Quarreling with the Mystery

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12.  This passage is a favorite among weddings and funerals. Some know this as “Paul’s love chapter” and the poetry and the images Paul uses in this text are powerful and probing. Besides the metaphorical understanding of love that is a good part of this passage, even more compelling is the thinly veiled mystery that is behind every word and phrase. 

An older woman was facing surgery and we began to talk about the anxiety and the fear that comes with any surgery – no matter how simple or routine it may be. There is always an element of mystery with anything that is unknown and even Paul quarreled with the mystery – the unknown. As for me, a part of the joy of living is quarreling with the mystery. What do I mean, quarreling with mystery? Life is a mystery and the human race continues to search for answers to life’s most complex and difficult questions, but I believe that in questioning the mystery we discover the presence of an Eternal God. “For now I know only in part – then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known”.  Even the way this phrase is penned by Paul, mystery is implied. 

I woke up this morning and saw one of the many beautiful sunrises over the hills and plains of Indiana – a mystery that does not so much beg for an answer, but seeks to brighten my days. From the time I was a small child, the smell of autumn and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet was comforting. It was comforting not because I needed answers to a changing season, but rather that I was comforted by a mystery that for everything there is season, a time for every matter under heaven. I am drawn to solar eclipses, stories of animals struggling to survive in a hostile world, and attempts to explain the big questions of life, but not that I need to disprove God, but, rather,  to hold onto a mystery – a sacred blessing – “For now I see in mirror dimly, but then face to face…” Quarreling with the mystery is not a statement of doubt or burning questions that unsettles my soul; no quarreling with the mystery is to appreciate life as a series of sacred questions and its answers draw me closer to the Source of all life – a life that is fully known as I have been fully known. Today, as in everyday, I want to live in the tension of knowing and to be known. 

Prayer: 

God of Holy mysteries, probing questions, and unending grace, may my spirit never stop quarreling with the mystery – the mystery that opens my eyes to see you face to face. Now I know in part and one day I will fully know as you have known me and this, Holy God, will be a day of rejoicing! Amen.

I Spy

I spy something green, what do you think it is? I heard a tiny voice shouting back, the grass! Yes, that’s right, now it’s your turn to “spy” something. Our neighbors were playing this game with their twin girls outside on a warm Sunday afternoon and I listened to the progression of the game.  The glee and laughter of the tiny voices brought back similar memories when I played “I spy” with my boys and even further back, with my sisters as we traveled across the country one summer in search of yet another camping site.

The notion of “spying” something assumes that you are looking for something. The great Sherlock Holmes snoops around a crime scene and through his discriminating mind and uncanny observations, Holmes spies the missing piece to a criminal case he is trying to solve. Whether it’s Holmes on the path of a confounding case or a family playing “I Spy…” we’ve known times when it feels as though we have lost something and we set out on a journey to find that missing piece that will bring the wholeness we are seeking.

The scriptural passage that is often quoted in times of seeking and searching comes from John. It is the Johannine passage that defines Jesus as the good shepherd. The phrase that is quoted is at the very end of verse 10 in John 10: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” This statement begs the question, “what is abundant life?” I cannot speak for you for you must spy your own understanding of abundant life, but I will reflect a little on what it means to me.

Abundant life is not a phrase used to convince, persuade, or argue for a reason to be a Christian, but a promise that says that in following the example of Christ, I will know fulfillment even in this life. Abundant life is not about the sweet by and by that will be mine if I am obedient to God’s will, but a promise that says that in following the example of Christ, I will know joy even in the midst of suffering. Abundant life is not a shallow, scriptural response to a searching soul, but a promise that says that God delights in me, just as I am. This is abundant life – it is what I spy in life dedicated to Christian living.

Prayer

God help me to find fulfillment in living as Christ would live, joy, even in the midst of suffering, and help me to delight in you as much as you delight in me. Amen.

A Wonderful World

I see trees of green….red roses too. There are skies of blue and clouds of white. Bright blessed days and dark sacred nights. The colors of the rainbow…so pretty…in the sky and the faces of people passing by, shaking hands are saying I love you. These words express how one song writer and singer’s view of the world that we know and love.  This world is wonderful, but it is also a fragile sphere of interdependent life forms that create beauty for our senses and gives us the quality of life that we would want. 

Fifty years ago, before global warming and concerns about the melting ice-caps, Rachel Carson wrote her bestseller and classic reading today, Silent Spring. In much detail she writes about the dangers of chemicals on the environment and the impact our humanity has had and continues to have on the world that God so proudly and carefully knit together for our joy and appreciation and for God’s joy and appreciation also. “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4

What are human beings that you are mindful? Louis Armstrong in his gravelly identifiable voice sings about a beautiful world and his joy in living in God’s bountiful creation.  Rachel Carson writes about a beautiful world and the importance of being careful and responsible with this fragile, magnificent world that is lovingly imagined and created by God. The psalmist marvels in its beauty and we think to ourselves, what a wonderful world.  

 In his letter to the Corinthians Paul writes, “All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” 1 Corinthians 10:23.  These are thoughtful, cautionary words that remind all of us of the importance of caring for and being good stewards of God’s amazing world. May the choices we make today build up God’s wonderful world so that generations to come can look to the heavens and say as we have said what a wonderful world.

 

Prayer:

           God you created each detail of the earth with love and greatness. Help us to live our lives with thoughtful prayer as we embrace the wonder and joy of this awesome world. This is a gift that you’ve entrusted to our care, O God. Help us to be good stewards of the earth so that many more generations may enjoy the mystery and awe of your wonderful earth.   Amen.

A Kite Named Joy

I shared a cute story about a kite named Joy on Sunday morning. Let me recap the story. There was a kite whose name was Joy. Joy loved the freedom of flying. He loved to fly high into the sky. Catch the updrafts and go higher into the blue, blue sky. When the down-wind came, it was like riding a roller coaster and he would giggle and laugh uncontrollably. He loved the freedom of flying. He loved seeing the puffy white clouds against the blue background of God’s beautiful sky. He enjoyed listening to the birds that sang high in the trees. He loved flying.

There was one thing that Joy did not like and that was that he wasn’t totally free because when he got too far away, he felt a tug on his tail and when that one below got tired of flying Joy, the little boy would reel the string in and Joy knew that his fun would soon be over. If only he could be free of the tug of the tired little boy so that he could fly higher, higher into the sky.

One day, much to his surprise, while flying into the blue sky, the tautness of the string broke loose and Joy realized that he was free, free to drift along the wind currents. He laughed and giggled when the updrafts took him higher into the sky. He screamed when the down winds pushed him closer to the earth below.  He realized he was free! No rules! No responsibility! He was free from the little boy who held his tail tightly in his clinched little fists, but within minutes his laughter turned to sorrow and what was once shouts of joy became cries of despair for Joy found himself hopelessly entangled in the branches of a tree and he knew that his life would never again be the same.

How often doesn’t this happen to us. We think that things are going really well and then suddenly the circumstances of our life change and we become hopelessly entangled in life’s gnarly branches. With Joy our cry sounds like the Psalmist, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” (Psalm 130:1-2) When we find ourselves in such a situation, the Lord will hear our voice and as Jesus once said, “…I will send an advocate, I will not leave your orphaned – alone” tangled in the gnarly branches of life. So when you find your life tangled in the unforgivable branches of living, we have an advocate – a counselor – one who will not leave us in the clutches of death, but will set us free to experience joy and when it seems we are forever lost, God will show us a new way.

Prayer:

             God you hear my cry! You surround me with your strong and mighty arms – the arms of grace that bring us close to you. When I am anxious and troubled, when life seems hopeless and meaningless, help me to trust you and show me a new way. Amen.

A Better Message

We get the message. The subliminal messages of the media makes it pretty clear to us what our society expects and prefers.   You are familiar with its message -- we have to be fit, bubbly, and sexy. Movie after movie, television show after television show gives us the message that good looks, a winning smile, and a bubbly personality will serve us well. We’ll find good jobs, good mates, and happy families. We get the message. It’s loud and clear. If we have these things, life will be good, but what if we don’t meet these expectations? Then who am I? 

At a recent worship service, we were blessed with the lyrics from the Christian song, “Come as you are” by a Christian group that calls themselves, A Pocket Full of Rocks. The lyrics of this song gives us a different message, a message that may leave us feeling differently about ourselves than the messages we’ve gleaned from the media that surrounds us day after day. Here are the opening lyrics to this “Come as you are”.

 

He's not mad at you
He's not disappointed
His grace is greater still,
than all of your wrong choices
He is full of mercy and he is ever kind
Hear his invitation, His arms are open wide

This song reminds me of a Psalm that has helped me through more difficult times.  The times when we've felt unworthy, imperfect, or alone. This psalm speaks to us when we have been bullied or scorned or the times that we've been overlooked or ignored. The times when a best friend hurts us with words or actions or those times when we're so confused, and we don’t know where to turn to find a warm embrace, a word of love or the voice that says to us do not worry for you will not have to make this journey alone. The words from Psalm 139 hold me close to God when the rest of the world seems to be pushing me away. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14. 

I am fearfully and wonderfully made…I know this full well. The message is clear. May we find strength and peace in knowing how much God has carefully, thoughtfully, and lovingly created our very being and may we hear this message above else. 

Prayer:

                God I am fearfully and wonderfully made! You created all of me and you love me for all that I am. Today, my spirit will sing to your glory for your arms are open wide and you welcome me into this new day. Amen.