma-after-hurricane/456177345">http://www.kiro7.com/news/trending-now/driver-her-face-was-priceless-when-man-has-pizza-delivered-to-check-on-grandma-after-hurricane/456177345</a><o:p></o:p></span></h1><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.35pt;">“The World Is Yearning for Beautiful Orthodoxy: </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">Goodness, truth, and beauty all come from the same Person.” </span></i><span style="padding: 0in; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext;">Mark Galli.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">Christianity Today </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://lists.christianitytoday.com/t/469400855/7738212/610976/0/?c73c8e04=Y3R3ZWVrbHktaHRtbA%3d%3d&4f415564=NzczODIxMg%3d%3d&e5e2987d=NDY5NDAwODU1&x=2a85e3d9">http://lists.christianitytoday.com/t/469400855/7738212/610976/0/?c73c8e04=Y3R3ZWVrbHktaHRtbA%3d%3d&4f415564=NzczODIxMg%3d%3d&e5e2987d=NDY5NDAwODU1&x=2a85e3d9</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3</span></sup><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Based on <i>“The Widow and the Judge</i>” in <i>“short stories by jesus” </i>by Amy-Jill Levine. HarperOne. New York © 2014. Pages 239-65.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What the Starbucks Barista Didn't Know When She Wrote ‘Smile’ on My Coffee” </span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://themighty.com/author/bekah-georgy/" target="_self"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Bekah Georgy </span></a><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> 10/20/15 </span><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiM9e7uldPPAhUUXGMKHdgdCH0QFggvMAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthemighty.com%2F2015%2F10%2Fstarbucks-barista-pens-smile-on-coffee-cup-of-girl-with-anorexia%2F&usg=AFQjCNEVyPkmoSE6J0EUu7a8vlCwRcjh8A"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 153);">Starbucks Barista Pens Smile on Coffee Cup of Girl With Anorexia ...</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><cite><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal;"><a href="https://themighty.com/.../starbucks-barista-pens-smile-on-coffee-cup-of-girl-with-anor">https://themighty.com/.../starbucks-barista-pens-smile-on-coffee-cup-of-girl-with-anor</a>...</span></cite></span></p></div></body></html>