Internet of the Heart

My friend and his wife had to replace their refrigerator. They heard about the state rebate program-that would refund $250 if they bought a high efficiency refrigerator.

So they scouted the sales that’s saved a couple of hundred dollars off the machine if you bought refrigerator at the same time and then on Labor day weekend, would take another 15 percent off. The rebate would make the deal even sweeter.

They went to the website of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to complete the rebate application. NYSERDA was running a tab to show how much of the $3.5 million in rebates had been claimed as of that moment. Online, the application for the site would not open. The phone number set up to register applicants kicked immediately to voice mail. They left a message and got no response. The following day the application still would not open and the $3.5 million rebate had been used by other applicants.

My friends reached a live human being who had heard that people had trouble with the application online. He sent them a copy of the form and put them on a waiting list. In three days the money was all gone.

The couple was not happy about not getting the rebate, but the reality is that just about every business, every agency, every organization exists almost exclusively online. The intenet is an essential tool that we could not function without it. But it is also too convenient to distance ourselves from other human beings, to avoid contact and to blame failure on software glitches.

Some appliance buyers could open the oniine rebate application, but my friends could not. Breakdowns are routine. Websites can open the door to far more traffic then they can handle. And those who can’t get through are left to fume I the privacy of their homes or offices, pounding aimlessly on keyboards or touch screens that take them nowhere. Recently, both this blog and my website were down and I had no one to talk to about the problems.

I am sure you have had this sensation of being stymied somewhere in cyberspace, knowing for certain that there is no one to talk to, no way to prove how hard you have tried to get through.

In prayer, we have a direct line to a compassionate God who listens to all our concerns. There is no waiting, no busy signal, no endless prompts that take you nowhere but the pit of frustration. In your heart, you can immediately go to Our Lord and let Him inside your soul and share what’s on your mind, how you are doing and where you need wisdom and strength. The prayer line to heaven is open 24/7 with call forward. Perhaps our prayer application receives a message that our requests will not been granted. We sometimes do not like the news, but we know that we have made contact, that someone who loves us noticed and keeps us always in their mind and heart.

Immanuel watches over us as we reflect: “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayers.” (Psalm 17:6).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are praying at this moment for their family and friends. May the Internet in our hearts remain open to all calls and, like Jesus, respond with generosity and compassion for all who call upon us.

Take Our Breath Away

Imagine giving someone who works only one hour the same pay as someone who worked twelve hours! It doesn’t make sense. In the parable about the workers who had toiled all day in the oppressive heat, they felt cheated when they discovered that those who worked only an hour before quitting time received the same pay as they did.

But if you look closely there is an incredible message that slaps us in the face with delightful surprise.

There are four other parables that are precise variations on this gospel. First, there is the parable of the unforgiving servant, with its message of God’s extraordinary capacity to forgive someone with a huge debt he couldn’t possibly pay back. Then there are the familiar stories of the lost sheep, the woman with the lost coin and the prodigal son. In each of these stories, we see how a God acts toward us in a way that we would not naturally expect. They all reveal a God who comes to us in love and mercy, not as a harsh judge who justifiably wants to punish us for our sins.

Simply put, these five parables show God’s radical and surprising ways with us. No first century king, for example would forgive a huge debt any more than VISA or MasterCard would cancel thousands of dollars of our credit card debt. No sensible shepherd would leave ninety-nine sheep at huge risk to go looking for one measly lost animal. No sane woman would sweep her house for hours looking for a single coin worth ten cents. And certainly no first-century father would freely forgive his wayward son, running to meet him and then throwing a party to celebrate his return. A proper father would put the son on probation for a while to see if he was serious about repenting.

The workers who worked hard all day didn’t get it. They wanted more money than their co-workers who came at the end of the day. But you see, the same dynamic is at work here as in the other parables; the after hour workers are the indebted servant, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. They represent all of us who feel lost and broken. It might be our selfishness, our destructive lifestyle or thoughtless manners.

In all those stories Jesus is claiming that each of us is of infinite worth to Almighty God, no matter who we are or what we have done or not done, how long we have or haven’t worked. All fringe, indebted, lost latecomer folk are given underserved kindness and mercy. Do you see this profound truth? These are not stories about fairness or labor-management relations. They are stories about God, a God who leaves ninety-nine to search for one, who sweeps a house for ten cents, who embraces a son who had fled him—and who gives one-hour laborers too much money. It’s a story designed to take our breath away and ask, “What kind of a God is this who undermines all human expectations?

Immanuel watches over us as we reflect: “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who feel lost and without hope. May your gift of forgiveness lift our spirits and bring us peace of mind and heart.