Turmoil of the Possible

Today there is Animal Planet or the Nature channel that demonstrates before our eyes the conflicts that exist in the natural world. In my day, we watched Animal Kingdom and I still remember how I would leave the room or cover my eyes when I suspected that there would be a kill – a scene that would depict the strength and skill of a stronger predator against the hunted, more vulnerable prey. In nature there is conflict. 

In classical literature from Homer’s The Iliad to the Brothers Karamazov to 1984 or America’s classics such as the To Kill a Mockingbird or The Red Badge of Courage are stories that are memorable and endure through the decades because of existing conflict that is a part of our lives everyday. Popular literature such as the Harry Potter series to the Hunger Wars are stories that are powerful and transforming because of conflict.  

 In the realm of science we learn how chemicals react with one another. We learn about the good things that happen and also the bad things that happen because of conflict between chemicals. Stars collide, meteors fall from space,impacting the earth through the aeons.  We know that  hurricanes happen, drought is a reality and we can see how moving water has carved the earth into what we know today. All of this happens because of conflict– conflict brings changes to the earth, strengthens the plot of a story or creates a dissonant chord in music that challenges the musician. Conflict exists all around us. 

God created the earth out of the conflict of light and darkness; family stories that make up much of the Hebrew text are held together and extrapolated in the midst of conflict. Prophets spoke of coming conflicts and God’s judgment upon a conflicted people. Our faith in Jesus Christ is shaped in the midst of conflict between the way the world looked at Jesus and his vision for a new world that Christians call the Kingdom or Realm of God.  Paul understands that within the Christian community there can be unity amidst conflict. The Christian faith has been shaped in the midst of cultural, social, political, and religious conflict.

So it is in our life too. Conflict is something that will not go away no matter how many times we push it under the rug, postpone it for another time, or read self-help books that minimizes conflict and creates the more perfect you. Our life, whether personal or communal, gives us ample opportunity to use conflict to strengthen our relationships and our communities. How we use that conflict is key to a better, more fulfilling life. If God can create order out of chaos, Jesus can talk about hope in the midst of conflict, and Paul can leverage conflict to shape stronger believers and communities of the faithful, then we to should be able to use the conflicts in our own life that shapes and transforms our own life together.  

Prayer

God help us today to see conflict and turmoil as opportunities to grow and become all that you want us to be. Instead of running away from the pain, help us embrace it as a way to grow in faith, grow life, and grow together as people of God. Amen.