Mtr Mary Trainor

Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own...John 7:17

Dear friend,

Much of Jesus’ trouble came from people who worried that he was breaking the law of God.

That would be a pretty serious offense, were it true. Some who worried would eventually accept who he was and that he was actually fulfilling God’s law, not breaking it. Others never would, never could, didn’t want to understand.

In the Daily Office reading today from John (7:14-36) Jesus encounters some of the naysayers. Earlier in chapter 7 we hear of the plot to kill him. He sends his disciples to the Festival of the Booths, but later decides to go, also. Once in Jerusalem, he finds his way to the Temple, where he begins to teach.

There he is challenged. I can get a bit lost in the exchanges, but I believe at the root, the message for me is that part where he says:

Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God….

The thing about rules is that they seem to make life simpler. But to follow them blindly, without discernment, we can run aground

One of the honors of my elementary school career was being a “safety monitor” in the sixth grade. I loved everything about it—except the actual “rule enforcement” part. But the badge, the title, and the respect they brought me were delicious.

The trouble was that by mid-year I had not written a single “demerit.” I was feeling pressure to perform. To be sure, there were plenty of infractions. I just lacked the nerve to bust my friends.

After stressing over my failure to perform, one day during a morning recess I found someone to write up. He was absolutely running in the corridor, a clear violation of the rules. He also was a child from an abusive home, who had “jobs” to do before coming to school. Because of that, he was frequently late and fell behind academically. His name was Frankie. His story—and my part in it—still haunts me.

See, besides running in the corridor, he was also playing, having a good time, laughing. Laughing. I wrote him a demerit. The laughing stopped.

Safety was upheld at Cherrylee Elementary at the cost of an abused child’s laughter.

The no-running rule was a good one, in and of itself. But I misused my power. I hid behind the letter of the law, not owning my lack of courage, and not following my heart. Even then I knew that my motive was about looking good, not about keeping the corridors safe. Even then I knew that a child’s laughter was more important to God than my success as a safety monitor.

Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God….

Mtr. Mary