Do not give the pain in your life power over you.
Name it. Acknowledge it. Live into it. But do not give it power. How, you might ask? I share only what I have learned. Lament what is lost and let it go. Coveting what was or what could have been only feeds the pain. Forgive what was wrong and stand in grace. Regret and vengeance only amplify the pain. Speak of the pain and give voice to the hurt. Keeping it hidden in secret only emboldens the pain. Have compassion for the broken places in your life. Learn from them. Look upon the wounds as fertile ground where hope for the future may be planted. In this there is healing and new life. Do all this empowered by the love of God in Christ who bore the ultimate pain of our brokenness. NAW 1/14/2019
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Each new day provides an opportunity to reflect on the day before. We can choose to focus on regrets, the should haves or we can look back on the day with curiosity. Curiosity opens our hearts to exploration. Curiosity honors the questions we may have that lead to learning. I invite us to be curious today...
What might you be curious about from yesterday? What questions arise within you? What did you learn yesterday that informs how you will approach today? What wisdom would you share with yourself if you could talk with a younger you? A really good question can open a really good conversation; that is if both people in the conversation are really willing to explore what is being asked. Questions have a way of opening doors. They can begin the process of looking at an issue at a deeper level. Often we ask questions thinking we already know the answer. But that is more an act of testing a theory or proving a point than really asking a question. Asking an open ended question is an act of vulnerability. It says, "I am humble enough to entertain new possibilities and to learn." A really good question pulls back the veil and seeks transformation.
Jesus asked questions all the time. He often answered questions by asking a question. I find that encouraging. It says to me that God honors my journey of faith. It welcomes me to explore and to go deeper. The pandemic has pulled back the veil on much that needs to be questioned in our culture and in our society. Especially when it comes to racial injustice, we should be asking deep questions. Accepting things as they have always been is no solution. It never has been. I believe we have a responsibility as people of faith to ask ourselves how we have contributed to injustice in its many forms. It can be painful but it is necessary. Our comfort should never come at the expense of someone else's pain. So some questions to ponder in our conversations with God and with each other: What injustices do I see right now? What is my inward response to it - what emotions am I feeling? Where are those feelings coming from? What do those emotions say to me? How have I contributed to injustice? Who might help me to raise my own awareness and hold me accountable? What might God be calling me to do or to learn in this moment? (A note to those of us who are white, it is way beyond time to hold each other accountable for racial injustice. There are many questions we should be asking ourselves, not our siblings of color. There are many resources through which we can listen to the stories of our siblings of color. Listen, listen, listen - then we can form more meaningful questions. I suggest the "Be the Bridge" website as a place to start) Throughout our lives we are faced with a variety of trials. Difficult times are a part of human existence. That being said, trials are seldom easy to bear. There is comfort in knowing that we are not alone in our suffering. God is with us as Jesus promised. In faith we lean on that promise. I believe that God is present with us in the midst of community as well. We experience the love and compassion of God through the love and compassion of others. If it is good, if it is kind, if it is loving, it is of God.
When we pray, "Save us from the time of trial," we are asking that God will help us through difficult times. We can participate in this work of God by acts of kindness, words of encouragement and sharing the love and compassion of God that we have received from God. It is healing both for us and for our neighbors. I am not much of a photographer only in that I like to take pictures. I have lots of pictures of my dog who really does not like his picture taken. Granted what he doesn't like is the flash. Unfortunately I forgot to turn off the flash one time so he expects a flash now every time I aim my phone in his direction. I have had more blurry pictures of Luther than I'd like to admit. Thank goodness for the delete button. When I look at a photo that is out of focus I am generally disappointed that I did not capture the moment. I knew what I saw, but I did not capture it.
There are moments in my faith journey like that. I intend one thing but the outcome is different, even distorted from what I intended. My mind gets invaded by random thoughts that derail my silent prayer. I plan to write in my journal at the end of the day and I go to bed early because I am exhausted instead. What ever the situation, I am often disappointed that I did not follow through. But that is the beauty of a Lenten journey. Each day, each moment is a new opportunity. I may have missed the shot in the past but there is no reason I can not try again. I can choose to bemoan my failure or I can learn from it, refocus and move on. I can turn my random thoughts into prayers. I can journal the next morning or start a little earlier in the evening. With each step my focus can improve, and for that I am grateful. The story of the Magi found in Matthew 2:1-12 brings to mind both the blessings and risks of seeking. The Magi set out on a long journey that, in those days, would have been dangerous. For all their resources, the Maji could not control the weather or other variables they might encounter. They followed a star but did not know exactly where to find the child. Out of respect for his position as King, the Magi went to see Herod. Little did they know that Herod would hide his fear behind a mask of curiosity and seek to secure his own power at all costs. Yet, these forces did not keep them from seeking the new born king. Their faithfulness to their journey and to their calling resulted in their seeing the Son of God.
As they were not part of the Jewish community, I see in the Magi the hunger of the world to see God. Their path to Jesus was not the same as the Shepherds. Their journey to Bethlehem was not the same as Mary and Joseph's journey. God spoke to them in a way they could understand. God sent a star and they took a risk in following. They set out in search of Christ. For me, the search is not for something that is lost, for Christ is with us always. I have no doubt that God accompanied the Magi all the way to Bethlehem and back home. No, for me the seeking represents that hunger within us to be in a deeper relationship with God. For all the distractions and obstacles that hide the presence of God in our lives, God continues to call to us, to send a star in the night, to send angels with a song of joy, to speak to us in dreams, and through our encounters with the Holy in everyday life. There is no danger wrought in seeking can outweigh the blessing of seeing the Lord. It took angels to make known what God was doing in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night. God came into the world as a tiny baby born among animals and placed in a manger and no one knew except Mary and Joseph. The angels told the shepherds to go to Bethlehem to see what God had accomplished. Upon seeing the Christ child the shepherds made known what had been made known to them. They didn't keep it to themselves - they joyfully made known the Good News that the Savior was born.
God is present with us always. It gives me hope and encouragement to know that God reaches out to us. I am grateful for those who have shared their faith stories with me. They are shepherds of our time, making known the presence of God. In Luke 2:1-7 we hear that Jesus was born and Mary laid him in a manger. A feeding trough held the Bread of Life. A simple stable housed the glory of God. When there was no room, God was still present. When the Emperor counted his subjects, God came to be counted among us, as one of us. We tell this story to our children each year but it is no child's tale. It is the story of the Incarnation, the story of the fullness of God walking alongside us in the fullness of human flesh. There are no words that can truly describe this reality.
For me there is no more vulnerable image than a baby in a manger except for the image of Christ on the cross. God is with us - in every corner of creation. God is with us - meeting us where we are with empathy and compassion as one who has literally walked in our skin. God is with us - in a manger, in our hearts, bringing life to a broken and hurting world, praise be to God. What does it mean to be blessed? Is it that good things happen to us or that things go the way we want them to? Or is being blessed something much deeper and transformative? In reading Mary's encounter with Elizabeth in Luke chapter 1:39-56 I tend to think being blessed by God is indeed life changing.
Mary and Elizabeth found themselves in a new situation. Each of their lives would be different because of the new life growing within them. God was doing a new thing while at the same time fulfilling a promise made generations before either woman was born. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth proclaimed God's blessing. In Mary's response we hear an echo of the blessing expanded beyond the two women. God's blessing is dynamic. It never rests on one person or on one people alone. It turns things upside down and transforms lives. Mary would go on from that visit with Elizabeth to face great challenges and heart break. She would also have a deep and abiding relationship with Emmanuel, God with us. The encounter of Mary and Elizabeth causes me to ponder on what it means for us to be blessed in this time and place. How is God working in our lives in a new way while at the same time fulfilling promises made generations before we were born? How might we face challenges and heartbreak in light of a deep and abiding relationship with Emmanuel, God with us? How have I been blessed and how might that blessing flow from me into a hurting world? A reflection on Luke 1:26-38 -
I am struck by the courage shown by Mary in her conversation with the Angel Gabriel. Mary is very to the point in her question, "How can this be?" The message that she would be the mother of the Messiah makes no practical sense to her. Perhaps in today's world I imagine her response might be, "Really? That's just not possible." Mary has the courage to speak up. She is not a compliant, blindly obedient soul. What she knows to be true and the message from God just doesn't match up so she seeks a deeper understanding in the form of a question. I find it helpful to hear Mary, the mother of our Lord, challenging this new reality in her life. I am not sure how I might respond to an angel in my living room but I do know that I have asked God lots of questions that sound a lot like, "How can this be?" Hearing her words anew in my reading of the passage puts my own pondering into a new context. I pray for the courage to go deeper, to ask questions when life doesn't make sense and to listen for what God may say in response. I pray that my response to God's word can be authentic and honest, questions and all. |
AuthorNancy Wagner is a Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a Spiritual Director. Archives
August 2022
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