Scraping Out Our Buckets
Compassion and Faith
Reflection By Scott Stoner
I imagine that when Jesus reaches into the space that is my soul, that is our human souls, he finds them quite packed with stuff. ... So Jesus starts scraping, which is not always painless, but almost always necessary, in order to help us create space for the good stuff, for love.
- Laurie Brock
The quote above, from Laurie Brock’s Sunday reflection, reminds me of a story. A man goes to see a wise spiritual teacher. After listening to the man talk about himself at great length, the teacher realizes that she will need to get his attention before she can teach him anything because he is so preoccupied with himself. So she offers the man a cup of tea, which he gladly accepts. She begins pouring and as the tea approaches the top of the cup, instead of stopping, she continues until it spills over the top and onto the man’s lap.
The man, upset, asks her why she did that. She responds kindly, “I wanted you to see that you are like this cup of tea. You are so full to overflowing with your own concerns that there is no room for any teachings from God or others to enter at this point.” The man paused, bowed his head, and thanked her for the memorable lesson.
Lent is a time to examine the thoughts, habits, and actions in our lives that are blocking us from being open to God. These could include any of the following: anger, impatience, busyness, distractedness, judgment, self-righteousness, envy, greed, self-centeredness, or indifference. Becoming aware of these is the first step in allowing Jesus to, as Laurie wrote, scrape out “the stuff from our souls that is obscuring our love for God” so that we can make room to better receive once again the compassionate love of God.
Making it Personal: What is your response to the quote from Laurie Brock? The reflection lists many things that can distance or block us from God’s healing love. Did anything listed resonate with you?