Good morning church,
It looks like we’ve braved the worst of the crisis. I say that carefully, knowing that there are still difficult weeks and months ahead of us. But at least better news is coming our way, finally!!! The rates of infections and fatalities are dropping almost everywhere, and our governors and leaders talk about possible “re-opening” scenarios. Yesterday, I compared our situation to Noah’s family in the ark (Genesis 9) when the floodwaters started to recede. The turning point is when the most patience is required because you can see life coming back, but you are not quite there yet. I would like to expand on this Old Testament theme a little bit because I find that the stories that we often relegate to the “kiddie” section of the Bible speak to me on a deeper adult level during this time. And that’s an important realization. Why? Because many Christians never manage a decent transition from their childhood faith to an adult faith. They were told those “kiddie” stories of Noah in the ark and Jonah and the great fish and the parting of the Red Sea in Sunday School, and later in life, they realize that God is no Santa Claus who waves his magic wand to bail his children out. “Where was God when my child suffered?” – And they lose their faith, or at least it suffers a blow, and they never quite know what to do with these stories (or their faith) anymore. They have never been encouraged to read these stories on a metaphorical level, which is what the Church Fathers of the Early Church routinely did, and they were very “spiritual” people, to use a buzz word of our time.
Richard Rohr, in his meditation for today, brought up another one of those stories in the context of the theme of suffering. He writes that, “sooner or later, the heart of everybody’s spiritual problem is ‘What we do with our pain? Why is there evil? Why is there suffering?’” It is the ageless Job question, as old as humanity, as unanswerable as the mystery of life itself and as persistent as any chronic pain you may experience. “Why, God? Are you listening to me?” Then Rohr turns to another one of those “kiddie” stories from the Bible, and it is amazing what they can teach us when we really listen. In Rohr’s words:
“Jesus says, “There’s only one sign I’m going to give you: the sign of the prophet Jonah” (see Luke 11:29, Matthew 12:39, 16:4). Sooner or later, life is going to lead us (as it did Jesus) into the belly of the beast, into a situation that we can’t fix, can’t control, and can’t explain or understand. That’s where transformation most easily happens. That’s when we’re uniquely in the hands of God. Right now, it seems the whole world is in the belly of the beast together. But we are also safely held in the loving hands of God, even if we do not yet fully realize it.”
I know that this is true because I have seen people coming back to church after a long Exodus, precisely because they had been swallowed by a beast of one form or another. Maybe it was addiction. Maybe it was a midlife crisis. Whatever it was, it made them realize that they were not as much in control of their life as they liked to pretend. It softened their hearts toward a new way of listening to the wisdom of God. Sometimes, as in the iconic Jonah story, God can only get us to listen when we are in the belly of the beast. Guess what? Right now, the world is in that belly together. Are we listening? Are we going to change our ways, as we surely must in order to make this globe a sustainable place for life in all its forms – and not just short-term human interest? There are many “adult” ways to appreciate the story of Jonah and to apply it both to our individual lives and our collective experience at this time. I encourage you to try it.
Tonight our Oktoberfest committee is convening in a meeting via Zoom. I am very grateful for Doug and Jenn Mahan who have taken on the rein of leadership for this annual event. Of course, it turns out, this is going to be a more difficult year than what anyone expected. At this point, we will plan for a few possible scenarios and be prepared as best we can. September 26 is still a long way out but seen through the lens of the Coronavirus crisis, it’s a short time. In any case, I am pretty confident that something good will happen on that day. Keep it in your calendars! I have a feeling it will be nice after all.
Today, I would like to ask prayers for another one of those people who appear on our prayer list. Maeve S. was added to our prayer list many years ago when she was eleven or twelve years of age. She lived in Long Island and was (is) connected to Steve and Stacy B. A young girl at the time, she suffered through bone cancer and an aggressive one at that. Her life was seriously in danger at several points. While cancer is always bad, it’s especially heartbreaking when it affects a child. And so, she has been in our prayers for several years, and in the prayers of other churches and individuals as well. In the course of this journey, she has lost a leg, but as far as I know, the cancer has been in remission for a few years now and she is attending Boston College. Thank God! She still is in pain from the amputation and other side effects of that long and arduous journey. Please say a prayer, both of Thanksgiving and of continued healing. Thank you!
Today is the birthday of Devin M. Happy birthday, Devin!
Be blessed and be safe, all of you! Pastor Andreas Wagner