Made Whole

What if we weren’t alone after all?

What if you were really a fragment of a

Great and glorious mind

Like an individual wave

Is part of the magnificent ocean?

Then anything would be possible.

This poem, by Joan Borysenko, captured my feeling as I left our Service for Healing of Body, Mind and Spirit yesterday. During the service everyone had the opportunity to write prayer concerns that were then shared during an intercessory prayer at the end of the service. The mounting of concerns – Haiti, cancer, marital difficulties, financial concerns, and more – could have been overwhelming to some, but I experienced it differently. As I watched person after person bring forward their concerns, and I had the honor of giving them voice, I was reminded of how every single person faces challenges. Every single person present had something weighing on his or her heart. Often we bear these burdens silently, but yesterday we named them out loud, and I felt us pulling together. Through this process, I felt a deeper connection with all who were present. I also felt a sense of hopefulness that God will help bring us through our personal and collective trials and make us stronger.

As I prepared for this healing service I was very aware that there were some people in our midst who were praying for cures so that they might be made well. I share in their hope and prayer, but I also have found myself reflecting on what it means to be well, what it means to be “made whole.” As I looked out on the congregation I saw persons who are filled with vitality, creativity, and a love for life who happen to have a disability. I saw persons who move a little more slowly and need to have some things repeated every so often because they are losing their hearing, but whose very lives embody love and wisdom. I saw persons who live with cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s who exude an inner peace and a reverence for life that bears witness to the living Christ within them.

My favorite communion chalice is a cup that appears as though it was broken and put back together again. For me, it resembles not only what happened with Jesus but happens with all of us. God welcomes and loves us, however it is that we are; God takes all of the broken pieces, nurturing and shaping us into something that is perfectly whole and all the more beautiful. Today, I am giving thanks for all of the people who make up this community of faith, who through sharing their brokenness as well as their strengths, make a beautiful whole.

The light shines in the darkness

Christmas is upon us. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, I am aware that there are many around me who are grieving sudden and difficult losses. Today I am holding these people in prayer, praying that as they show up to places where they likely don't feel like going, they will experience the peace of Christ and the love of God in ways that bring them comfort and strength, even joy.

One of the great blessings of my work is that I must "show up" even when I don't feel like it. I need to read and reflect on scripture every week. I need to come to worship. And when I simply show up and pay attention I am nearly always blessed by the people around me, by the scripture I read, and by the Spirit which is so evident to me in this place. Woody Allen said "80% of life is just showing up."

It may take everything some people have this week to get out of bed, to attend a funeral service, to wish someone "Merry Christmas," or enter our church doors for our Christmas Eve service. I am praying that God gives each of these people the strength to "simply show up." And the blessing will follow.

"The light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not be overcome." John 1:5