The One who will bring us to wholeness

Daily Devotion - May 19

I will send a brief message each day (except Mondays)
while we are pausing gathering in person.
- Kara

We talked last week in Adult Confirmation about "salvation" being wholeness - completeness, which is, connection to God and each other, and "redemption" being the healing act of God to return to how life was designed by God to be.  Keeping that in mind, this paraphrase of Psalm 77:11-20 speaks to me today:

I call to mind the closeness of my Friend;
yes, I remember the joy of the Beloved's presence.
I contemplate in the Silence,
recalling how You led me along the Way;
for your Way, O Beloved, is holy.
There is no other like You! 
You are the One who will bring us to wholeness,
You manifest your Love to all who call upon you;
With You all the peoples are redeemed, 
the nations brought to peace.

When our fears sense You, O Beloved,
when our doubts encounter your Love, 
they are afraid and attack.
Our eyes pour forth oceans of tears;
our countenance grows cloudy;
we hide behind walls of resistance.

The power of your Love 
seems too much for us;
your Light unveils 
the secrets hidden in our heart;
Can You wonder that we tremble?
Yet, You stand beside us 
as we walk through our fears 
to the paths of wholeness and love,
though our footsteps are unsure.
You send the Counselor as a guide
to lead us on the road to peace,
truth and love.

From Psalms for Praying, by Nan C. Merrill

God is guiding us through all of this. 
God is the One who brings us to wholeness - in, through, and despite any and all circumstances. This is what God does.
May God's bring us to wholeness, and give us peace.

Yesterday I wrote this on Facebook:

Just to be clear: The Church is not "re-opening," because the Church is not "closed." The Church is not a business - it's people. Faith is not an institution, it's a movement. We are followers (aka. "disciples") of Christ, and are sent (aka. "apostles") by Christ. Church has never been about arriving or staying put; it's not for producing or consuming or acquiring or proving or earning or protecting things. It's about living life connected to God and neighbor, and helping each other do the same.
The Church has been gathering people in different forms for thousands of years, and is continuing to do so right now. The faith has been practiced in boundless ways for thousands of years, and is continuing to be so right now.
Just because we can't meet in large groups inside sanctuaries for a time doesn't mean the Church is not alive and well. Rather, it's a powerful reminder and creative opportunity for the Church to be what it already is- people who remember and practice together that we all belong to God and we all belong to each other. God is acting. The Holy Spirit is moving. Christ is with us. And the Church, my friends, is thriving.

As we keep living in this time of unknown and waiting, we also keep on being who we've always been and doing what we've always done.  
I am grateful for the ways we live into God's salvation together. 
I am thankful for the ways we pray for and join in God's work of redemption in the world.
We are blessed to be Church.
Thank you for being Church.

CONNECTING RITUAL:
Perhaps tonight before bed, whatever time that is in each of our homes, we and so join our souls with each other and the people of the whole earth:

In the silence of night,
in the darkness as I lay my body down,
vulnerable, still, finished, beginning again,
bring me to wholeness, O God.
Bring me to peace.

As we sleep on this portion of the planet,
and another part of the world awakens to a new day,
and still another stops for midday meals,
bring us to wholeness, O God.
Bring us to peace.

As people die and people are born,
people get sick and people recover,
as people grieve and people celebrate,
people rest, and people work,
as we live the life you've given each of us,
as we live the life you have given us all,
bring us to wholeness, O God.
Bring us to peace.

Amen.