As we reach the end of this Lenten Journey 2009 and look toward Holy Week and Easter, it is one of the lessons appointed for the Fourth Sunday in Lent that continues to echo in my head:
It is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and even that is not of yourselves, but the gift of God. Nor is it an award for anything you have done, so nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do the good things God created us to do from the beginning. [Ephesians 2:8-10]
We are God’s work of art. The fact that we so often fall short of doing the good things God created us to do from the beginning does NOT trump the fact that we -- and all creation -- have been declared by our creator "very good." More and more I'm convinced that how we live out our faith is directly connected to how we understand ourselves to have been created -- and whether we live out of a sense of our belovedness or out of a sense of our brokenness informs not only our theology but our politics, our economics, our relationships ... the whole enchilada.
It's kind of like this story about two wolves that preachers love to use as a sermon illustration:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Likewise, there is a fight going on inside the church about whether human beings are essentially beloved or essentially broken -- and the wolf that will win that fight is also the one that we feed.
Choosing to feed our belovedness rather than our brokenness focuses us on inclusion rather than exclusion; on justice rather than judgment; on compassion rather than condemnation. It is a choice that makes us homesteaders in the house of love rather than tenants in the house of fear.
Because we are – each and every one of us -- God’s work of art: created in Christ Jesus to do the good things God created us to do from the beginning.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it -- this Holy Week -- this Easter -- and always.
It is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and even that is not of yourselves, but the gift of God. Nor is it an award for anything you have done, so nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do the good things God created us to do from the beginning. [Ephesians 2:8-10]
We are God’s work of art. The fact that we so often fall short of doing the good things God created us to do from the beginning does NOT trump the fact that we -- and all creation -- have been declared by our creator "very good." More and more I'm convinced that how we live out our faith is directly connected to how we understand ourselves to have been created -- and whether we live out of a sense of our belovedness or out of a sense of our brokenness informs not only our theology but our politics, our economics, our relationships ... the whole enchilada.
It's kind of like this story about two wolves that preachers love to use as a sermon illustration:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Likewise, there is a fight going on inside the church about whether human beings are essentially beloved or essentially broken -- and the wolf that will win that fight is also the one that we feed.
Choosing to feed our belovedness rather than our brokenness focuses us on inclusion rather than exclusion; on justice rather than judgment; on compassion rather than condemnation. It is a choice that makes us homesteaders in the house of love rather than tenants in the house of fear.
Because we are – each and every one of us -- God’s work of art: created in Christ Jesus to do the good things God created us to do from the beginning.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it -- this Holy Week -- this Easter -- and always.
.
1 comment:
Thank you for this, especially the bit about being homesteaders in the house of love rather than tenants in the house (the prison?) of fear.
I do think we have a certain amount of brokenness. But I don't think that makes us any less beloved. And I feel like when we love one another, that's when we begin to heal the brokenness, in ourselves and in others.
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