Holy Spirit, teach me to serve from a merciful heart...

 
Jonah 1:1- 2:10 & Luke 10:25-37
                                         
Like Jonah, I am naturally driven by a dual desire for power and fame. Jonah had received a distinct call from God to go to the city of Nineveh and proclaim its imminent destruction. The problem was, he knew that God was calling these people to repentance, and that if successful, Jonah’s prophecy would result in massive reconciliation with God –and no fireworks! This was uncomfortable for a man who prided himself in honesty and hoped to garner accolades for himself as a great prophet. Like the Priest and the Levite who passed by the robbed man in the ditch in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan, Jonah responded to God’s call by ruminating on ‘what’s in it for me’ and exited, stage left. Fortunately for Jonah, God in his mercy arranged a storm and a whale of a ride to shore that deposited the reluctant prophet on the doorstep of Nineveh; he was able to complete his assignment of mercy and have his story of highly successful (in God’s eyes) prophecy recorded for posterity in scripture. When called to serve will I waste time ruminating on minutae or, like the Good Samaritan, serve in the moment, out of a heart full of mercy?  Holy Spirit, teach me to serve from a merciful heart.     
  
But I will sing praises to you; I will offer you a sacrifice and do what I have promised.  Salvation comes from the Lord! (Jonah 2:9)  
                                     
Jesus didn't say, 'Blessed are those who care for the poor.' He said, 'Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.' It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself.
Henri Nouwen
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei