Mondays always feel like an opportunity to start fresh, but if you read my post from yesterday, you know I think every moment is an opportunity to do so, AND that I am at a point in my life where I am focusing in again on my health and wellness after a rough couple of years.
I also have recognized that I haven’t been writing the way that I need to be. Writing is how I process life, and how I sort through things I am learning. This is understandable as over the last 3+ years I have been only writing papers for seminary that were REQUIRED, and of course sermons to preach that were NECESSARY. But I miss writing for fun and just because I want to write!
So, in addition to getting back on track with my health and fitness, I am going to work on getting back on track with blogging as well. So, let’s kick it off with Music Monday!
This morning, as I was sitting in my contemplative corner listening to some music at the start of my devotion time, anticipating re-starting my soulmate workout that kick-started my weight loss a few years ago, thinking about some things the Lord has stirring in my spirit, and even wondering what I might do for today’s post, this song came on and it felt like a gift just for me this morning. Take a listen. See if maybe it re-lights a fire in you to stop waiting and start taking a chance on something new!
There’s a fire inside, you can feel it burning It’s a neon light glowing like a furnace And the night is long but the world keeps turning You gotta know it, it’s not the end
Every new sunrise is one step closer It’s a sign in the sky that the fight’s not over So face the world, it’s now or never This is the moment, let it begin
This could change everything Can you feel it now, something’s in the air? This could change everything I know we’re gonna know it when we get there No more waiting, I’m taking the chance This could change everything Let it begin
See the world outside in technicolor Be the one who paints outside the numbers Like a child who is lost in wonder I don’t wanna lose it, I’m breathing it in
This could change everything Can you feel it now, something’s in the air? This could change everything I know we’re gonna know it when we get there No more waiting, I’m taking the chance This could change everything Let it begin
You can feel it coming like a flood Wash over us, wash over us Let the future we’ve been dreaming up Wash over us, wash over us You can feel it coming like a flood Wash over us, wash over us Let the future we’ve been dreaming up Wash over us, wash over us
This could change everything Can you feel it now, something’s in the air? This could change everything I know we’re gonna know it when we get there No more waiting, I’m taking the chance This could change everything Let it begin
O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church
I have been quiet lately. Ok, I have been quiet for a long time when it comes to this blog. Life has been, let’s say, a chaos of my own making. What that really means is that I was the one who said, “yes” when God said, “go to seminary.” For the last 2-1/2 years I have been continuing my life as wife, mother, housekeeper (although I should probably be fired from that one), Growth & Nurture Leader, race director, and friend (even though I sometimes have failed at that one) while attempting to keep my head above water in a great but challenging Master of Divinity program. How’s that going, you ask? Well, let’s just say I will be done December 10, but who’s counting?
I have loved seminary. From the friends I have made to the professors that have influenced me to the subjects that have challenged me, I have loved seminary. But it has been a challenging time. Between the rigors of classes – time management, paper writing, reading (and then reading some more) – and the constant nature of life, including the grief of losing my dad – there have been times of struggle, joy, hardship and hope. And even now there is anticipation and uncertainty about what God’s plans are for my family and I as we near the completion of the ordination process in the PC(USA). You know what happens in times like this? Anxiety.
Anxiety isn’t necessarily good or bad. In fact it can be both and it can be neutral. It is our response to anxiety that is the real issue. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in our country right now. Turn on the TV and you are bombarded by political ads. Turn on the radio and get more of the same. Drive down the street and see signs in yards all around you. Sit in a restaurant and hear people talking about who to vote for. Scroll through Facebook and feel the anxiety rise.
The other day, I saw a friend post an article on Facebook. It was a good article with good points to think about. But what got me was the conversation (or confrontation) that then happened in the comments section under the post. Here was a post by a Christian friend, meant to share some insight, with comments by another Christian friend that didn’t just take issue with the article, but took issue with the poster’s personal convictions and viewpoint. Now, I know this is nothing new, this is what seems to be happening everywhere and social media is just one of the arenas where people seem to be unable to interact in ways that build up instead of tear down, but this particular incident just won’t let me sit back and stay silent any longer.
The assigned reading for one of my fall classes spoke directly to what I was feeling today as it took on the idea of “We versus They.” See if any of these things sound familiar to you:
“What creates polarization is not the actual content of the issue on which a ‘family’ splits. It is rather emotional processes that foster conflict of wills (efforts to convert one another).”
“Unfortunately, today’s polarization is maintained by a bold competitiveness. The goal of conflict is to win. No thought is given to ‘we sink or swim together.’ Instead, one party swims and the other must sink.”
“Conflict is no longer a time for learning but for conquering. Domination supplants education. Civility and courtesy give way to sneers and shouting.”
“People function at the level of the primitive brain, breaking everything into this or that, black or white, plus or minus.”
“Behaviors become more aggressive–shouting down the opposite side, belittling them, using in-your-face tactics to intimidate…”
“Bogged down in a standoff, people are apt to use conflict as a way of carrying out a competition, rather than as education. The situation becomes increasingly negative and hostile.”
Steinke, Peter L. Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times: Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What
I don’t know about you, but I felt like the author was writing about the political and social climate we live in, rather than what happens in churches when there is conflict. These are the kinds of responses that I see happening all around me, and I am pretty sure that most of you could say the same.
When we dig in our heels and determine that we are right, no matter what, we essentially cut ourselves off from learning anything new, seeing anyone else’s point of view as valid, and ultimately from fostering relationships with anyone whose viewpoint differs from our own. And I’m gonna say it: that includes God.
“But,” you might say, “God is on my side!” WRONG! Regardless of what side you are on, it has nothing to do with what side God is on. In the Facebook thread I noted earlier, someone used this quote from Abraham Lincoln:
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln
Now, on the internet you can find lots of quotes from lots of people and some of them are correctly attributed to their authors, and some are not, but regardless of whether or not this is actually something that Abraham Lincoln himself said, there is some striking truth to the statement. Shouldn’t we be looking for where God is at work and partnering with God there instead of assuming that we know what God’s stance is on this, that or the other? Shouldn’t our response to the issues that plague us today be to jump in and bring peace, justice and hope, rather than simply criticize the powers that be?
Now, there will be some that will say, “But that is what the Bible says,” about their pet issue, but guess what? Anyone can make the Bible say anything they want if they take it out of context. I am a lover of God’s Word, but one of the things I have learned is that you can’t take one verse or one idea and throw the rest out. You have to take the Bible, as a whole, and look at the overarching story of God’s plan and purposes for the world. You have to see through the eyes of Jesus and really consider how the qualities of God’s Kingdom look nothing like the qualities of this world. There comes a point at which I have to empty myself of all that I hold dear and let the Spirit of God fill me with love, mercy and grace so that I can truly live as a beloved child of God, bringing that love, mercy, and grace of God to all of God’s beloved children – whether they look like me, believe like me, or not.
In the grand scheme of things, what does more good for God’s Kingdom: railing against illegal immigrants or caring for foreign children who have been separated from their parents? being determined that no one is going to take away your guns or entering into meaningful action to help those who suffer from mental illness? This list could go on and on about the many issues at hand in our world, but the list isn’t the point. The point is, how do we, who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, live into that incarnation and embody Christ in every word and every act? How do we pick up our feet from where they have been grounded, and move into a place where we can hear one another, love one another, and act in ways that embody the values of God’s Kingdom? Isn’t it time to let go of what we think is right and take hold of what God knows is right?
Each morning as I rise, I sit in what I am calling my “Contemplative Corner” where I listen to uplifting music for a minimum of fifteen minutes before spending some time reading God’s Word, journaling and praying. This morning, I was particularly touched by this song that captures some of what I am saying today. Take a listen. Spend some time with God. And see where the motion of God’s mercy might take you today.
