The hand of God reaching to touch Adam’s hand by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel “God the Father 11” by Waiting For The Word
Meditation
Wednesday, Trinity Week, brought the challenge of Job by God’s questions in the Old Testament lesson to a close. Job responded essentially with a simple, “I’ll keep my mouth shut, in future.” He’d spoken once, even twice, but no more. He realized how ‘vile’ or ‘unworthy’ he was to challenge God.
It reminded me of a time, when I had been taking tennis lessons for several months and after beating a few of the other students handily, I thought I was so good. At a singles gathering, I was teamed up with a B-level player, who had actually played with some of the A-level pros. I didn’t even know what he meant by those terms. But after a few serves from the other team, he gained the ball and handed it to me, whispering directions.
“Now, I want you to lob your serve into the middle of the court. Run to the middle of our court. Pull your racket and hold it steady across your chest, because she will blast back at you because she will think you are the weaker player. She won’t expect you to be able to return it. The ball will go down the middle between them and they will both react slower because you surprised them, and they will both miss the return shot.”
I remembered to close my mouth, which had dropped open, did exactly as he said. It happened exactly as he said. We won the game because he played it like a chess game—calling every play and action of the lesser players. They had no idea he was directing the game so thoroughly. I lost my cockiness, because I saw what a skilled player can do with the game.
Continue reading
ChapLynne's Chat 