Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 17; Jeremiah 31:15-22; Matthew 12:43-50; 1 Peter 5:6-14; Psalm 44
There was one line in today’s reading from Jeremiah that really hit me when I read it. That line came from Jeremiah 31:21. In speaking to those in exile, the prophet lifted up these simple words of wisdom: “The road out is the road back” (The Message). Let me tell you why those words struck me so. Over the years I’ve dealt with people who left their faith behind for a variety of reasons. Some left as they struggled with the ravages of an addiction. Some left because their life circumstance made them feel outside the bonds of God’s love. Still others left because their understanding of God changed and they felt they could no longer reconcile their head with their spirit. What has caught my attention is that in so many of these instances the thing that caused an individual to leave their faith behind also served as the impetus for their return. Those who left their faith because they had given themselves over to an addiction, for instance, eventually realized that the only way they could beat that addiction was through the help of their Higher Power. Those who left because of their life circumstance (i.e. a divorce, a coming out experience, a tragedy) often came back because the marginalization they faced opened them up to new experiences of the Holy – experiences that over the long haul actually deepened the roots of their faith. Those who left because they could no longer reconcile their head with the spirit discovered a God who both celebrated questions as tools of growth and integrated head and spirit in ways that brought them a life-changing perspective on the world. In each case, the road out was the road back. Are their parts of your life that you have wrestled with and viewed as the road out of your faith? If so, sit with today’s words from Jeremiah and see if what you thought was your road out of your faith might in fact be the road back as well. Til next time…
There was one line in today’s reading from Jeremiah that really hit me when I read it. That line came from Jeremiah 31:21. In speaking to those in exile, the prophet lifted up these simple words of wisdom: “The road out is the road back” (The Message). Let me tell you why those words struck me so. Over the years I’ve dealt with people who left their faith behind for a variety of reasons. Some left as they struggled with the ravages of an addiction. Some left because their life circumstance made them feel outside the bonds of God’s love. Still others left because their understanding of God changed and they felt they could no longer reconcile their head with their spirit. What has caught my attention is that in so many of these instances the thing that caused an individual to leave their faith behind also served as the impetus for their return. Those who left their faith because they had given themselves over to an addiction, for instance, eventually realized that the only way they could beat that addiction was through the help of their Higher Power. Those who left because of their life circumstance (i.e. a divorce, a coming out experience, a tragedy) often came back because the marginalization they faced opened them up to new experiences of the Holy – experiences that over the long haul actually deepened the roots of their faith. Those who left because they could no longer reconcile their head with the spirit discovered a God who both celebrated questions as tools of growth and integrated head and spirit in ways that brought them a life-changing perspective on the world. In each case, the road out was the road back. Are their parts of your life that you have wrestled with and viewed as the road out of your faith? If so, sit with today’s words from Jeremiah and see if what you thought was your road out of your faith might in fact be the road back as well. Til next time…
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