Saturday, January 31, 2009

Daily Office Reflection: What Comes Out

Psalms 55 * 138, 139:1-17(18-23); Isaiah 51:1-8; Galatians 3:23-29; Mark 7:1-23

I am a fairly calm and even-tempered person...most times in life. That all changes, all bests are off, when I'm behind the wheel of a car. Although I have gotten better over the last few years, I am still pretty impatient with other people on the road. I don't "act out" in how I drive....rather I verbalize my frustrations, in particular when I am alone in the car. (Well, not completely alone as my dog Allie is normally in the back seat covering her ears.) I recognize that not only is this not the healthiest of tendencies, but that kind of behavior condemns me based on our Gospel reading today....for what comes out of my mouth is not very pleasant.

Mark provides for us Jesus' declaration that all foods are clean and then talks about how dangerous it is for us to speak rashly, to act differently than how and what we teach and preach. For those actions, that speech, shows some rot at our core, some defect in our heart. So I stand condemned today by Jesus' words and I will continue to work on my potty-mouth whilst driving. That behavior on my part does not make me feel better. It does not provide me with any satisfaction. I only find that my blood pressure goes up. This behavior is solely a bad habit that I need to continually try to curb. 

Sometimes these Daily Office readings can really bring me up short....like today.
jfd+

Copyright 2009, John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

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