Philippians 3:20-4:1
But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
An Offering from Ashley Brandon:
A few years ago I read a book by Rebecca Solnit called, "A Paradise Built in Hell." Solnit chronicles some of the world's major natural disasters, and points out the way that communities of hope rise up in the midst of destruction. After these tragic events, such as the San Francisco fire of 1906, Hurrican Katrina, and 9/11, Solnit found that the barriers that normally existed were broken down and people joined together to feed one another, care for one another, meet the basic needs of neighbors, and rebuild their lives together. She found stories of radical human kindness, solidarity, altruism, heroism, courage, and community in the aftermath of these disasters. She points to a kind of Utopia that temporarily rises up in these dark times, what I might call a glimpse of the kingdom of Heaven. She says,
"Few speak of paradise now, except as something remote enough to be impossible. The ideal societies we hear of are mostly far away or long ago, or both, situated in m in a remote some primordial society before the Fall or a spiritual kingdom Himalayan vastness. The implication is that we here and nw are far from capable of living such ideals. But what if paradise flashed up among us from time to time - at the worst of times? What if we glimpsed it in the jaws of hell? These flashed give us, as the long ago and far away do not, a glimpse of who else we ourselves bay be and what else our society may become. This is a paradise of rising to the occasion that points out by contrast how the rest of the time most of us fall down from the heights of possibility, down into diminished selves and dismal societies. [...] The door to this era's potential paradises is in hell."
Undoubtedly, we live in a world that is broken. Pain, suffering, injustice, and oppression exist all around us, and it is easy to feel as though the Promised Land, the kingdom that God describes for us, is out of sight and out of reach. But our journey toward the cross leads us to the discovery that through love darkness is transformed into light, pain is transformed into healing, and as Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, our humiliation is transformed into glory. During the season of Lent, we do not forget the Resurrection, but we are called to remember that it took place in the midst of a cruel, unjust, scary, and painful time and place, not in some distant realm of the heavens. We are called to take part in God's story of redemption here and now, to be His hands and feet in this world, to do His transforming work of love.
Prayer
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
(Prayer for the Human Family, BCP 815)
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