Caring is Overwhelming
Kels and I have this thing where we pick a word for each new year. I think it's actually a thing for lots of people, but we keep ours on the DL. So little-known fact: I have a word for 2015, and it's a positive uplifting idea that makes a lot of sense for where I am in life right now. But you want to know something? If I had to describe this year so far in one word, it would not be that one. It would be "overwhelmed."
I started 2015 by taking an intensive seminar course on immigration and the American church. 43 hours of class time in the first week of January is a very interesting concept. It was a fantastic course, but after being immersed in the complexities of American immigration and its effect on the church, "overwhelming" is the only word I have to describe it.
I take on the problems and the sadness of certain issues, and immigration is one of them.
Last Sunday, the second weekend of 2015, I was received into the Episcopal Church by Bishop Wright. It was such a profound experience for me, but at the same time very quiet. I haven't even talked to my family about it. Still, my journey toward this branch of the church has been long and complicated, so the fact that I chose a church home and it actually feels like home is a big deal. Overwhelming, even.
On January 13 the first US execution of 2015 took place. Andrew Brennan was a war veteran with a well-documented history of mental illness. He should not have died. Violence will not solve violence.
I take on the problems and sadness of certain issues, and criminal justice is one of them. I'm overwhelmed.
I want this year to be one of exploration and the presence of God. The fight for justice in this world makes no sense without that presence. Actually nothing I do makes sense without it. The idea that I could keep going through this crazy semester without the time to notice the Spirit is absurd. That means I'm going to need time to run in the woods, time to watch the trees move in wind, time to read good poetry even though it is profoundly unproductive.
Caring about social justice or ethics or any of it without the actual presence of God in our lives is just plain overwhelming. It is not helpful or productive or inspiring. And I think that presence comes to us in really tangible ways, incarnated, like in the sun on our faces and the Sacraments that bend heaven to earth for real, and in the people who answer their phones at midnight.
I started 2015 by taking an intensive seminar course on immigration and the American church. 43 hours of class time in the first week of January is a very interesting concept. It was a fantastic course, but after being immersed in the complexities of American immigration and its effect on the church, "overwhelming" is the only word I have to describe it.
I take on the problems and the sadness of certain issues, and immigration is one of them.
Last Sunday, the second weekend of 2015, I was received into the Episcopal Church by Bishop Wright. It was such a profound experience for me, but at the same time very quiet. I haven't even talked to my family about it. Still, my journey toward this branch of the church has been long and complicated, so the fact that I chose a church home and it actually feels like home is a big deal. Overwhelming, even.
On January 13 the first US execution of 2015 took place. Andrew Brennan was a war veteran with a well-documented history of mental illness. He should not have died. Violence will not solve violence.
I take on the problems and sadness of certain issues, and criminal justice is one of them. I'm overwhelmed.
I want this year to be one of exploration and the presence of God. The fight for justice in this world makes no sense without that presence. Actually nothing I do makes sense without it. The idea that I could keep going through this crazy semester without the time to notice the Spirit is absurd. That means I'm going to need time to run in the woods, time to watch the trees move in wind, time to read good poetry even though it is profoundly unproductive.
Caring about social justice or ethics or any of it without the actual presence of God in our lives is just plain overwhelming. It is not helpful or productive or inspiring. And I think that presence comes to us in really tangible ways, incarnated, like in the sun on our faces and the Sacraments that bend heaven to earth for real, and in the people who answer their phones at midnight.
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