Today’s post is a repost from last year in memory of Leonard Cohen who died a couple of days ago. His song “Anthem” which I link to at the bottom of the post was the inspiration for this reflection. His prophetic voice and challenging words are very appropriate for our world today. He reminds us that there is indeed a crack in everything but this is not a reason for despair but rather for hope because this is indeed how the light gets in.
In Eager to Love, Richard Rohr comments that St Francis of Assisi asked us to stay close to the cracks in the social fabric of our world. It is a thought worth reflecting on.
Everything in our lives and in our world has cracks, wounds and broken places that tell of pain and suffering. Sometimes we try to cover them over, attempting to seal them off from the light. But this only makes them fester and get worse.
Yet it is in the cracks, the broken places of our lives, where violence flares and pain cries out that healing also happens. When we acknowledge imperfections and the pain they cause, we take the first step towards wholeness. It is into the cracks that light can shine and water can seep. It is in the cracks in the concrete that seeds can lodge, germinate and take root. And as green shoots reach for the sky, the crack enlarges, the concrete crumbles and what was meant to live and breathe thrives once more.
What is your response?
Sit quietly in the presence of God, allowing the love of the holy and ever present One to wash over you. Read through the prayer above several times. What cracks in your world, what places of woundedness and vulnerability that give you ongoing pain come to mind? In what ways have you tried to cover these over, perhaps with a facade of laughter or with a semblance of respectability? Are there ways you respond, perhaps with fear, or anger or intolerance that show these are festering? Perhaps there are things you need to confess or seek forgiveness for. Offer these up to God in prayer.
Now think of the light that has shone into those cracks. Where have you seen glimmers of God’s wholeness? What has it begun to give life to? Are you aware of green shoots emerging towards the sun? How could you nurture their growth and make help them to thrive?
At our local mall recently I noticed that what was once a solid concrete slab of parking slots has now been transformed. Deliberate “cracks” have been added between the rows of cars – small gardens that channel the water into the topsoil and down into the water table are thriving. The rain no longer creates a flood of water that overflows the drains and clogs the waterways.
Sometimes when we stay close to the cracks we realize that they need to be nurtured and strengthened to rebuild the fabric of our lives and our society. And as we nurture these it is not only the surface life that thrives but it is the deep wellsprings of the water table that flourishes too.
What is your response?
Read through the prayer above again. What slabs of pavement are you aware of in your life and society that need to be broken up with gardens? Is there something the spirit of God is prompting you to do that could help accomplish this?
Now listen to the song below and allow the spirit of God to stir your imagination. Is there another response God is asking of you?
Andy Wade —
Resting in chaos is never easy. Chaos either pushes me into action or drives me into isolation. What I should do is turn my face toward God. Our source of rest is God. Our source of peace is Jesus. Our inspiration to action springs from returning to our source and getting our heads in a right place so that any action is the action of God flowing though those grounded in God’s desire for the world.
Chaos is a curve ball, changing direction as it approaches and throwing me off balance. I can swing wildly at that ball, and miss, I can tense up, freeze, and let it whiz by me, or I can focus my gaze on Christ, keep my eyes on the ball, and be prepared to act accordingly.
We all respond differently to chaos. The first step in finding rest and a sense of peace is to know ourselves.
- How do I typically respond when life gets hectic?
- How do I react when all of my plans seem to fall apart?
- What emotions seep to the surface when I feel out of control?
Knowing ourselves makes it easier to begin to enter that place of rest.
“I’m feeling anxious and angry! That’s often a symptom of fear because I’m out of control.”
Simply being able to recognize and verbalize this reality returns a sense of control to my life. Now that I recognize what’s going on I can remember, “Oh, what really helps me when this happens is to __________.” (you fill in the blank).
In a post from several years ago Christine Sine quoted this re-write of Habakkuk 1 & 3 from Dave Timmer. Dave is the Project Director for A Rocha in Northwest Washington. This is a beautiful example of one thing you might try – rewrite a portion of scripture to speak personally into the situation you’re facing.
Habakkuk Revisited:
An advent rewrite inspired by Habakkuk 1 and 3.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
How long O Lord, must we call for help, but you do not listen?
Or see the violence! But you do not save?
Why do you make me witness injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongs?
Destruction and violence cover the earth;
there is strife and conflict abounds.
Therefore Love is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The Lord’s Answer
Look at the creation and watch –
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe.
I am raising up believers,
who are caring and thoughtful people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to give of themselves for others.
They are a delightful and respected people;
they share their knowledge
in a bountiful manner.
Their churches plunge headlong
their people dig in where they are.
They soar like an eagle uplifting the lowly;
they come bent on Peace.
Their people are like a forest breeze
freeing the oppressed like wind.
They find the lost
and push forth the last.
They laugh in their cities
building lasting friendships and enjoying them.
Then they bless their communities
and hold fast –
beautiful people, whose God is their strength.
Habakkuk’s Prayer
Lord I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your creation, O Lord.
Renew it in our day,
in our time restore your handiwork;
in grace and mercy.
Christ the Lord incarnated amongst us
the Son came down from Heaven.
His glory covered the heavens
and his praise filled the earth.
His splendor was like a sunrise;
rays flashed from his hands
from which his love was made apparent.
Mercy went before him;
justice followed in his footsteps.
He stood and took our pain;
he lives and makes us humble.
His Kingdom is eternal.
Will your rivers run free, O Lord?
Will your streams flow uncontaminated?
Will you refill the oceans with creatures
as Peace spreads through creation
and your Kingdom is fulfilled.
You will pour out your compassion
and call for justice.
You will supply dry earth with water;
the mountains with ancient forests
and springs of water will nourish our crops.
Chaos will be pushed away
and its destruction will cease.
Sun and moon will not be obscured by pollution
as your kingdom unfurls
as your redemption continues.
In peace you will stroll through the earth
and in grace you will sustain your creation.
You came down to deliver your people,
to save your creation.
You’ve reclaimed the leaders of destruction
and brought down the powerful.
With their own greed you brought them down
when their arrogance attempted to scatter us.
You scattered the agents of confusion
bringing understanding upon the earth.
I hear this and my heart pounds
my lips quiver in anxiety;
My bones ache with anticipation
but my legs are slowed with time.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of Shalom
to come upon the earth.
Though the church is ignorant
and its people are content,
though the widow is not looked after
and the orphan finds no shelter.
Though our society poisons creation
and our culture encourages destruction,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in Christ my Savior.
The Lord Almighty is my strength;
he gives me confidence in his ways.
Help! I’m drowning! That’s how I often feel this time of year. It’s not just preparing for Advent and Christmas that’s got me stressed; we’re also gearing up to open our warming shelter for the season. Scrambling to find a location for the shelter, training new volunteers, preparing posters, flyers, and essential shelter documents… the list goes on and on.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy volunteering for the shelter. I find great wisdom and compassion in my friends living outside as well as the team tasked with putting it all together. But all this comes into full swing as we’re gearing up at MSA for Advent and Christmas and wanting to make sure what we do on the Godspace Community Blog is meaningful for our writers and readers.
Every year October and November seem to collide like the perfect storm. It’s like the year speeds up from both ends and smashes together with a thunderous clash. My heart races, my stress level elevates, and anxiety seeps in through the fissures. I sometimes feel like the disciples must have felt on that boat in the middle of a tumultuous lake:
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.
The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown! When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!” Luke 8:22-15 New Living Translation
OK, yes, I sometimes feel like Jesus is asleep at the helm. I can admit that. I can also recognize his voice asking me, “Where is your faith?” I know God has called me to continue working as the Volunteer Coordinator for our shelter, and God has called me to be director of Mustard Seed Associates. I’ve gotten into that boat. The questions I’m left with are:
- How do I push through the storms with courage and faith?
- Where can I find calm and shelter during the storms?
The Right Boat
First and foremost, I must ask if I’m doing things I’m not supposed to be doing. Have I gotten into the wrong boat? That’s a difficult question that takes discernment from those close to us who understand what we’ve taken on and why.
The problem often isn’t that we’re doing bad things, rather that we’ve taken on projects, parties, tasks, responsibilities (you fill in the blanks) that are not right for this season in our lives. Take time to evaluate your current and potential commitments. How do they line up with your sense of God’s tug on your life right now? Do you have a small group or someone you can go to who can confirm these choices?
The Right Crew
Now that I’m focused on the things I’m supposed to be doing, what does my support network look like? I need people around me who can encourage, pray, and listen well to my rants and complaints when times get tough. For me that means a small group from church, a couple of close friends, and my teams at MSA and at the warming shelter. Who is giving you support?
The Right Shelters
I also need times to just get away. To be honest, I don’t do a good job scheduling these times into my life. I would have better balance if I did. I do have a pretty good internal mechanism that lets me know when my emotions and energy are getting out of sync. That’s often when I call my brother and suggest it’s time for another mushroom hunt, camping trip, or both!
I’m refreshed by the wilderness and filled with wonder at God’s diverse creation. I just returned from one such campout and, even though it poured rain half the time we were out, I feel renewed. Where do you find renewal, refreshment, and energy? How can you be more deliberate about regularly scheduling those things into your routine during this holiday season?
The Right Captain
Out in that boat, far from shore, the disciples had a crisis. It happens. As we cross through the waters of Advent and Christmas, we may well experience our own crisis. When the disciples cried out to Jesus he was only feet away, resting in the stern of the boat.
This reminds me that I need to stay close to Jesus. What that means may look different for each one of us, but we need to ask ourselves, what makes me feel close to God? We might also want to ask ourselves, what makes me feel distant from God?
These two questions frame for us our spiritual temperament. Knowing the answers to these two questions will help us to incorporate more of what draws us closer to God while eliminating those things that draw us away from God. If we want to be guided and reassured by God’s presence, then we need to make sure that God’s in the boat with us.
The Right Attitude
Chaos will come. We can do what we can to cut personal chaos out of our lives and get control over our own busyness, but this time of year the world is amped up. Recognizing this helps us to reframe the season, to recognize the wind is howling, but know that we don’t have to get caught up in the storm. This kind of honesty protects us from anger, frustration, and anxiety. With this bit of inner peace, walking back through the points I’ve suggested becomes much easier.
- How are you feeling about the coming seasons of Advent and Christmas and all that comes with them?
- What boat are you in? Is it the right boat?
- Who is your crew? Who are you crewing for?
- Have you identified your shelters along the way? What are they?
- How close are you to the Captain? Are there things you can put into place now that will draw you close and keep you closer?
by Joy Lenton —
Resting isn’t just about stepping down or drawing back from chaotic busyness and the things which distract us from nurturing our soul life, it’s also about coming into a still, calm place where we can listen better to what God is doing in our lives and in the world. It involves a conscious tuning out in order to fully tune in to His voice.
One day I was becoming anxious about my persistent ill health preventing me from fulfilling what I saw as the calling on my life. Dropping deep into my ingratitude and frustration, I sensed God whispering these words:
“Sitting at the feet of Jesus is your calling. Everything else will flow from it.”
Wow, I thought, how deceptively simple yet profound! Here is a calling for every Christian believer. Above any other thing, we are all called to give Jesus the pre-eminence He deserves in our lives, and that’s hard to do when we’re overly stretched.
Then I wondered: What might sitting at Jesus’ feet look like? Something like this, perhaps…
• an attitude of humility, reverence, submission
• recognition of His Lordship over all things
• a soul’s prompt, obedient surrender
• a willingness to listen and learn
• a heart’s devotion, worship and praise
• a receptive mind yielding to God’s word
• a soul at rest and peace, in harmony, complete
There is great value in stillness, after all.
“Stillness is what gives stability. And it is what keeps the wheels falling off our lives” ~ Ken Gire in ‘Windows of the Soul’
The story of Mary and Martha (from Luke 10:38-42), always speaks to me. We witness Martha willingly opening her home to Jesus, though her heart was diverted away from being as receptive to His teaching as her sister Mary was, because she allowed extra busyness to distract her from achieving inner stillness.
What had Jesus come for? I think He wanted the solace of their friendship as His darkest hour drew nigh. Maybe He was not so much hungry for food and drink as for soul company, for someone to drink in His words, listen to their meaning and find their inner thirst satiated in Him.
Mary saw into His soul and answered its cry for a soul companion, while Martha saw the lean fatigue in His face and answered with food. Sadly, her distractedness caused anger and resentment to build up. Martha experienced that inner tug-of-war we all feel at times between duty and devotion.
Our souls long for peaceful contemplation and restful quietude. We scorn the need, drown it out with activities which are not necessarily wrong in themselves but which take us away from what our souls crave most.
Our inner voice is always urging us toward rest and peace, and we so often ignore its gentle persuasion. Fear of missing out, fear of being still, fear of what we’ll hear when we stop – all of these and more will hold us back from moving in that direction. Although we really do need sacred spaces in our days, because a stilled soul is an alert and receptive soul into which God will pour wisdom and instruction.
As I read the biblical account of Mary and Martha, I relate easily to Martha, because my default mode used to be fussing and fretting when wanting to organise things. However, many years of being chronically sick with M.E have altered that trait somewhat. I’ve grown used to not being a physically active, outwardly busy person and more drawn toward a contemplative frame of mind.
I actually need to be still and take enforced rest on a daily basis, because it’s best for me. But we don’t have to wait until sickness derails us in order to appreciate the benefits of stilling our body and soul before God, because you and I can quit the chaos whenever we decide to come quietly before Him. There is abundant joy, peace and solace to be found in His presence. What greater incentive do we need?
by Keren Dibbens-Wyatt —
Today was an awful day. It was the day after some people I love very dearly had a truly awful day and I know today for them was, if anything, even worse. There is nothing I can do to help them, but pray.
Sometimes praying doesn’t feel like very much. It doesn’t take a huge amount of effort, it doesn’t even have to take much time, so it can feel deceptively insubstantial. But it does take heart. It does take faith, and it is one of the ways God teaches us that it is our smallness, our tiny offering, that he turns into his greatness, his work, his wonder. It is our little two loaves and five fish that he turns into a feast, with basketfuls left over.
I know this because I see the answers he gives all the time, and I feel them too. And I have discovered over the years, that the answers can take a very long time to become apparent. And so I do not give up praying. I believe we have no idea how persevering prayer lifts God’s heart.
Answers to our prayers follow people into heaven and sometimes hell. They surround lives, they bring peace of mind and wholeness of body, they bring good into lives. They transform suffering into doorways to bountiful love. There is no end to the good that God brings out of prayer.
So, on a bad day like today, waylaid even more than usual by a virus and by heartbreak, I pray, knowing that someone knows better than I do. Knowing that someone loves deeper than I do. Knowing that I may never see what fruit came of my taking a minute to ask for something for someone. Trusting that something good came of it. On a good day, I pray, for the same reasons.
Because it takes so little from us, and because its effects are usually far from immediate or visible, it is easy to make the most common mistake in prayer, and the one thing the enemy wants us to do more than anything, and that is, not to pray. To believe the lie that the awfulness is so big and so terrible, that the mess is so huge and difficult, that saying a prayer will not help. To believe, perhaps consequently, that there’s no point praying to a God who “let” the terrible things happen in the first place. To think that my caring is so small that it can’t change a thing, or that God will not listen, let alone act.
But all our prayers rise before God, and he hears them all. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14 NIV) And when you are desperate, or in shock, or in the middle of something traumatic, the ability to pray may well desert you, as it has done to all of us at times. This is when we need intercessors more than anything, and when we realise that clenching our fists is prayer, and when we finally know what Paul meant when he said that some of our prayers are groanings rather than words:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26 NIV)
Does prayer change much? we might wonder. People still die, still suffer, still hurt. But if we have prayed, things are going to be different; transformed by grace, yes, perhaps on a level we might never be aware of, never see. Or we might witness a miracle, or a slowly-released blessing.
I remember a long prayer session about 15 years ago, when I interceded for a young woman I knew in great distress, horribly ill with the same disease I have. During and after the session (this was solitary prayer, she was not present), I felt a huge release of power from heaven. I knew, beyond a doubt, that my prayers had been answered. Yet it was only last year that I saw her truly start to become free from all the things that bound her. And she is blossoming now in ways I’d never dreamed of ever seeing, in part perhaps because of all she has endured, and it seems timely and right. Heaven, I guess, is never in a rush, and knows what it is about.
So today I pray for my loved ones in their distress. And I know and trust those prayers are heard, that God is somehow with them. And that in ways I cannot fathom, their lives and eternities will be better for my prayers. I try not to say these days, “Well, all I can do is pray,” because it seems to me that praying is the best and most powerful action I can take. It can be deeply frustrating, when answers do not seem to come, or they are slow, or things take a strange turn we did not see coming, but only two things remain sure to me in this: God is good, and prayer is never, ever, a waste of time.
Truly seeking God requires courage. These words spoken by our deacon in last Sunday’s sermon really caught my attention and keep resonating in my spirit as I think about Advent and Christmas.
As we head into this chaotic season, we need courage to rest when others are frantically busy. We need courage to say no when so many options are offered to us. And we need courage to make the seeking after God our number one priority. Even good Christmas activities like nativity plays, Christmas carolling, and celebrations can keep us busily distracted from the real meaning of the season and a singular focus on the Christ whose birth we supposedly celebrate.
To be honest I often wonder how much of our frantic activity is because we do not want to confront the challenges which Jesus asks of us. Busyness means that we don’t need to think.
Seeking after God and after a fresh revelation of Christ when others are seeking after pleasure is not for the faint hearted. It often opens us up to uncomfortable truths we don’t want to confront. For some it truths about who Jesus really is and how seriously we want to follow him. For others it is truths about ourselves and how we need to change in order to move closer to God.
I love this translation of Acts 17: 26-30 from The Voice which I have been meditating on as I think about what it means to seek God. The idea that we are all offspring of God’s creative act and that God is never far from us is profound. To seek God is to seek after the One who longs to be in relationship with us and to know us as children.
This God made us in all our diversity from one original person, allowing each culture to have its own time to develop, giving each its own place to live and thrive in its distinct ways. 27 His purpose in all this was that people of every culture and religion would search for this ultimate God, grope for Him in the darkness, as it were, hoping to find Him. Yet, in truth, God is not far from any of us. 28 For you know the saying, “We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.” And still another said, “We are indeed God’s children.” 29 Since this is true, since we are indeed offspring of God’s creative act, we shouldn’t think of the Deity as our own artifact, something made by our own hands—as if this great, universal, ultimate Creator were simply a combination of elements like gold, silver, and stone. 30 No, God has patiently tolerated this kind of ignorance in the past, but now God says it is time to rethink our lives and reject these unenlightened assumptions.
What is Your Response?
As we start to get ready for the Advent and Christmas season I wonder how seriously any of us seek after God. Sit for a few minutes and prayerfully consider your own priorities as you look ahead to Advent and Christmas. How does the idea of being one of God’s children, fashioned by God’s creative act impact the way you look at the season? In what ways do you plan to seek after God? What has already been birthed in you that needs to be nourished into life? How could this focused seeking reduce the chaos of the season for you?
Watch the video below – one of my favourite hymns that focuses on the wonder of seeking God and having our vision fully focused on the Holy Creator of all life. Is there something else that you feel God is saying to you about how to reduce the chaos in your life?
As we wind up our week looking at overcoming consumerism this video came to mind. Why do we seem compelled to purchase certain things? When are we most vulnerable? How can we begin to make changes in our behavior?
This short video does a great job looking at those issues and more. Take time to check our their website for many other resources like “Simplifying the Holidays” resource packet, webinars on topics like starting a toy lending library and starting an alternative gift fair and more.
This holiday season, how are you planning to combat the temptation to overconsume? What ideas can you share that help you stay focused on what matters most?
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