Let there be no Divisions Among You

I was so inspired by the unity and messages communicated through the Women’s Marches yesterday across the world. Yes, of course there were some messages at some of the marches that I did not agree with, but by and large I saw hundreds of thousands of people who rejected the negativity and hatred we have seen far too much of. Yesterday, women and men gathered together to proclaim tolerance, life, inclusion, love, unity, equality, justice, mercy, respect, diversity, kindness, and peace.

People marched for so many reasons. Some people showed up because they want to ensure their daughters and granddaughters continue to have the rights women have fought for in our country over the past couple of centuries. Some marchers went to be a voice for those who fear daily discrimination, abuse, deportation, and being marginalized. Some were motivated by their faith in Jesus who taught us to love our neighbor (especially the neighbors who are different from us), welcome the stranger, and show hospitality to all.

This morning, one of the readings we read in church was from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in which Paul urges the Corinthians to stop their disagreements and focus on the unity they share in belonging to Jesus and sharing the good news of Jesus’ sacrificial love. Paul wrote, “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Friends, there is far more that unites us than divides us!

Whether or not you agree with the messages or the tactics of the Women’s Marches, I hope we can all agree that each of us needs to be more active in bringing about the kind of world we want to see. Let’s spend less time complaining on social media about our political leaders, the media, the protestors, etc., and more time loving our neighbors, trying to understand the perspective of someone different than us, caring for those who are in need in our communities, and taking action to create systemic and sustainable changes in our communities, our country, and around the world.




I have some concrete things in mind that I’m planning to do in the upcoming weeks and months- things to try to fill the world with the love, grace, and compassion Jesus showed everyone. I encourage you to make a list of actions you can take to make a difference in issues that are important to you.

May we keep gathering together.

Be a voice for those who don't have a voice in our society.

Show acceptance, grace, and mercy to everyone no matter who they are, what they look like, what they believe, or where they are from.

Take action. Keep moving forward.

And most of all, keep loving everyone.

God in Haiti

As I prepared to go to Haiti I was considerably worried that God might use this experience to ask me to do something new, big, and scary (like move to Haiti and be a missionary or adopt a few Haitian children).  I’ve prayed some pretty bold prayers over the past year or so and God had started to provide some bold answers to my prayers.  And I was scared the rest of the answers would be in a form that required me to step way out of my comfort zone.

While I was in Haiti and in the few weeks I’ve been back from Haiti, God has provided me with undeniable peace and reassurance that I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing in this season of my life.  No need to buy a one-way plane ticket to Haiti and start learning Creole.  Whew.

BUT, I’m not off the hook that easily. 

God often does ask us to do things, but I have come to understand that God is much more concerned about who we are rather than what we do.  What we do will please God if we are the people God wants us to be.  Our actions follow from who we are.

God didn’t ask me to make a radical life change and do something different, but God did use my experience in Haiti to start to teach me to be someone different: someone who more fully recognizes and rests in God’s unceasing presence.

I have problem with control.  I wish I could control every detail of my life and have every last detail planned out, and boy do I try.  As you might guess, trying to control every aspect of my life doesn’t work out very well for me because life just doesn’t work that way.  I’m often left grasping, worried, anxious, and frustrated.

But God has something better in mind for me, and God is using my experience in Haiti to help me become more like the person God intended me to be. 

Since I returned from Haiti, I have been overwhelmed (in a good way) by all the places, situations, and people I have seen God’s abundant hope, grace, and love.  Almost literally everywhere I turn, in every circumstance, in so many of my interactions with other people I have been overwhelmed by seeing and being aware of God’s presence.  I’ve seen God working out the details.  I’ve seen God transforming people.  I’ve seen God taking care of the minor and the major issues.

Maybe it was because of all the evil, death, and desperation I saw in Haiti that I HAD to look for God to have something to hold on to so that I didn’t lose all faith and hope in God.  In a place where living conditions are so bad you think God wouldn’t and couldn’t be present, God was indeed present when I looked.  Something “clicked” through my intentional act of looking in Haiti that has allowed me to better notice God in every person, every situation, every part of Creation. 

As my awareness of God’s presence has grown, something shifted in me: I’m not bothered that I can’t control everything.  God is here and God is moving in powerful ways.  I’m just along for the ride.  Recognizing this has allowed me to rest and trust in God’s presence.  

And it is so good.

Unambiguous

In Haiti, the newness and extremes of everything we were seeing, learning, and doing made it difficult to keep everything straight in my mind.  So much ran together in my brain.  Who said what.  Where we went.  What day it was.  Names of people we met and places we visited.

But there are also images and situations that are ingrained in my brain.  Carved into my heart.  Embedded in my soul.  Moments that I can still see and feel so vividly.

One of those moments was the feel of a little boy sitting on my lap. 

On our last evening in Haiti our group got to attend the worship service at the Love A Child orphanage.  Just like kids at my church, many of the kids at the orphanage struggled to stay focused and sit still.  They whispered to each other.  They wiggled in their seats.  Two girls across from me temporarily switched sandals with each other.  Their eyes drifted around the room when they should have been praying or singing. 

(Thanks to Alyssa for capturing the moment!)

One little boy wandered over near where I was sitting and he climbed up on my lap.

I don’t know his name.  I don’t know his story.  I don’t know how old he is.  The only thing I do know is that I was given the privilege of holding that sweet little boy for a few minutes.

He settled in, leaned against me, and started sucking his thumb.  As he sat on my lap I was so aware of all that was around me.  The warm but cooling breeze coming in the open windows.  The quickly fading light of the setting sun.  The warm colors of the sky framing the mountains in the distance.  The wind rustling the leaves of the palm trees just outside the window.  The faces of the beautiful children of all ages throughout the room.  The compassionate “moms” seated with the children.  The sound of foreign and familiar words being sung and spoken.  How comfortable this little boy was sitting on the lap of a complete stranger.  The warmth of his body.

I can describe it no other way than to say it just felt right.  To be there in that room, surrounded by those people, with that little boy on my lap, praising God and praying.  So much had come together to make that moment possible and I knew there was nowhere else I was supposed to be.  There were no other people I should have been with.  There was nothing different that I should have been doing. 

The assurance and peace I felt were unambiguous. 

I am more than familiar with uncertainty and feeling like I have no idea what I’m doing in life.  For all the days and months when I have felt so unsure of the next step to take, I have grown used to the feeling but still wish and pray I didn’t have to feel it so often.

As I considered that certainty I felt in that moment in Haiti, I thought back over everything that brought me there.  Things I said “yes” to.  Opportunities I said “no” to.  Relationships I carefully nurtured.  Relationships I had to let go. 

It’s not to say that I managed to get myself to the one “right” place.  There may have an infinite number of “right” moments like that I could have taken a path to.  But in that moment God reassured me that all I need to do is continue to take the next step and trust.  God will take care of the rest.

And then someone or something at the other end of the room caught the little boy’s attention and he slid down off my lap.  The acute certainly and peace faded, but it left a remnant that I hope to hold on to even when the uncertainly overwhelms me.

God of mercy, hold us in love.

My mom put our Christmas decorations away yesterday and when the last decoration had been put away and the furniture re-arranged, she exclaimed, “There!  I’m all done with Christmas!”

The celebration of Christmas sometimes feels like such a futile extravaganza for something so temporary.  All that preparing and waiting for the one day and then it’s over, just like that.  Presents get opened.  Food gets eaten.  Football games get watched.  Nothing lasts (except the clean up work and the leftovers from dinner that sometime stay too long in the fridge).  The Christmas decorations get put away and unwanted gifts get exchanged, and then it’s like nothing ever happened.

But something did happen: Christ was born about 2,000 years ago.  There’s a lot of talk about failing to celebrate the “true” meaning of Christmas (i.e. Jesus’ birth), but the real failure is that we prepare for the birth but we do not prepare for Jesus the person and the Divinity to come and live among us.  It’s kind of an odd circumstance- Jesus was born into the world, lived on earth, now sits at the right hand of the Father, Jesus’ presence remains on earth, and one day Jesus will return to earth.

In the past month or so I have been acutely aware of how much I want and need Jesus to come again soon.  The world is so incredibly broken and the only thing that will fix it completely is for God to come to earth again.  So, I’ve tried to focus on more than Jesus’ birth.  I’ve set my focus on searching for God’s current presence in the world and on preparing for the day when all will be restored.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing that keeps me up at night anymore.  In fact, I’ve had much difficulty having patience and holding onto hope while knowing that so many people suffer each second of every day.       

I have often found peace in Holden Evening Prayer- a beautiful composition of music and litany written by Marty Haugen.  During Wednesday evening worship services during Advent, my church used the Holden Evening Prayer litany and I’ve been holding on to the prayer litany.  I’ve had these prayers and their music in my head for weeks now- I have prayed these words often when I feel the brokenness of the world starting to cover my hope for restoration.  I hope you will find the same peace in this prayer that I have found.

You can listen to Holden Evening Prayer music here: Holden Evening Prayer (feel free to listen to the whole thing but the prayers start at 10:05).

Here’s the prayer litany:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

In peace, in peace, we pray to you:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For peace and salvation, we pray to you:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For peace between nations, for peace between people:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For all who are gathered to worship and praise you:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For all of your servants who live out your gospel:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For all those who govern, that justice might guide them:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For those who labor in service to others:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

Grant weather that nourishes all of creation:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

Keep watch on our loved ones and keep us from danger:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

For all the beloved who rest in your mercy:

God of mercy, hold us in love.

Help us, comfort us, all of our days:

Keep us, hold us, gracious God.