by Christine Sine
As we all continue to struggle with the trauma of our current situation contemplation and lament are two of the powerful tools that people of faith have to sustain and strengthen them. Enjoy!
A contemplative service for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Carrie Grace Littauer, Prayer Leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756, except as noted below.
“Christ Be With Me”, text from the Lorica, or the “Prayer of St. Patrick.” Song by Ruth Cunningham, used with permission. All rights reserved. www.ruthcunningham.com www.youtube.com/ruthreid/ Instagram: @ruthreid11
“Kyrie” and “Even in Sorrow,” text and music are composed by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY).
www.saintandrewsseattle.org
This service of Lament was recorded on Wednesday.
Join us as we gather again tonight to lament what’s wrong, share our sorrows and our small gratitudes, and pray for our country, and for our world. Back in March, so many of us thought by now things would be back to “normal.” But it’s not. As COVID-19 continues to rage on around the world, and as our nation has its racism and division thrown in its face once again, so many of us struggle with how to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God in this time and place where “normal” is being re-defined. But we don’t have to be alone in this.
Music in this video:
Song
[click for original photo and source]
Several years ago I watched a documentary on the Apartheid in South Africa during Denver’s Film Festival. I have spent time in South Africa and love the country. I have seen Mandela’s cell in the prison on Robben Island. I have been to Soweto and the museum in Johannesburg and listened to the stories. Though the film revisited many of these places, I actually recall very little of it except for the story of one man. He had a position in the South African government that supported and benefitted from the apartheid, the system of legislation that enforced severe racial segregation. He was also a Christian.
What I do remember of the film was his ache. “I didn’t see, I didn’t see,” he cried. Tears of repentance and lament dimmed his eyes as he described his awakening to the suffering and humiliation imposed on black South Africans by the privileged white regime. His lament is one that I hope and pray will be the cry of many white Americans as we slowly awaken to the reality of the experience of black people in America.
We simply don’t see. It is extremely difficult for white American Christians in particular to recognize our racism. We don’t like this word. We react to this word. But to move towards healing, we need to face this word. It’s not that most of us would ever wish misfortune upon a person of color, nor would many of us knowingly treat a person of a different race insensitively. Most of us just go about our lives, trying to be nice. And comfortable. And happy.
We simply don’t see.
We have a built in defense against seeing our complicity in the painful realities of the lives of those who are not white in America. We have created a church culture in which any sense of darkness, failure or just plain selfishness in ourselves is too shameful to admit. We have learned to cast the yuckiest parts of ourselves into shadow so we can present what is manageable and attractive. It is not uncommon to hear people talking about “what the Lord has been working on in me.” But it’s rare to hear the real humility of simple honesty: I am both saint and sinner, glorious and grotesque. And sometimes I’m just a jerk. I’m afraid. I get nervous when walking past a black man I don’t know. I assume that if a cop shoots a black man then he must have been guilty. “They” struggle because “they” don’t work hard enough. We don’t admit these things out loud very often. We are too practiced at presenting ourselves to be better than we actually are, and so we are not transformed in the deep places.
We don’t understand what life is like living in a black body in this nation. We simply can’t understand why “they” can’t just be like “us.” We don’t understand systemic injustices. We don’t realize that we judge others’ experiences and complaints and sufferings through the lens of our own lives and opportunities and presumptions. We don’t see that white lives are very privileged, which means that everything is tilted in our favor. We rarely meaningfully interact with people who struggle to survive underneath our society’s oppressive heel. We don’t see that we all have an innate suspicion of the other. We simply don’t see that we are deeply racist because we are deeply human.
It will be costly to learn to see through the eyes of the other. But it doesn’t start with scolding. It starts with love. Our faith brings us face to face with the gaze of Love. Most often we turn from its penetrating brightness. But once the light of that love has illuminated our hearts, we can begin to see others with new compassion. We can see ourselves with that compassion too, and be less fearful of seeing the ugly things we haven’t wanted to see. Encountering this Love is way of healing. It lifts the logs from our eyes and we see anew. It is the way of Christ.
Nelson Mandela knew such love. He was imprisoned for 27 years for opposing a regime whose apartheid laws constitutionally entrenched the humiliation and condition of de facto slavery for South African blacks. He was considered a terrorist. However, he spent his imprisonment learning Afrikaans, the language of his white captors and over time he won their respect. He read their books, and their poetry. He knew their souls. He created relationships through which he entreated the prison guards to treat him as a fellow man – one with human dignity. When he was released he treated everyone, including his former enemies, with the same respect and dignity that he had engendered for himself. He had fought white domination and therefore refused to allow black domination. He was a master reconciler; he persuaded a whole people, in this case the most racially divided people on Earth, to change their minds towards one another.
After Mandela’s release and the dismantling of apartheid law, the ANC (African National Congress) party was certain to win the first democratic election in South Africa in 1994. Nelson Mandela would become the President of South Africa. The party faced the small problem of deciding what would be the new national anthem for an essentially new nation. The old anthem celebrated the advance of white colonizers as they crushed black resistance. The unofficial anthem of black South Africans was a soulful, heartfelt tune about their longsuffering. It was gleefully clear to the new committee that the official white anthem was out. Mandela responded however, “This song that you treat so easily holds the emotions of many people who you don’t represent yet. With the stroke of a pen, you would take a decision to destroy the very – the only – basis that we are building upon: reconciliation.” He had spent 27 years getting to know the heart of those who had been his enemies. He taught that you win over people by respecting their symbols and all that is deeply meaningful to them saying, “You don’t address their brains, you address their hearts.” Eventually they pulled together two anthems in five languages into one united song.
And slowly, gently, hearts were changed, like that of the weeping Christian man in the documentary. “I was blind and now I see,” he cried. Hearts were transformed because someone listened, learned, and opened himself to the other. Mandela refused to ever compromise on the dignity of the human person no matter what color, political stance or religion. Some in the former apartheid regime feared a reverse apartheid. Instead, Mandela learned their stories, he listened to their souls, and he honored their lives. He crossed over into the reality of the other. And a nation healed.
May it be so for us, America. We have been graced with the light of God’s love and the hard won wisdom of this teacher who helps to illuminate our darkened path.
The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. (JN. 1:5)
“I once asked Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel peace prize winner like Mandela, and one of the people who knew him most intimately, if he could define Mandela’s greatest quality. Tutu thought for a moment and then – triumphantly – uttered one word: magnanimity. “Yes,” he repeated, more solemnly the second time, almost in a whisper. “Magnanimity!”
There is no better word to define Mandela. No leader more big-hearted, more regal, more generously wise. Not now and, quite possibly, not ever.” ~John Carlin
Mandela was a reader. Some books that help with learning and listening include: Disunity in Christ by Christena Cleveland, Divided by Faith by Emerson and Smith, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and the many powerful novels by Toni Morrison.
[This has been reposted, originally from Nelson Mandela Day 2016]
For more posts about Nelson Mandela:
Photo above: Karl with some Living Hope fresh tomatoes – by Jenneth Graser
My husband Karl lost his job a couple of months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As you can imagine, we were on the coronacoaster with everyone else, completely disorientated and having our plans turned upside down! Like so many nations, we too went into enforced lockdown with many restrictions placed upon us and didn’t know how to proceed. We considered our options, and felt that this was the time to make a positive difference in any way we could while we continued looking to God for discernment to help us know how to move forward. Together with so many people around the world in the same boat at precisely the same time! Unprecedented times of uncertainty call for unprecedented leaps of faith. And so…we took a leap!
Karl decided to turn our massive life upheaval into an opportunity – to go and volunteer at a local non-profit organisation (NPO) in the deep south of the Western Cape. Initially invited to come and visit the NPO by friends of ours, Karl was introduced to this incredible organisation a few months ago.
Living Hope, the name itself spoke to us from the outset. And, of course, their vision:“Bringing Hope, Breaking Despair”. Together with a staff of about 230 people and many volunteers, they work tirelessly to reach out with practical care into the local impoverished communities of the southern suburbs of Cape Town including Masiphumelele, Ocean View, Red Hill, Muizenberg, Capricorn and surrounding areas. With the head office in Capri where the farms are situated, they grow vegetables by means of various farming techniques including hydroponics and aquaponics in greenhouse tunnels and open vegetable gardens. These vegetables are then sold to help self-sustain and also provide food for the surrounding impoverished communities.
Living Hope provides life skills training, a health care centre, an 18 month agricultural training programme, a substance abuse rehabilitation programme, charity shop and food distribution programmes especially during the Covid-19 crisis. Chronic medication is delivered everyday to between 100-120 patients covering a wide geographic location during the pandemic, to ensure the False Bay Hospital clients are able to adhere to their medication schedules and to protect them from the risk of contracting COVID-19. And they are looking to extend the farms especially to help meet the increased needs, so they can take on more students for the agricultural course which will enable them to feed more people and hugely increase sustainability.
The feeding programme during the crisis of COVID-19 means that many hundreds and thousands of mouths are being fed where people especially in the impoverished communities have lost their jobs and are therefore hungry and in desperate need. Many donations of food have been given to Living Hope by a variety of different organisations particularly during this time. Masiphumelele community street leaders have been trained by Wonderbag (foam-insulated slow cooking bags) to cook for and provide food for their neighbours who are sick, elderly, children and those who are hungry. Collaborations like these where companies make donations to Living Hope enable this extensive feeding programme to continue.
This Mandela Day, a large donation of frozen chickens has made it possible for the Wonderbag ladies to feed many of their neighbours in need with nutritious meals. It’s amazing to see how the communities come together in this time of crisis to help each other.
Nelson Mandela himself said… “We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.” And “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
What an incredible privilege to be able to partner with the heart of Living Hope at a time like this. As Ralph Abernathy said, “I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.” Trusting God to provide for our needs when we no longer have a dependable income or job to rely on means that we have to look to God to open doors into what might have previously felt impossible.
As we look to God together during this time of uncertainty, I believe we will see the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, we will see the feet and the hands of Jesus, yes we will see miracles in the land of the living. I’ve been reminded of this scripture so often recently, “Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4
Even though we’ve lived in Cape Town for most of our lives, we didn’t know anything about this wonderful place. I’m so glad that’s changed. Karl has been helping with marketing and fundraising, with a substance abuse programme, with the chronic medication distribution, interviewing people, taking photographs, videos and sharing their amazing stories which have started bringing in much needed donations to help sustain these incredible projects. With God all things are possible!
We’ll see where the future takes us. We didn’t imagine anything like this could happen a few short months ago. A global crisis has certainly forced us into a new season, one that we didn’t anticipate or expect. However God can take our plans and rearrange them entirely, keeping our dreams in his care during this time of great uncertainty, learning to trust him like never before and allowing him to shape our days and plans in the way he knows best. We practice our believing one day at a time, and keep putting one foot in front of the other, in step with the leading of our Great Shepherd
Please take a look at their website: www.livinghope.co.za or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LivingHopeSouthAfrica to find out more about how you can get involved.
You can watch this documentary film to get a better picture of the vision and heart of Living Hope. When we watched it recently, we were reduced to tears.
by Lilly Lewin
This week we are reflecting on Matthew 13 during our thinplaceNASHVILLE gatherings, The Parable of the Sower.
When you think of the Sower, do you think of a Farmer, or maybe a Gardener? or just a Flinger of Seeds?
Does the image of Farmer or Gardener change your impression of the Sower?
What do you know about Farmers? or Gardeners?
They work hard. They are aware of the seasons. They pay attention to the weather. Up with the sun. What else?
They are detailed, they spend hours looking at seed catalogues in winter, dreaming of what will be planted in the spring. They are generous with their harvest of vegetables or flowers. They aren’t afraid of getting dirty or having dirt under their nails. Both the Farmer and the Gardener care deeply about the soil. They both know the value of fertilizer, and know that pruning is necessary to make things grow well. They also know the value of good seeds. Healthy soil and the right seeds and weather bring life and good plants for the Farmer and the Gardener.
READ Matthew 13:1-17 in a couple of different versions. Listen to the passage, Bible Gateway has different versions you can listen to on their site. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your teacher. What is God’s word for you today? What is Jesus speaking to you about today? Ask, Listen, Notice what the Holy Spirit is saying to you! Really focus on what God has for you today, not all the things you’ve learned or studied about this passage in the past.
What do you notice that you didn’t notice before? What bothers you? What questions do you have? What does the Holy Spirit highlight for you?
Notice that the Farmer/Gardener is generous with the seeds! There is an abundance of seeds and they are lavishly sown. God is generous and there is an abundance. Consider where he sows the seeds. How does this make you feel?
READ the rest of the passage, Matthew 13:18-23 about the explanation of the parable. What do you notice that you haven’t noticed before?
Consider the Garden of your Life… Consider the Soil of your heart… what does your soil lack today?
What is your soil feeling like these days? What is the soil of your heart like? Are you feeling well tilled? Or are the weeds choking you? Are you feeling beaten down or filled with rocks? Talk to Jesus about this.
Are you well watered? Or are you feeling dry and parched, cracked and in need of rain? Or are you feeling over watered… from just too much rain? Too much information, too much social distancing, too much bad news? Talk to Jesus about this.
How are you a garden in need of tending? Talk to the Gardener about this! 
Consider that it’s the fertilizer that can restore the soil and bring growth to old soil and give life to a garden. It’s the organic fertilizer, the crap mixed into the soil, that can bring good growth. What crap has fallen on you lately? How can you see it as good fertilizer rather than just crap?
How does your soil need to be restored?
What is Jesus planting in you in this season?
How can you watch for the flowers and God’s surprises among the weeds this week?
Are there artificial flowers that need changing into real flowers in the garden of your life? How do you need to be more real with Jesus? And How do you need Jesus to be more real to you?
How are you comparing yourself or judging yourself and your soil today? How are you judging the soil and the seed responses of others? Talk to Jesus and allow his great love to flow to you and forgive you, and help you to forgive others.
If comparison is the thief of joy then Lord, help me to not compare my life today to my life 6 months ago. Help me find the Joy in THIS life, and in THIS day and to know that it is from you, and it is enough. ”
Nadia Bolz Weber
HOMEWORK:
Find a plant, a seed packet, or some garden tools, or garden gloves to pray with this week. Take a closer look at these things. Hold them in your hand and ask God to help you see with new eyes what the Gardener, the Good Farmer is doing in your life! What is God growing in you? What is God using to dig out the weeds, or harvest the fruit, or to prune the plant so you can grow?
Take a walk around your neighborhood. What is God inviting you to notice in the gardens around your neighborhood? What seeds need to be sown there? What needs to be planted? Justice, Hope, Love, Friendship? Ask Jesus to show you? Pray for new eyes to see! and Ears to Hear what Jesus is doing!
What does it look like to grow roots and live out God’s dream in this place where God has planted you? ” Shane Claiborn
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
by Lisa DeRosa
Have you ever opened your personal email to find that all the unread emails you have are from companies you are subscribed to? When that happens to me, I tend to just mark them as read or delete them and move on with my day. But this week, Christine pointed out an email that we both received from the local sustainability coupon book company called Chinook Book. I am so grateful that she did because it has really impacted how I look forward to this Summer! The particular article that caught our attention was not due to the title (though a great one): 8 Ways to Relax into Summer without Leaving Your Hometown, but the paragraph below it that really sold us on the idea.
“You’ve heard about slow food, but what about slow travel? Slow travel is about soaking in your environment and making real and meaningful connections—with the culture, food, and scenery that immediately surrounds you. Walk out your front door and choose a different direction each day. You don’t need to focus on the destination. Instead, give yourself an opportunity to be guided by your senses. Walk toward the sound of the birds calling. Look for the art that reveals itself on buildings, in parks, and on the ground. Smell the aromas of fresh baked pizza crust. Savor the flavors of your own city and let your mind run wild.”
With staying home and staying safe this Summer, I have focused on what I am missing out on rather than what I can do even in this different season. It wasn’t that long ago that I wrote Practices for a Distant Socializing Difference, yet I seem to have forgotten about those wonderful opportunities! I can choose joy and embrace the beauty around me instead of focusing on what could have been. This idea of “slow travel” sparks a new sense of wonder for me and I am delighted to see how this shapes my Summer.
My husband brought this idea home, literally, when he set up a 12 station “road to reminiscing” date night for me in our home. I came through our front door to discover a trail of string leading to a note and numbered index card. The note explained that each station had an activity to remember and reminisce about our last five years together. He wrote the next destination on the bottom of the card and the string led the way. The journey included looking at framed photos, our wedding album, old blogs we made to update family on our travels, and a personalized snack for the remainder of the “road trip” when I made it to the kitchen. The final destination was my husband dressed in his wedding tux offering to dance with me in a circle that he created with the string. I must say, it is my favorite date that he has planned for us so far!
photo by Lisa DeRosa
This activity can be adapted for a date at home, for when traveling is not an option for celebrating that special occasion, or for yourself to experience joy in a tangible way when distant from family.
“Road to Reminiscing”
Materials:
- index cards or pieces of paper
- something to write with: pen, markers, pencil etc
- tape
- string/yarn.
What to do:
- Number your cards as you go along so you can keep track of the order
- Write the activity on the card and the next destination on the bottom
- Tape to whatever prop or item that corresponds with the card
- Use the string (and tape as needed) to direct to the next card/activity
Possible ideas:
- Start with a note about the experience and explanation of the activity
- Wear your favorite outfit or what you would wear out to a fancy dinner or trip
- YouTube music that will help you set the scene
- In the kitchen, prepare a favorite meal or specific food from the time you are reminiscing about
- Utilize each room of your home and yard (if applicable) to map out the road
- If you have a memory associated with an item on a shelf or table, wrap the string around it
- Dust off old year books and read the comments there
- Photo albums are great stations, but if you only have digital photos, your laptop/computer/tablet will work, just open to the folder with the photos you want to view
- Art or photos on the walls of your home can be a station to take time to stop and remember
- Prepare an outdoor activity in a similar fashion to what you are reminiscing, make sure your string leads outside!
My hope and prayer is that you allow God to walk you through the experience, feelings and joy, as you reminisce!
A friend of mine says that her doctor usually monitors her blood pressure. But when she called her doctor’s office recently, the receptionist discouraged my friend from coming in, and suggested that she instead purchase her own portable machine and take her blood pressure at home. “Besides,” said the receptionist, “with this pandemic, everyone’s blood pressure is high now anyway!”
In my part of Canada, hair salons, restaurants, and other services are open again, but with new health protocols in place and with a great deal of uncertainty. The government-declared state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus continues, so if cases surge, we could face another round of closures. The protests in the United States calling for racial justice have affected us here too, with some insisting that systemic racism must end and others refusing to admit that it exists in Canada at all.
On a more personal level, some friends are struggling between his job, her job, and caring for their pre-school children. Another has had her hours cut, so is looking for extra work. Members of my church are dealing with various health issues unrelated to COVID-19, the loss of family members and friends, navigating changes at work and different family dynamics.
What will the next days, months, and years bring? How can we adjust to the “new normal,” when even the new normal keeps changing? For all these reasons and more, maybe our collective blood pressure is higher than usual these days.
On the night of Jesus’ arrest, Jesus’ disciples also faced an uncertain future with many questions. Jesus had just told them that he would be leaving, but what did he mean by that, and where was he going? After three years of close companionship and ministry, why couldn’t they go with him? What would they do without him?
At the time, Jesus’ disciples didn’t realize that he was about to be arrested, put on trial, and crucified. They didn’t understand that he would rise again. So they were understandably confused by Jesus’ words. Their little band of disciples was about to change. The world as they knew it was about to change, but they weren’t sure exactly how.
Jesus reassured them with these words: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me” (John 14:1, New Living Translation). After all, they knew Jesus. They had seen him in action as he turned water into wine, healed a man who had been blind from birth, even brought Lazarus back to life after he had been dead for four days. “Just believe,” Jesus said, “Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do” (John 14:11).
To the disciples’ troubled hearts, these words of assurance pointed the way forward. They could place their trust in Jesus because they knew God’s work in him. For us today as well, whatever crises we may struggle with, whatever uncertainties we face, we can trust God because of who Jesus is and the work that God has done in him.
That work includes all of Jesus’ teaching and miracles recorded in the gospels. It includes his death and glorious resurrection. It includes his daily presence in our lives today. The work of God in Jesus Christ goes all the way back to creation, as the opening of John’s gospel tells us about Jesus as the Word of God, who existed from the beginning:
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone. (John 1:3-4)
So trust in God, trust in Jesus. As the divine Word, Jesus continues to bring life and light to us even in these days of uncertainty.
by Rodney Marsh
He who dwells in the Most High’s shelter, in the shadow of Shaddai lies at night — I say of the LORD, “My refuge (safe place) and bastion (fortress), my God in whom I trust.” For He will save you from … from the disastrous plague. (trans: Robert Alter THE BOOK OF PSALMS – A Translation with Commentary)
The insecurity of a pandemic creates fear of loss or even death . Can I and my family be kept safe from the pandemic? Will I lose my income? Will people close to me die?
From an historical perspective, plagues, famine and war, have been features of every age. In the 20th Century we seemed to have tamed the first and third horsemen of the Apocalypse (Plague(s) and famine) but we failed miserably to stop the second (war). It was a false confidence. In the COVID19 pandemic and in the poverty, and social turmoil we see in its wake, we see all four hosemen on the horizon, galloping toward us at full tilt. Marvel comics used the fourth rider “Death” (Thanatos Rev 6) as the inspiration for the the super hero Thanos. Thanos is a powerful image for the 21st Century and is a metaphor for the universal insecurity of our age – a fear of death. With COVID19 Thanos has become Thanatos and scarily real. Reality has always been that death is the destiny of every one of us and COVID19 has brought this reality to the fore of the minds of individuals and the communities of which we are part. This reality brings with it a new relevance for Christian Faith.
COVID19 is a worldwide plague of Biblical proportions. Fear stalks our lives, our homes, our communities, our countries and our world and in the midst of the current pandemic, the images of Lord in the Psalms: our Rock, Hiding Place, Refuge and Fortress have become more relevant. The Lord who is our Sheltering Place will become our sheltering place when we learn to pray.
There is only one letter difference between the instruction to “Shelter in place” and “Sheltering Place”. The letter “g”! God, begins with the letter “g”. The Lord is our Sheltering Place.The “shelter in place” instruction is designed to stop the spread of COVID19 and as a command is resented as a restriction of our supposed ‘freedom’. However, the instruction can be seen as a reminder to seek shelter in the One who is the only dependable “Sheltering Place” in times of trouble. For example, Psalm 91:1-3:
He who dwells in the Most High’s shelter (hiding place), in the shadow of Shaddai lies at night — I say of the LORD, “My refuge (safe place) and bastion (fortress), my God in whom I trust.” For He will save you from … from the disastrous plague.
There are three separate Hebrew words used here and each brings a different emphasis to the metaphor of the Lord as our Sheltering Place:
- The Lord as our hiding or secret place – Our enemies may search but they cannot find us, hidden within our secret cave (as David hid from Saul in the caves of Adullum, 1Sam 22:1)
- The Lord as our refuge or place of safety – Even if our enemies do find our hiding place it is impenetrable and we are protected and safe (“my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield” Ps 18:2 NRSV)
- The Lord as our bastion or fortress – Here the image is an open display of strength to our enemies (Jerusalem was a fortress city captured by David and it’s walls and fortress towers became a symbol that “Our God is like this forever and will always guide us.” Psalm 48:14 CEV)
These metaphors, and many more in the Psalms, when first prayed, referred to local places and real events and they have comforted believers throughout the sufferings of the ages. When we pray we experience the one God as “Our God is like this forever and will always guide us” and in God we trust.
In times of uncertainty, our anxiety gives rise to two responses in us: worry and fear. Jesus commented on both. He told his followers, “Do not worry”. Why? Partly because worry is unproductive. As Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” Corrie knew what she was talking about because her family created a Sheltering Place for the Jews of Haarlem fleeing Nazi persecution. Corrie and her family were imprisoned for their ‘crime’. Corrie’s sister and father perished in detention but God preserved Corrie to remind succeeding generations that the only truly safe place is with and in the Lord. Jesus also asked us to trust in the God who has counted the hairs on our heads. During tough times, being a follower of Jesus manifests itself in deep faith in a God who cares. As Corrie said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God”. Truly, the Lord alone is our Sheltering Place in this and every age.
However, it is one thing to know about antidotes to worry and fear, and another to make faith real through prayer. This takes a lifetime of discipleship, discipline and commitment. Fear and worry take root in our hearts during a pandemic, but, as John points out (1 John 4) when God’s “love has the run of the house… we’re free of worry… (because) there is no room in love for fear” (MSG). Prayer is always a real and deep encounter with God’s love for the one who prays.
When the prayer of the heart, or contemplation, becomes the effective basis for our lives, then fear and worry flee. Fear concerns loss. Loss of income, wealth, health, food supply, family, reputation or even life. However, life teaches us that the only certainty in life is that suffering and death (and so fear), will find us, wherever our hiding place, refuge or fortress, and we will be asked to surrender our life and attachments. Our fortress, on this earth, will fall just as the walls and towers of Jerusalem fell. However, just as we all die, we will, like Jesus, be raised to a new life. Death always precedes a resurrection and, through faith in Christ, resurrection follows death.Therefore, we can stand firm and face the charge of the four horsemen knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus. That is our faith.
Uncertain times and suffering are the call of Love to rest in the love in which we were formed and for which we are destined. In suffering love calls us saying, “come”. That love is already in our hearts, where the Lord waits to meet us. In our hearts, Jesus will meet us with the perfect love which drives out fear. Prayer is the inward journey to this rest in our being. The path to this love is prayer. But prayer comes with a warning. The genuineness of God’s love, in uncertain times, can also be seen in that love also which will say to us, “go”, for God’s protective love cannot be separated from God’s serving love. Many people in our COVID19 world do not have a physical place of hiding, protection and security. At such a time, when we pray, we can expect Love to say “go” and serve the children, friends and neighbours who have no place to hide. Do what you can to provide a safe place for them and help them to discover, for themselves, the love and acceptance already resident in their hearts. In the times of silent prayer we face our own anger and fear and are healed. Without such daily prayer we project our fear and anger onto to those whom we serve and those with whom we work, or those with whom we disagree.
Take Elijah. He faced up to evil and then had to flee for his life. Depressed and frightened he fled to a cave (a hiding place, a safe place, a refuge) on the mountain of the Lord. However, the Lord was not in the mighty wind, earthquake and fire which followed. The Lord was in the silence and Elijah heard a whisper. He moved out of the cave, was strengthened and commissioned to go continue his work for the Lord. Love is like that. In the turmoil of our thoughts and fears, Love calls us in, and in the silence Love protects, heals and strengthens us and sends us out. These are the marks of God’s love and true prayer.
A good place to start this journey inward would be to view Christine’s video on contemplative prayer, for prayer is not a matter of knowing, it is doing.
My Sheltering Place
Come
I open the door of my heart
To seek shelter
In the stillness and silence
My heart becomes
the guest
My God, my host,
becomes my protector
My heart, my home
A sheltering place
Love is at home
In my sheltering place
Here fear and anger
Cannot enter
Here I hear a new command
Go
Love as I have loved you
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