"All in the Family"-Healing the Wounds of Our Nation

Last week we discussed healing old wounds. Today, we look at healing the wounds of our nation. What's the original sin/wound of our nation? Racism. See the link below and answer in your heart if you believe we can Tell the Truth, Abandon Ego and Fall Back into Love as a nation?

Healing Old Wounds

Mark 5:25-34

We have begun a sermon series entitled “Tending the New Creation,” during which we’ve said God makes all things new. In doing so God calls us to see things differently (including people, ourselves and our faith). However, before we can see things differently, we must first seek healing for our old wounds. Because most often we do not see things as THEY ARE, but as WE ARE. In other words, the wounds of our soul often cloud our vision and alter our interactions with others.

Let's be clear. God offers healing. Don't get me wrong, medicine is beneficial and counseling/therapy can be incredibly helpful (even lifesaving), yet in addition to those things, the power of Spirit can go beyond any other means. We can be healed, delivered and set free from the experiences that sear our soul (however shallow or traumatic). So, not that these suggestions are exhaustive, but here are my offerings for us as we seek the cool healing balm of God.

1. Tell the Truth: We must be able to recognize what “it is” without playing the continual tape of “would-have, should-have, could-have” been. We must fully come to grips with the reality of the situation, while also taking full responsibility for any way we have participated in our own suffering.
2. Let Go: Not simply let go, but let go of ego attachments. Our ego is the part of us that self-centers on our own pain, obsesses with our own needs, and takes all things personally. It's also the part of us that finds our worth in what we do, where we work, what we drive, to whom we are married, what part of town we live, where we went to school, what we wear, etc. Our healing will come when we no longer associate with external labels, but find worth in God’s love alone.
3. Fall Back: Speaking of God’s love, this is exactly from where true healing comes. We must fall back to our true self. Our true self, as Zen Masters call it, is the face we had before we were born. Some have called it the soul, others the spirit. In Hinduism, if God is the ocean, our true self is a cup of that living water. It is the indestructible “us”, the eternal part of us, the divine energy part of us, the source of our life, …simply stated, when we fall back to our true self, we are falling back to Love, for God is Love. When we live from this place, we live in connection (to God and others) and not fear (ego). This part of us is pure love…and thank God for love! Love liberates us; it is truly the healing balm that heals us, the cooling waters that set us free.

No matter what hurt or pain you have encountered. Be ye healed today! Be ye delivered! Be ye Set Free!

New Mexico Sabbatical Journal 1

Rev. Christine Ng is on sabbatical in Northern New Mexico. As the Spirit moves, she will send thoughts from her sabbatical experience.

 Here in the high desert of New Mexico, without air conditioning, I find I am more attuned to the rhythm of the day. It’s cool in the morning; a good time to walk or do other things out doors. The birds are more active, and I love to watch the hummingbirds buzzing around the feeders. It’s also when I’m more likely to see other wildlife. I tend to get up earlier here, with the sun, to take advantage of the lovely summer mornings.
 In the afternoons, the sun becomes intense, the air more still, and the heaviness of summer heat sets in. Time to rest, move more slowly. Siesta.
 Then as the sun gets lower in the horizon, the temperature begins to cool again. Back come the hummingbirds. And the bunnies. There is a second period of activity that leads into early evening. And lately, right before sunset, the coyotes have been howling, as though chanting down the son. Hauntingly beautiful.
 I find if I pay attention to this rhythm I am more at peace, more focused, and move productive. If I try to fight it, go against it’s wisdom, I am usually sorry.
 I know as the seasons change and we move from Summer into Fall, this rhythm will change. And that I must change with it, adapt. What a lesson there is in that.

 And it makes me wonder: What is (or should be) the natural rhythm of my life? How am I paying attention to that? How am I fighting it? As the seasons of my life have changed, have I adapted? Will I be willing and able to adapt as they change again?

Tending the New Creation

God is a God of “newness”.  God is a God of forward movement (which is why “progressive” Christianity always seems like an oxymoron. What other kind of Christianity can there be?). Like every other living thing, we have an inward impulse to grow! There are only two kinds of churches. Those that are growing and those that are in decline (if one is simply maintaining, they are actually dying). Therefore, when scriptures teach that we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), it is only an extension of the renewing, life-giving, creative power of God.

However, I do believe God requires our participation. Scriptures teach that God makes all things new (rather than God making new things). Meaning, God has the ability to take our inadequate ability and insufficient resources and breathe new life into them…but only with our faith and faithful participation. We are co-creators with God. In other words, for God to renew our lives, we must be willing to see anew or to see things differently. As Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Three things, I believe our text (2 Corinthians 5:16-21) suggests we see differently, allowing us to participate in God’s new creation, both in the world and within ourselves:

1. God Calls Us to See Others Differently
• God has offered us redemption, and thereby requires us to offer that same grace and mercy to others. What if we saw all people as valuable? What if we saw others as simply doing the best they can with what they have? What if we believed hurting people simply hurt other people? What kind of world would we have if we committed to offering pardon, forgiveness, grace and redemption to all, even those with whom we rabidly disagree?
2. God Calls Us to See Ourselves Differently?
• God has invested much into us, and therefore God expects a Return on God’s Investment! What if we truly loved ourselves (love thy neighbor AS thyself) and learned to forgive ourselves? What if we saw our role in God’s kingdom as significant and vital? If Christ’s ministry was to reconcile the world to God, then our ministry is to be reconciled with each other. What if we actually saw ourselves as instruments of that reconciliation…agents of God’s love in the earth?
3. God Calls Us to See Our Spirituality Differently?
• We must push past religion into relationship. Religion offers a roadmap to a faithful life, but it can also offer rigid rules, barriers, ritual and tradition that impedes. While we enjoy and even celebrate tradition and ritual, we must not be shackled by it. Instead we must prioritize relationship over religion. What if our prayer life was more like a conversation with an old friend? God calls us into intimate relationship and thereby offers a new mercy every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Great is God’s Faithfulness!!