Jesus lived the truth of the words Luke placed in his mouth: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Lk 12:51) Harsh words. Tough talk. But the in-breaking of the realm of God would be like nothing people ever imagined. He had a point to make, and not much time to make it. Survival requires growth; growth means change, and change is uncomfortable so we recoil from it. The message of Jesus is not one of permanence, a recipe for dying. Here is the poem I shared in worship Sunday:
I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid, more accessible,
to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which comes to me
as seed goes to the next as blossom
and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.
–Dawna Markova, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life:Reclaiming Purpose and Passion (Conari Press: Boston) 2000
Jesus risked his significance. Can we risk ours?
Peace and grace,
Pastor Carol
