MARK 7:31-37 | SLIGHTLY IMPERFƎCT

SLIGHTLY IMPERFƎCT

MARK 7:31-37

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

SHE WAS NOTHING BUT A BLUR OF GOLDEN CURLS AND GIGGLES AS SHE RAN BY ME.  SHE COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN THREE OR FOUR YEARS OLD.

I WAS AT THE HYATT ON FRONT STREET LAST SATURDAY TO PERFORM A WEDDING, AND HAD JUST ASKED THE WEDDING COORDINATOR IF WE HAD THE RINGS AND MARRIAGE LICENSE SECURED.

SEVERAL PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE WEDDING BEGAN TO STIR ABOUT, WHILE THE WEDDING COUPLE AND THEIR ATTENDANTS WERE HAVING THEIR PICTURES TAKEN AHEAD OF THE SERVICE.

“NO, THE LICENSE IS UPSTAIRS IN OUR ROOM ON THE TV,” CAME THE ANSWER, AND “I THINK THE BEST MAN IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE RINGS – I’LL CHECK.”

THE LITTLE GIRL WAS NOT WITH THE WEDDING PARTY, JUST ANOTHER FAMILY STAYING AT THE HYATT, AND SHE WAS A WHIRLING DERVISH OF ENERGY AS SHE AND HER OLDER BROTHER CHASED EACH OTHER ABOUT IN THE COURTYARD ADJACENT TO THE SWIMMING POOL.

IT WAS THEN THAT I NOTICED THAT THIS PRECIOUS, BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL HAD NO LEFT HAND; HER ARM JUST STOPPED BELOW HER WRIST.

AS YOUNG AS SHE WAS, I ASSUME SHE WAS BORN WITHOUT THE HAND, BUT I SUPPOSE SHE COULD HAVE LOST IT IN AN ACCIDENT OF SOME SORT.

IT CERTAINLY DIDN’T SEEM TO BE BOTHERING HER AS SHE WAS RUNNING, AND LAUGHING, AND CHASING AFTER HER BIG BROTHER.

SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.  WONDERFULLY IMPERFECT.  AREN’T WE ALL?

WHENEVER I ORDER BOOKS FROM AMAZON – YES, I STILL ORDER HARD COVER BOOKS FOR THE MOST PART, RATHER THAN SIMPLY DOWNLOADING THEM, MOSTLY BECAUSE I TEND TO ORDER OLDER BOOKS; OR BOOKS OUT OF PRINT;

OR BOOKS I USED TO OWN UNTIL SOMEONE BORROWED THEM WITHOUT EVER RETURNING THEM.

I USUALLY LOOK AT THE CONDITION OF THE COPIES THEY HAVE AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS THE PRICE.

“LIKE NEW” ONE DESCRIPTION WILL READ; “LIGHTLY USED” ANOTHER WILL SAY; “SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT” READS ANOTHER.

I ALWAYS TRY TO CONSIDER THE PRICE OF THE BOOK, PLUS THE CONDITION OF IT, AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE SHIPPING COSTS (WHICH ARE OFTEN MORE THAN THE PRICE OF THE BOOK ITSELF) BEFORE DECIDING WHICH COPY TO ORDER.

SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.

I’VE ALSO BOUGHT A FEW HIGH PRICED, NAME BRAND SHIRTS AND OTHER THINGS OVER THE YEARS AT OUTLET OR DISCOUNT STORES MARKED LIKE THIS.

“IRREGULAR” THE TAG WILL SOMETIMES READ; BUT IF I CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT’S WRONG WITH THEM, AND NO ONE ELSE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL BY  LOOKING AT THEM WHILE I AM WEARING THEM, I’LL SOMETIMES GO FOR IT.

SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT; IRREGULAR; LIGHTLY USED; AREN’T WE ALL?

JESUS WAS FOREVER ENCOUNTERING FOLKS LIKE US.  INJURED, HURTING, DAMAGED.  SOME WERE BLIND, SOME DEAF, SOME WITH SPEECH IMPEDIMENTS LIKE THE MAN IN OUR PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING.

SOME WERE OLDER AND COULD NOT WALK; SOME WERE JUST CHILDREN – GIRLS AND BOYS NEAR DEATH; ONE WAS A DEAR FRIEND, MOST OTHERS COMPLETE STRANGERS;

ALL WERE SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT, WONDERFULLY IMPERFECT, AND ALL OF THEM WERE LOVED BY GOD.

AND AS THE CROWD IN OUR STORY FOR THIS MORNING REALIZED, AND THEN COMMENTED REGARDING JESUS:

“HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING WELL; HE EVEN MAKES THE DEAF TO HEAR AND MUTE TO SPEAK.”

IN SOME WAYS WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT NO LONGER ALLOWS FOR IMPERFECTION, WHERE EVERY SLIGHT IMPERFECTION IS PHOTO-SHOPPED AWAY.

COMMERCIALS ARE THE WORST – THE HAMBURGER OR CHICKEN SANDWICH I SEE ON T. V. IS NEVER THE ONE I GET AT THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT.

TO PARAPHRASE MICK JAGGER FROM A BYGONE ERA: MY SHIRTS ARE NEVER AS WHITE AS THEY TELL ME THEY CAN BE, AND I’M NEVER AS COOL LOOKING AS THEY ARE BECAUSE I DON’T SMOKE THE SAME CIGARETTES AS THEM;

WHICH, BY THE WAY, YOU CAN’T SHOW ON T. V. ANYMORE, SO I GUESS THE MODERN EQUIVALENT IS THAT I AM NOT AS COOL LOOKING AS THEY ARE BECAUSE I DON’T DRINK THE SAME PUMPKIN LATTE OR HAVE THE NEWEST PHONE AS THEM.

THE STARS, ATHLETES, MODELS, ETC. IN MAGAZINES, EXIST ONLY IN MAGAZINES;

EVEN IN REAL LIFE THEY ARE NEVER QUITE AS PERFECT AS THEY ARE IN PICTURES – AND THAT’S SAYING A LOT – BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE JUST GORGEOUS IN REAL LIFE!

IMAGES ARE SHARPER, COLORS ARE BRIGHTER, FLAWS AND IMPERFECTIONS ARE GONE – THEY SIMPLY DO NOT EXIST IN THIS VIRTUAL REALITY WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE TODAY.

HOWEVER, IN OTHER WAYS, WE HAVE BECOME A SOCIETY THAT HAS SOMEHOW COME TO EMBRACE IMPERFECTION, AS LONG AS IT IS COME BY HONESTLY.

IN PART, I GIVE THE U S MILITARY A LOT OF CREDIT FOR THIS.

WOUNDED WARRIORS ARE NOW FRONT AND CENTER, INSTEAD OF BEING HIDDEN AWAY FROM THE WORLD AS THEY ONCE WERE.

THE WORK IN THE AREA OF PROSTHETICS, CHAMPIONED BY V. A. DOCTORS AMONG OTHERS HAVE ENABLED THESE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN TO RIDE BIKES, PLAY GOLF, CLIMB MOUNTAINS, AND EVEN RUN FASTER THAN SOME OF THEIR TWO LEGGED COUNTERPARTS.

THESE ADVANCES HAVE NOT ONLY BENEFITTED OUR VETERANS, NOW OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN IN ACCIDENTS, BORN WITHOUT LIMBS, OR ARE OTHERWISE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED ARE ALSO BEING HELPED.

AND IT’S NOT JUST THE PHYSICAL – A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER HAS DONE MUCH TO HEAL OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS ON THE INSIDE, WOUNDS WHICH ARE NOT NEARLY AS VISIBLE BUT EVERY BIT AS DAMAGING.

AND AGAIN, CIVILIANS WHO HAVE BEEN TRAUMATIZED BY EVENTS IN THEIR LIVES HAVE ALSO BENEFITTED FROM NEW RESEARCH AND TREATMENT METHODS.

BUT I SAY – COME BY HONESTLY WITH REGARD TO IMPERFECTIONS, BECAUSE EVEN AMONG OUR VETERANS, WE ARE NOT NEARLY AS UNDERSTANDING OF THEM WHEN THEIR WOUNDS PUT THEM ON THE STREETS OF OUR FAIR CITY.

A DECORATED VETERAN IS ONE THING – A HOMELESS VETERAN IS ANOTHER.

P.T.S. D. IS ONE THING – MENTAL ILLNESS AND ADDICTION IS ANOTHER.

WE CHEER AND CELEBRATE THE ONES WHO RIDE INTO TOWN;

WE JEER AND CURSE THOSE STRANDED ON OUR STREETS.

AND WE ARE EVEN MORE CRITICAL OF NON-VETERANS WHO END UP IN DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES BECAUSE OF MENTAL ILLNESS, ADDICTION, ECONOMIC UPHEAVAL, ETC.

OR LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL WORK OVER THE YEARS OF THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS AND HOW THEY HAVE CHAMPIONED THOSE WITH SLIGHT IMPERFECTIONS – DEFINING THEM NOT BY WHAT THEY CAN’T DO, BUT BY WHAT THEY CAN.

AND WHILE TELEVISION, THE INTERNET, AND MAGAZINES PHOTO-SHOP AWAY THE IMPERFECTIONS OF BODY TYPES – SETTING UNACHIEVABLE STANDARDS OF BEAUTY AND VIRILITY FOR MOST OF US;

MANY OF TODAY’S POP SINGERS AND OTHERS PROMOTE ACCEPTANCE OF A POSITIVE BODY IMAGE, REGARDLESS OF SIZE, SHAPE, OR WEIGHT.

LET’S GIVE THESE ENTERTAINERS THEIR DUE… PEOPLE LIKE PINK, KELLY CLARKSON, LADY GAGA, TAYLOR SWIFT, MEGAN TRAINOR, AND THE REST OF THEM WHO HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF PROMOTING A POSITIVE BODY IMAGE AND ACCEPTANCE …

“IT REALLY IS – ALL ABOUT THE BASS…”

SHAMING AND BULLYING OTHERS, WHILE STILL OCCURRING UNFORTUNATELY, IS NOW AN ANATHEMA IN OUR SOCIETY;

SO MUCH SO THAT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, WE’LL GET TO THE PLACE WHERE WE WILL NO LONGER HEAR STORIES OF MASS SHOOTINGS THAT BEGIN BY SAYING THAT THE KILLERS WERE BULLIED IN SCHOOL OR AT WORK;

OR THAT THEY THEMSELVES WERE THE BULLIES AND MALCONTENTS WHO THREATENED THEIR FELLOW STUDENTS OR CO-WORKERS.

(I HEARD A STATISTIC THE OTHER DAY – ALWAYS A LITTLE SUSPECT UNTIL PROVEN TRUE, MIND YOU, BUT IT SAID THAT WE ARE NOW EXPERIENCING AT LEAST ONE MULTIPLE DEATH SHOOTING EVERY SINGLE DAY IN OUR COUNTRY.)

SO IT’S HARD TO KNOW – ARE WE LESS TOLERANT OF IMPERFECTIONS IN OURSELVES AND OTHERS – OR ARE WE GROWING MORE TOLERANT OF THEM?

ARE WE GETTING BETTER AT ACCEPTING EACH OTHER AS WE ARE, AS THEY ARE, OR ARE WE GETTING WORSE AT IT?

AFTER YEARS OF TRYING TO ACHIEVE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTANCE OF OTHERS – WE ARE NOW WINNING SOME BATTLES IN SOME SECTORS OF LIFE;

WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, OTHERS ARE NOW RAILING AGAINST POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, NOT ONLY CHAMPIONING THE CAUSE OF SAYING WHATEVER THEY WANT TO ABOUT WHOMEVER THEY WANT TO;

BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY BEING CHEERED ON BY OTHERS AT THE EXPENSE OF THOSE WHO ARE THEIR TARGETS.

TO ME – IT’S LIKE THOSE PEOPLE IN RESTAURANTS WHO LAUGH OR APPLAUD WHEN A WAITER DROPS A TRAY FULL OF DISHES…

ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT THIS MORNING’S STORY FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK IS THAT IT SAYS THAT THE MAN WHO WAS DEAF AND WHO HAD A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT WAS BROUGHT TO JESUS BY OTHERS.

IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY SAY THAT THEY WERE HIS FRIENDS, AS THE STORY OF JESUS HEALING THE MAN WHO COULD NOT WALK, WHO WAS LOWERED THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE HOME WHERE JESUS WAS STAYING DOES;

IT JUST SAYS THAT OTHERS BROUGHT THE MAN TO JESUS.

IN OTHER WORDS, THIS MAN WAS NOT SHUNNED, SCORNED, FROWNED UPON, OR MARGINALIZED BECAUSE OF HIS SLIGHT IMPERFECTIONS, INSTEAD, THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO HELPED HIM SYMPATHIZED WITH HIM, AND WANTED TO SEE HIM MADE WELL.

FOR HIS PART, JESUS NEITHER SHIES AWAY FROM THE MAN, NOR REJECTS HIM, NOR PASSES BY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD.

NO, JESUS HEALS THE MAN OF HIS INFIRMITIES, AND AS IS SO OFTEN THE CASE IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK, JESUS SENDS THE MAN ON HIS WAY, TELLING HIM TO TELL NO ONE;

WHICH THE MAN COMPLETELY BLOWS OFF, OF COURSE – TELLING EVERYONE HE SEES!

AS DID OTHERS – AND THE CROWDS – “HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING WELL; WHY, HE EVEN MAKES THE DEAF TO HEAR AND THE MUTE TO SPEAK.”

AS A SOCIETY – I DON’T KNOW IF WE ARE GETTING BETTER OR WORSE;

MORE OR LESS TOLERANT OF OTHERS AND THEIR IMPERFECTIONS;

MORE OR LESS POLITICALLY CORRECT AND SYMPATHETIC;

MORE OR LESS UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTING OF OURSELVES AND OTHERS.

I DO KNOW WE HAVE A CHOICE; MAYBE NOT SO MUCH AS A SOCIETY, BUT AS INDIVIDUALS.

WE CAN’T REALLY DO MUCH ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OR SAY OR DO; HOW THEY WILL OR WON’T TREAT PEOPLE;

HOW THEY WILL OR WON’T ACCEPT PEOPLE; HOW THEY WILL OR WON’T MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE;

HOW THEY WILL OR WON’T TALK ABOUT PEOPLE BEHIND THEIR BACKS OR TO THEIR FACES, OR THE JOKES OR COMMENTS THEY MAKE AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS.

BUT WE DO CHOOSE HOW WE WILL ACT; WHAT WE WILL SAY AND DO; WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL MAKE FUN OF THEM;

WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL LAUGH OR APPLAUD WHEN THE WAITER’S TRAY HITS THE FLOOR.

PEOPLE ARE ALL THE TIME TALKING ABOUT “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?”  “JESUS THIS… AND JESUS THAT…”

WELL, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO…?

IF HE SAW SOMEONE SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT, IRREGULAR, OR ALL USED UP?

IF HE SAW SOMEONE BEING BULLIED, OR SOMEONE BULLYING SOMEONE ELSE?

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO…?

IF SOMEONE WAS MAKING FUN OF ANOTHER PERSON’S BODY SHAPE, WEIGHT, SIZE, SKIN COLOR, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION?

IF HE ENCOUNTERED A WOUNDED WARRIOR OR HOMELESS VETERAN?

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO…?

FOR A LITTLE GIRL WITH ONLY ONE HAND?

OR FOR A SPECIAL OLYMPIAN WHO FINISHES DEAD LAST?

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO…?

FOR THE SPOUSES AND CHILDREN, THE MOTHERS AND FATHERS, THE SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF THOSE GUNNED DOWN IN COLD BLOOD EVERY SINGLE DAY ON THE STREETS OF OUR CITIES?

IN OUR MOVIE THEATERS?  ON LIVE TELEVISION?  WHILE SITTING IN THEIR PATROL CARS OR GASSING THEM UP?  THE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, THEIR HANDS IN THE AIR?  THOSE SHOT IN THE BACK WHILE RUNNING AWAY?

LET’S BE VERY CLEAR – ALL LIVES MATTER – ALL OF THEM!  WHITE, BLACK, POLICE OFFICERS, SUSPECTS WHO ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW;

CHILDREN, ADULTS, YOUNG PEOPLE, OLD PEOPLE, CITIZENS, IMMIGRANTS, GAY STRAIGHT, MALE, FEMALE, POOR, WEALTHY, THE POWERFUL AND POWERLESS.

ALL LIVES MATTER – PERIOD.

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? 

WE’D DO WELL TO READ THE BIBLE AND FIND OUT.

BETTER YET, WE’D DO WELL TO DO WHAT JESUS DID.

FOR JESUS, FOR GOD, FOR US: ALL LIVES MATTER EVEN THE SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT ONES.