Tag: time

Freedom in Limitation

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May I find freedom in limitation—

           to fully give myself

To what I can do

          rather that to worry about

          what I cannot.

This short prayer from Justin McRoberts seems like an appropriate one for our current cultural moment. It’s a strange feeling to be uprooted from our normalcy so quickly. The world feels so fragile right now, and it’s easy to be discouraged and afraid. There is a very real part of me that is unsettled by the very clear uncertainty of so many things ahead of us.

For you Gen Zers, this will likely be a defining moment for your generation. It’s possible that it will fundamentally shape the way you see and interact with the world around you for decades. It’s hard to understand how a single event is able to do that, but it has been true of most generations and will be likely be true for yours as well. I think what’s most amazing about this experience is just how global of an event it actually is. People across the world are simultaneously having similar experiences.

Currently in Memphis this situation is not nearly as dire as in many other places. The biggest thing most of us are dealing with is how to cope with this new normal of social distancing. I pray that things don’t get worse here, but there is no promise that it won’t. In the meantime, my hope is that we begin to see newfound freedom in the limitations that we’re experiencing. This posture is one that nurtures growth and helps us see what is possible rather than what is not.

There are a lot of people hurting because of the losses suffered from the effects of this virus. We don’t ignore that pain, but we recognize the possibility to surround one another with love and support in whatever ways we can. The limitations we are experiencing in physical proximity give us an opportunity for creativity, to creatively love those who are experiencing heavy pain and loss. When we focus on the possibility, I think, it positions us to come out of the other side of this thing with deeper trust, deeper trust in God, in others, and in ourselves.

When we focus on possibility, we find hope that there is a way through this current crisis. We recognize that God is still working in the midst of our broken world, that he always has been. When we focus on possibility, we find trust in others rather than suspicion. We recognize that the fight is not against one another but against something else altogether. When we focus on possibility, we find out that we are more resilient than we ever knew. We recognize that God has made each of us for more than what we are currently experiencing.

It’s easy to be discouraged and afraid right now, but my hope is that we can begin to see clearly the freedom to love more deeply that has been put so clearly in front of us. It will take creativity and grace to learn how to do this well, but there’s something in me that is excited to figure it out.

Prayer and Reflection

Think about people who may need to hear an encouraging word from you. Pray for the courage to reach out and let them know you’re thinking of them.

The Wayfarer

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Imagine a wayfarer. He has been brought to a standstill at the foot of a mountain, tremendous, impassable. It is this mountain . . . . . no, it is not his destiny to cross it, but he has set his heart upon the crossing; for his wishes, his longings, his desires, his very soul, which has an easier mode of conveyance, are already on the other side; it only remains for him to follow. Imagine him coming to be seventy years old; but the mountain still stands there, unchanged, impassable. Let him become twice seventy years; but the mountain stands there unalterably blocking his way, unchanged, impassable. Under all this he undergoes changes, perhaps; he dies away from his longings, his wishes, his desires; he now scarcely recognizes himself. And so a new generation finds him, altered, sitting at the foot of the mountain, which still stands there, unchanged, impassable. Suppose it to have happened a thousand years ago: the altered wayfarer is long since dead, and only a legend keeps his memory alive; it is the only thing that remains—aye, and also the mountain, unchanged, impassable. And now think of Him who is eternally unchangeable, for whom a thousand years are but as one day—ah, even this is too much to say, they are for Him as an instant, as if they did not even exist. . . .

Anyone not eternally sure of Himself could not keep so still, but would rise in His strength. Only one who is eternally immutable can be in this manner so still.

He gives men time, and He can afford to give them time, since He has eternity and is eternally unchanging.

– Søren Kierkegaard

This passage appears in Kierkegaard’s book, Judge for Yourselves! and illustrates the unchangeableness of God. It’s a comforting thought to me to know that God is unchangeable. There have been times in my life that felt synonymous with change, instability, or uncertainty, and the knowledge of God’s unchangeable nature was a constant relief. Even though I found great solace in that aspect of His character, I’m glad that I am not unchangeable in the same way.

God gives us time, and what a wonderful gift it is. True, we often want to speed time up or slow it down depending on our current experience, but time has to be a gift. We don’t exit the womb with fully formed ideas about ourselves and the world. We grow and change, and that takes time. As much as we want to make time our enemy, it’s our friend. Of course, time marches us toward death, but in Tolkien’s mythos, death is the Gift of Men. It calls us to action and to change and push forward rather than to live in the past. I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago, and for that, I’m thankful.

We’re all in the midst of process. We’re being shaped and formed and identities are taking root. If it takes anything to understand who you are, it takes time.

Prayer and Reflection

Think about how you’ve changed over the years. Pray that the Spirit continues to shape you into greater Christlikeness. Embrace the gift of time and be thankful that we aren’t static.

It Is Well

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In 2010, author Shane Claiborne published a book called Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. I like the book. It’s designed to guide the daily prayer life of a group or individual. I’ve used it, like other things, as an off-and-on devotional since we bought it. I happened to pull it out this morning to use it for my personal reflection, but not necessarily for the blog, however, here I am. I’m going to use a simple quote from the March 1 reading in conjunction with the lyrics of a song from a concert that Hannah and I attended last night. I want to write it off as coincidental, but this endeavor is about seeking. So, let me break these moving parts down for you and see what you think.

Yesterday, Hannah and I had a doctor’s visit. She’s now 39 weeks pregnant. We’re completely aware that we are well into the birth range timetable, but things have progressed in such a healthy way that we haven’t been too worried about how things have progressed. Hannah and our boy have remained healthy throughout the duration of the pregnancy, and we’ve counted it a significant blessing. Yesterday though, there was a slight hiccup in a pretty routine visit. Our doctor wasn’t overly concerned about it but needed to run some tests to rule out possible complications that could change some of the details of our birth plan. Given how the pregnancy has gone up to this point, it seems unlikely that it will turn into something more serious. Nevertheless, this was the first instance in the 39 weeks that we’ve had to do something like that and in the moment it felt jarring.

We had tickets to a concert last night, The Lone Bellow, at a venue near our home. We saw them once in Chicago a couple of years ago and loved the energy they brought to their live performance. On the heels of the news from our prenatal visit, we were unsure whether we should attend. We want to do whatever we can to reduce stress at this stage and make sure we’re proceeding responsibly. We decided to go but would sit in the back and just enjoy the music.

Lone Bellow

The band added their stop here in Memphis late to their tour, so the setting was intimate. We saw a few friends and found some seats in the back corner. We couldn’t see the stage very well, but at different parts in the show could easily make out the upper quarter of the musicians. They were good. The Lone Bellow is not explicit about their religious beliefs, but there are certainly elements in their song writing that strongly suggest that they are people of faith. It’s possible there’s an interview somewhere in which they talk about it, but I haven’t searched that hard. Either way, there was an interesting moment in the concert last night during their song May You Be Well when the frontman Zach Williams, during an instrumental interlude in the song, raises both of his hands and clearly mouths the words “May you be well” multiple times with eyes closed. It was an odd sensation. It felt out of place, which is weird because it was a concert where a singer was singing the words to his own song. It felt out of place because he clearly wasn’t singing. It looked like he was speaking those words. It looked, very much, like he was praying those words over the crowd.

It seems somewhat unlikely that this is actually what was happening, but I couldn’t shake it. It felt so much like the moment in a worship service when the singer repeats parts of the song as a prayer under his breath. Fast forward to this morning and the aforementioned Claiborne book. There’s a quote for today’s entry from fourteenth century Christian mystic Julian of Norwich.

The worst has already happened and been repaired. . . . All Shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

I’ve stated previously in this blog that sometimes pain will last a lifetime. We aren’t promised reprieve during our lives, but we hold on to the hope of the life to come. The refrain here of “all shall be well” is unavoidably similar to the lyrics of the song last night. I can’t help but feel encouraged. Even though I know that we aren’t promised that bad things won’t happen to us, and even though these types of moments are easily written off as coincidental, I’m not going to do it with this one. I’m going to choose to believe that it’s the Spirit. I’m going to take the connection and rest in the comfort it provides.

Simeon Temple

Prayer and Reflection

What connections might you have written off recently as coincidence? Could they be something more? Pray that God gives you the courage and ability to see what he’s doing in your lives. Pray for God to remove the cynical spirit that keeps us from living in the joy he provides.

Sorrow and Joy

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Last Saturday, I departed from what is becoming my normal routine of biblical passage and commentary to share a prayer from Thomas Merton. I think I’ll make a similar departure this morning, but instead of a prayer, I’ll offer a poem. This particular poem is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his Letters and Papers from Prison and it’s entitled Sorrow and Joy. Bonhoeffer was not exactly known for his poetry, but he was known for having a brilliant theological mind and this poem shows his ability to make deep connections.

His insights in this poem are powerful. He considers the natures of both sorrow and joy and finds that they compliment one another far closer than a first glance may give you. He suggests that time can easily make a moment of poignancy become suffering when dragged on too long. The poem ends with a beautiful reminder that it is at the moment of our callousness in the face of difficulty that we have to make a choice to fight against it. We can “fight the face of sorrow” with loyal hearts, not allowing ourselves to become uncompassionate because of our circumstance.

If you don’t know who Bonhoeffer is, I would suggest you take the time to read his story. It’s difficult to find a more compelling story of faith and courage in the face of oppression.

Sorrow and joy,
striking suddenly on our startled senses,
seem, at the first approach, all but impossible
of just distinction one from the other,
even as frost and heat at the first keen contact
burn us alike.
Joy and sorrow,
hurled from the height of heaven in meteor fashion,
flash in an arc of shining menace o’er us.
Those they touch are left
stricken amid the fragments
of their colorless, usual lives.

Imperturbable, mighty,
ruinous and compelling,
sorrow and joy
—summoned or all unsought for—
processionally enter.
Those they encounter
they transfigure, investing them
with strange gravity
and a spirit of worship.
Joy is rich in fears;
sorrow has its sweetness.
Indistinguishable from each other
they approach us from eternity,
equally potent in their power and terror.

From every quarter
mortals come hurrying,
part envious, part awe-struck,
swarming, and peering
into the portent,
where the mystery sent from above us
is transmuting into the inevitable
order of earthly human drama.
 
What, then, is joy? What, then, is sorrow?
Time alone can decide between them,
when the immediate poignant happening
lengthens out to continuous wearisome suffering,
when the labored creeping moments of daylight
slowly uncover the fullness of our disaster,
sorrow’s unmistakable features.
Then do most of our kind
sated, if only by the monotony
of unrelieved unhappiness,
turn away from the drama, disillusioned,
uncompassionate.
 
o ye mothers and loved ones — then, ah, then
comes your hour, the hour for true devotion.
Then your hour comes, ye friends and brothers!
Loyal hearts can change the face of sorrow,
softly encircle it with love’s most gentle
unearthly radiance.