"Be Here Now"

Won't you be glad when COVID-19 is over?  I'll bet you have plenty of ideas for the things you want to do when this pandemic is done.  Personally, I have some travel plans that are on hold until we get through this mess.  I can't wait to go back to Virginia and visit family and friends--but those plans may very well be delayed.  That doesn't stop me from thinking about the good times I'll have when life is back to normal, though.  I want to go hiking and camping and kayaking.  I want to go to church and be with people I care about.  Yep--that'll be the day!

In Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), God speaks these words through the prophet, to people who are desperate for better days:  

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Many people have adopted this as their "life verse," a sort of guiding principle for their lives.  This is a great verse, and definitely worthy of being treated as such.  It reminds us that no matter how bad things get, or how discouraged we may become, God has a good future planned for us.

But let's read that verse in context of God's other word for struggling people.  In verses 4-7 (NIV), God says:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 

These words remind us not to focus so much on the future that we forget the present.  In the poignant words of Ram Dass, we are reminded to "be here now."  These three simple words encapsulate what God was telling the people of Israel.  They may long for the future, and God may promise a brighter day--but God's people are meant to "be here now."  

So, if you're feeling anxious about the present, remember that the future will be brighter.  But today, settle down.  Invest yourself in those around you.  Find something constructive to do. Seek other people's prospertity--be helpful to others.  Remember to pray for your enemies and your neighbors alike.  Practice mindfulness--be present in the present moment.  While you have faith that tomorrow will be a brighter day, don't forget to "be here now."

"God is Broken"

"God must be broken," someone once told me.  "What kind of God would allow so much suffering in this world?"

I nodded in agreement.  "A broken God," I answered.

As of now, COVID-19 has claimed at least 164,391 lives worldwide, not to mention the "collateral damage" of the disease.  Some of the peripheral pain caused by this strain of Coronavirus is:

• Mental health crises brought on by isolation, financial hardship
• Increased suicide rate
• Massive unemployment
• Rise in domestic violence
• Educational plans put on hold or destroyed
• Decrease in access to public health services, leading to exacerbated health situations, even death

You could probably add your own story of hardship to the list above.  In times like these, many people express feelings of doubt.  They ask, "Can a good God be all-powerful?  Can an all-powerful God be good?"  I'm going to let theologians who are more qualified than myself answer this question--I'm sure you'll Google the answer.  Instead, I want to answer my friend who said, "God must be broken."

Yes, indeed--God is broken.  

God's heart is broken by the brokenness of this world.  God weeps with those who weep.   When you go through sorrow or fear or heartbreak or disappointment, God feels that pain right along with you.  God never intended it to be this way--but God does want to heal your hurt.

God's body was broken by the brokenness of this world.  When Jesus died on the cross, it was because this cruel world couldn't abide someone so loving, so gracious, so wise, and so healing to continue to draw breath.  Yes, it's true that "hurt people hurt people," and the hurting world put Jesus on the cross.  Because of this, God knows first hand the suffering and pain caused by the brokenness of the world.  

God's mind was even broken by the brokenness of the world.  The state of creation is so fallen, so fractured, so failed that in an instant it broke the mind of God.  On the cross, Jesus felt so ripped apart that he spoke the unthinkable: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Divine Jesus felt torn from the Trinity, like the curtian of the Temple that was shredded from top to bottom.

Yes, God is broken--and yet, God lives.

It takes a broken God to know the suffering of a shattered world.  But it takes a risen God to declare triumph over the pain.  That's what Easter was all about--Jesus announcing that even though the pain is real, there is hope and remaking.  And it's good news that even though Jesus is risen, he still bears the scars.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas missed the event.  In his doubt, he told them that they'd fallen to mass hysteria.  He wouldn't believe it, he said, until he saw and touched Jesus' scars.  Then, a week later, Jesus appeared again.  This time, Thomas was there.  Trembling as Jesus let him touch the places where the nails and spear had been, Thomas declared, "My Lord, and my God!"  

Even though Jesus was resurrected, he still kept the scars.  This was so he could show broken Thomas that he was broken, too.  Rather than asking Thomas to exercise some great faith, Jesus met his friend right where was--in his pain and doubt and shattered spirit.  Jesus said, "You know--I'm broken, too.  Here, touch my brokenness, and let's be broken together for a while."  Then, this sharing of pain brought relief, from which sprouted faith.

I wonder--during this time of COVID-19, has your faith been shaken or shattered?  Have you suffered hardship, loss, grief, or dispair?  Have you thought that God must be broken?  Well--you're right.  God was broken, and is broken still.  But in that brokenness, God knows your pain.  God shares your pain--but offers you promise.  The resurrection is real.  Just like Jesus' broken body was remade, you can be put back together as well.  Jesus doesn't ask that much of you--he meets you right where you are.  Even if you're not ready to say, "My Lord and my God," Jesus simply says, "Look--touch--see.  This is my body, broken for you."