Peace in Crashing Waves

Peace, I found it today in the cracked sea shells scattered like a lost mosaic regurgitated during a sea storm.  The sand is coarse, the waves crash and rise, persistent and tumultuous, peace in unrest.  It seems to be a paradox, but when you stand in the natural world, and really tune into the earth you see the fine tuned rhythm of taking trial in stride and how suffering and storms of life can leave a legacy of something beautiful.  How can there be such a peace in the restless rage of the ocean, God yields peace and love in the harshest of circumstances.  Looking out at the ocean I think about Noah and the Ark.  Every major culture has an origin myth tied to a great flood - the historian in me takes this as testament that as the nations disseminated the story of a horrible earth shattering flood nearly destroyed mankind, but out of the storm is a dove and the spirit of God's grace in the rainbow arc.  It is hard to fathom how destroying forces in nature can be a force of good, but storms provide moisture and fires strengthen a forest.  It is our duty to respect God's natural wonders and see his work in the world around us.  In the season of lent we are in a desert time, a time of fasting and anticipation of death, pain, betrayal and torture, yet out of death God brings life.  God is not actively insouciant to our suffering.  Deists believe God created the universe and let it be a time clock, not interfering in earthly matters...I beg to differ, God is active in everything around us from the crashing ocean waves to beauty of a sunrise and in our suffering he is there to mend us in spirit.  God's priorities are not our priorities - he prizes protecting our soul and making sure we are good to one another - walking in love.  He does care about our material sustenance, but that is not what life is about - life is about love and giving yourself to God's will and the spirit of love, compassion and discernment in the Holy Spirit.  Christ died for salvation, that is grace, but we are in a relationship with the Holy Trinity - God expects us to do his will and trust him even in choppy waters...

My thoughts turn to Jesus and the disciples during the storm on the Sea of Galilee - he slept while they worried and panicked - Christ calms storms - Christ works in suffering and it is our duty to help the needs of those who suffer through active love.

The verse of the day in the lectionary comes from Jeremiah:
Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD." For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.

When we turn to focus on the hate, anger and selfishness of disaster and chaos, getting caught up in materialism and temporal ideology we lose sight of the macro picture - Christ wants us to focus on living on earth as much as salvation in heaven, he wants us to cherish this life.  If life were not important on earth then God would not have sacrificed his only son for our life in this realm and the next.  What we need to realize is Christ wants us to flip the world upside down by living in accordance to the Father's will - sometimes that is foreign to us - we don't want to pay for another man's burdens - God did pay for ours...When someone is suffering it is our duty to lift them up in love, to offer a shoulder to cry on, a prayer, a meal and investment in community.

In our polarized world, where hate and ideology is running rampant we need to listen to Jeremiah's words and Christ's message (below) more than ever - If you want to give up something during Lent - give up worrying about material and actively focusing on people over things, love instead of hate and community in balance with self.  I am relearning these lessons every day.  I have been an orphan abandoned, I have been an alien and stranger...it was the hearts of light - filled with the Holy Spirit that helped me - not for a ticket to heaven but because they were so overcome with the Holy Spirit they did Christ's will naturally because love gives the giver a sense of joy and fulfillment - love is abundant


If Jesus was in trouble, alone and in need would we tend him with the loving care he lays down for us?

John 7:
hen Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him