Water Off a Duck's Back

 For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.  Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.  For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others.  [Ecclesiastes 7:20-22]

This simplifies one's inner response to the day-to-day petty hurts of others.  

In essence it says, "Keep in mind that you're not so perfect yourself.  And, blow off the negative things people say about you, or even things you think people may be saying.  Be realistic and forgiving.  You too have criticized others, even your own friends and family."  

Lord, help me to have a humble attitude towards myself and may the hurtful words of others be like water off a duck's back.  Amen.

                                                                Image from bighugelabs.com

Appointment in Samarra

 For man does not know his time. [Ecclesiastes 9:12]

The following tale has come to mind recently, and seems apropos for our time. It is an ancient Mesopotamian fable which was retold by English author W. Somerset Maugham in 1933.

A merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the marketplace for provisions. Soon afterwards, the servant comes home white and trembling and tells him that in the marketplace, he was jostled by a woman, whom he recognized as Death, who made a threatening gesture. Borrowing the merchant’s horse, he flees at great speed to Samarra, a distance of about 75 miles, where he believes Death will not find him. 

The merchant then goes to the marketplace and finds Death, and asks why she made the threatening gesture to his servant. She replies, “That was not a threatening gesture, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”

Lord, help me not to be afraid of death.  May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. 

 The Discarded Cloth has a Name

The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.  [Psalm 145:14]  

A chronically sick person is in need of care and you are the main caregiver.  Every day, you use a soft cloth to wipe the brow of the ailing loved one.  You take much time to tenderly provide care in just the way this person needs.  Death comes one day, and the soft cloth is laid aside.  

Then others arrive on the scene and carelessly toss the cloth aside.  They see it as useless, old, invaluable.  They don't appreciate the key role the soft, modest cloth played in wiping away tears and pain.  The cloth ends up on the floor being trampled and dirtied.  Perhaps it will be picked up one day and washed, perhaps not.  But that doesn't change the beautiful thing that the cloth did while in service.

Christian tradition says that a woman named Veronica used a cloth to wipe the face of Jesus while he carried his cross to Golgotha, the place of the skull.  A cloth exists today, which many believe was the very cloth Veronica used.  It miraculously bears the image of a face believed to be the face of Jesus.  This cloth is known by several names:  The Veil of Veronica, the Sudarim (Latin for sweatcloth), or often it is simply called "The Veronica."  

Dear Christian, your service does not go unnoticed to the One who sees.  The cloth you used may even bear your name.