Today’s Author: Suzan Hurlbut
Photo Credit: University of Cambridge
O God, Giver of Life, Bearer of Pain, Maker of Love,
you are able to accept in us what we cannot even acknowledge;
you are able to name in us what we cannot bear to speak of;
you are able to hold in your memory
what we have tried to forget;
you are able to hold out to us
the glory that we cannot conceive of.
Reconcile us through your cross
to all that we have rejected in our selves,
that we may find no part of your creation
to be alien or strange to us,
and that we ourselves may be made whole.
Through Jesus Christ, our lover and our friend. Amen
—Janet Morley, England
I have loved this reading for a long time but when I read it today I really thought about what it means to be reconciled to God. Reconciled to the things that I have rejected in myself? Reconciled to the things in myself I keep doing even though there are bad consequences? Like Paul in Romans 7:15, “For I do not do what I want but I do the very thing I hate.” How do I accept or deal with my limits? I remember in a book study that we did a few years back by Gerald May on his book Addiction and Grace. When he talks about addiction he means far more than drugs or alcohol. Any attachment to ideas, work, relationships, power, that steals our freedom and our desire is addiction. May suggests that all our addictions, our shadow parts and the despair and powerlessness they sometimes bring is exactly what leads us to God.
Our weakness can be a space for grace to find us.
Thanks be to God!
“Mid-week devotions are authored by members of our community. If you are interested in creating a trio of reflections to be shared on an upcoming Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday contact Pastor Peter.“