A New Devotion - Words, Words, Words

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

Matthew 21:23-32

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Words, Words, Words

In the musical My Fair Lady, after Freddy expresses his love with great eloquence and verbosity, Eliza Dolittle, the object of his affection, responds by saying, “Words, words, words; I’m so sick of words.” You see, rather than having him talk about what and how he feels, Eliza wants Freddy to show her and to show her now.

And I’ve got to tell you, I understand how Eliza feels. I mean, as I listen to our leaders, I’m tired of hearing about all the wonderful things that they’ve done and all the stuff the folks on the other side of the aisle have left undone. And as I listen to my brothers and sisters in Christ, I’m tired of hearing great expressions of faith and incredibly harsh judgments directed toward those who may disagree. And as I look at myself, I’m tired and frustrated that I spend a lot of time talking about what we should and shouldn’t be doing. You see, it’s all about using demeaning names and spiritual jargon and eloquent expressions but not about actually showing much compassion and understanding and love. I think we may have come to a point in our society where we talk a big game, but when it’s time to actually go and work in the vineyard, we’re remarkably still. And even though I believe the same one who loved the tax collectors and the prostitutes loves us, I just wonder whether Jesus Christ is also sick of our words, words, words.