As a cat parent, I will unequivocally say that my cat teaches me a lot about God, and my relationship with God. But of course, it really is not just my cat that can do it, other cats have that power as well.
Last Friday, I went with 2 church social workers and 2 kindergarten students to visit an elderly woman in the neighborhood to wish her a happy birthday; and we brought with us a birthday cake. As soon as the birthday cake was out of the box, I heard a cat meowing, and I saw her coming over to us to see what was happening. Her fur was patches of ugly brown and blac
k, and because of the color of her face, she did not even look like a cat to me. It was the ugliest cat I have ever seen. And like many pets here in Taiwan, she was skinny. A neighbor added that this stray cat was pregnant.
I felt sad that she was a stray and was pregnant; at the same time because of the way she looked, I did not want to get near her or touch her. I just stood at a distance watching her. The longer I watched her, the more I was aware of my fear of her because of the way she looked. And she forced me to ask myself - how do I love the unlovable? How do I touch the untouchable?
A couple of days later, I recounted this experience to a good friend of mine, and she laughed at me and said, "Then only when it is lovable would you love her?" Obviously that's what I am doing.
In many of my Sunday sermons, I talk about Jesus eating with the sinners, the unlovable; and touching the outcasts, the unlovable. I hold Jesus up as an example for people in the congregation to follow, and I myself have a long way to go.
Last Friday, I went with 2 church social workers and 2 kindergarten students to visit an elderly woman in the neighborhood to wish her a happy birthday; and we brought with us a birthday cake. As soon as the birthday cake was out of the box, I heard a cat meowing, and I saw her coming over to us to see what was happening. Her fur was patches of ugly brown and blac
k, and because of the color of her face, she did not even look like a cat to me. It was the ugliest cat I have ever seen. And like many pets here in Taiwan, she was skinny. A neighbor added that this stray cat was pregnant.I felt sad that she was a stray and was pregnant; at the same time because of the way she looked, I did not want to get near her or touch her. I just stood at a distance watching her. The longer I watched her, the more I was aware of my fear of her because of the way she looked. And she forced me to ask myself - how do I love the unlovable? How do I touch the untouchable?
A couple of days later, I recounted this experience to a good friend of mine, and she laughed at me and said, "Then only when it is lovable would you love her?" Obviously that's what I am doing.
In many of my Sunday sermons, I talk about Jesus eating with the sinners, the unlovable; and touching the outcasts, the unlovable. I hold Jesus up as an example for people in the congregation to follow, and I myself have a long way to go.
