Our Weeping God

Indeed, God has a sense of humor or at the very least an exceptionally developed sense of irony!  It was just a few days ago that I was watching an episode of Project Runway with my roommate (Don’t judge me).  I was getting irritated because there were grown men on the show coming undone emotionally and weeping like somebody died over something as small as a dress!  There was one in particular.  I know he couldn’t hear me, but I couldn’t help but talk to the screen and say “Man up!  For God’s sake man, pull yourself together!”

Well, what do you know a few days later I find myself collapsed on the cold tile of the bathroom floor weeping like somebody died!  The next day I thought, “Ok Jesus, well played.  I hear ya.  Judge not lest ye be judged.  I get it now.  Point taken Lord, point taken. Can we move on to the next lesson now?”

Jesus wept.  John 11:35

 It’s the shortest verse in the Bible but it says so much.  Jesus wasn’t weeping because he was having a bad day or feeling particularly emotional that day.  He wept because he looked upon the pain of Martha and Mary as they mourned the loss of their brother and was moved by it.  He could not see their pain and not feel it himself.  He could not look upon their tears without shedding his own.

This is our God, our weeping God.  A God who loves us so much that our pain becomes God’s pain.  A God humble enough to leave the majesty of heaven to come weep with us, in our pain, in our sorrows, in our difficulties, in our broken places.  In the silence of our grief our God can be found holding us, comforting us, simply being present and bearing witness to our pain.

I was not alone on that bathroom floor.  Jesus saw my pain and just couldn’t help himself.  He came down, found some space on that bathroom floor and wept with me.  For this I am grateful.  For this my heart is overflowing with love for this weeping God and my mouth with praise.  For this I cannot help but tell the world I have a found a Love beyond words that never fails, never fades, and never falters.   It is always enough.  This weeping God is enough. 

My heart is fixed on this, that I am never alone and we are never alone.  Our God is never ashamed to weep when we weep and I will never be ashamed of our weeping God.

Following the Way,

Kevin

The Blessing of a Broken Heart

There's a blessing in having a broken heart.  I know this may sound strange, but I know it to be true in my own life.  In fact, I believe it is true for anyone following the spiritual path.  For believers it is important to remember that Christ did not come to remove our brokenness.  Anyone who thinks that following Jesus means you'll never cry or experience pain or illness or setbacks and difficulty is dead wrong!  For Christ did not come to remove our brokenness but to dwell more fully within it.  We are not blessed or broken; we are blessed and broken.  Christ came to dwell in our brokenness; to make our broken places his dwelling place.  So a broken heart with all of the grief and heaviness that comes with it is an opportunity to sink deeper into Jesus and for Jesus to sink deeper into us.  For this I am grateful.  Sometimes the only thing that can water the soil of our faith is our tears.

This is what I've been experiencing recently.  Facing some heavy disappointment I turned to God in prayer and felt the love and comfort only God can provide.  I said "God I lift my broken heart to You" and immediately felt God's response: God's abiding indwelling presence.  When I look back over my life I can't imagine how I would have survived if not for God carrying me through the hard times.  Over the years I've discovered that a heart that is broken has more room for God to dwell in.  A broken heart can be the catalyst for intimacy and drive us straight into the arms of God where we realize everything we need can be found there.  It reminds us of our need for God and allows us to rediscover the comfort and encouragement only God can bring.  For this I am grateful.

So when you find yourself with a heart that is breaking know that you're in a good place because a heart that can be broken is a heart that can be touched, that can be filled, that can be moved by the suffering of others, by the sound of laughter, by the simple sensation of a gentle passing breeze.  A heart that can be broken is the perfect place for God to dwell.  We are often ashamed of our brokenness, our weakness, our shortcomings.  Not God; for our brokenness is the place where God desires to dwell the most.  From God's perspective it's the best room in the house!  It's the place that God can mend, heal, restore and cause to expand.  You are blessed even in your brokenness so allow God to dwell in your broken places. It will make all the difference.  It has for me time and time again and is so even now.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God".  1 Corinthians 2:3-4

Following the Way,

Kevin

Surviving The Storm

Boy was I unprepared for the sudden rain storm that hit yesterday!  Thank goodness there was an umbrella in the office.  Looking out the window it didn't seem so bad, but the moment I stepped outside it just started pouring buckets.  I haven't seen rain fall like that in a long time.  Wearing just a t-shirt and shorts I clung to that umbrella, but the rain was pounding against it so hard I wasn't sure if it would hold up.  By the time I got home I was a wet mess!

The storms of life are often the same way: sudden, blinding and intense.  You can't help but wonder in the middle of it, "Am I going to make it out of here"?  They come out of nowhere and just descend.  An unexpected car accident, job lay-offs, illness, conflict in relationships, these storms can suddenly descend with a fury that makes us wonder are we going to survive.

"I've never been through a storm that did not pass over".  This is a line from a gospel song; it's so simple and so true.  A few hours after I came home a sopping wet mess yesterday, the rain stopped completely and the sun made a reappearance.  The storm and all it's fury passed over.  Every storm comes to an end regardless of how big, bad or ugly the storm is.  Every storm passes over.

I'm not sure what storms you may be facing in your life at this moment.  I've got a few storms raging right now myself.  Maybe you're dealing with a storm of loneliness, depression or economic hardship.  Whatever the storm is, no matter how strong the wind, no matter how blinding the rain, no matter how loud the thunder, know this: EVERY storm you face in life WILL pass over.

There is life after failure.  There is life after divorce.  There is life after a miscarriage.  There is life a after a cancer diagnosis.  There is life even after your hopes and dreams seem to shatter into a million little pieces.  You will survive the storm.  Let me say it again.  You will survive the storm.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Following The Way,
Kevin

Occupy Wall Street

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".

Ephesians 6:12

This Scripture came alive for me as I attended the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City on Saturday, September 17.  It was my first protest ever, but I can easily say I will never be the same.  I went with a group of 9 other Christians as the Protest Chaplains.  We were there to be a specifically Christian witness against corporate greed and excess and the exploitation of the poor.  It was absolutely wonderful to stand in solidarity with the protesters!  We sang, we prayed, we gave out about 500 granola bars and we had many conversations with many wonderful people.

One of the things I remember most is seeing the bronze statue of the bull for the first time.  It was barricaded and there were police standing around it to protect it from protesters.  I was disgusted!  Seeing police officers defend this idol, this symbol of the false god of money devouring human lives in order to make a profit, made me want to vomit.  It was then that I became aware that we were confronting evil.  This protest wasn't just a social battle it was a spiritual one.  We joined the people and we marched around the bull several times holding up a cross and I felt God marching with us.  My eyes are tearing up just thinking about it.  The atmosphere was intensely charged.  I felt this surge of energy and the conviction that darkness cannot overcome the light.  Evil will never conquer good.  Justice can be delayed but it cannot be stopped.  This bull and all who swear by it will fall.

This was the first time that I realized that being a follower of Jesus in this present time meant being an activist.  When huge banks and corporations seek to devour the soul of America, highjack our political and economic systems and reduce democracy to a historical artifact, Christians must not lock themselves in their churches.  We must follow Jesus out of our churches and into the streets to stand in solidarity with all who fight for justice, fairness and equality.  Our faith never tells us to run and hide from evil, but to confront it head on with the knowledge that evil shall not prevail.

It is not enough for the church to say "Blessed are the poor".  What are we doing to help them?  Do we dare speak the truth to power in love?  Are we willing to lay aside our comfort and complacency to be a voice for those who are trying to be silenced by systems of oppression and exploitation?   Let's not just say what Jesus said.  Let's do what Jesus did and is still doing today: setting the captives free.  Let us turn our prayers into action.  Let us follow Jesus, the Liberator; the Jesus who was never ok with anyone being mistreated and stepped on, especially the poor.  This protest gives me an opportunity to do just that and I am going to follow this Jesus with all that I have within me.  I hope you will join me.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Giving God Thanks!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For his mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

My sister was rear-ended by another car this week.  She was in a stopped position waiting to make a left turn when a car just plowed right into her.

When I look at this picture all I can say is THANK YOU JESUS!!!  My sister is still alive.  The accident could have been so much worse.  She could have been killed.  My nephew could have been in the back seat, but he wasn't.  My little nieces could have been in that back seat, but they were not.  I have to give God thanks for sparing my sister's life.  Even when all hell breaks loose God is still FAITHFUL!!!  God has proven this to me over and over again.

If you are in the habit of texting while driving I beg you, PLEASE STOP!!!  If not for the sake of your own life than for the sake of the lives of all the other drivers and passengers on the road.  But for the grace of God my family could be making funeral arrangements for my sister right now because of a negligent driver.  Don't let that negligent driver be you.  Please don't text and drive!  God's peace be with you all!

Following the Way,
Kevin

Meeting God in the Storm

On Sunday, August 28 Boston got a taste of Tropical Storm Irene.  I had begun to move from one apartment to another the day before.  Yes I know, bad timing!  I was at my mom's, sitting in her bed upstairs, listening to the wind howl and the rain beat heavily against the window.  It's the same house I grew up in as a child and even in adulthood there is something so comforting about being in my mom's room, wrapped up in her blankets!  From time to time I have trouble sleeping.  There are some nights like last night when I just lay awake for hours, but EVERY time I visit my mom and sneak off into her room I fall asleep, EVERY single time.  I just can't explain it.

Anyway, I was in bed watching TV, so glad to be completely sheltered from the storm when I began to feel the presence of God slip into the room.  It was unexpected, but it should not have been.  I allowed myself to be still for a moment and became aware of the Presence that had always been there.  It happens every time I allow myself to be still.  I thought to myself isn't it just like God to show up in the middle of a storm?  The wind is raging outside, knocking down tree branches and power lines.  The rain is beating against the window as if it really wants to come in and here comes God, quietly, but so surely stepping into the room and meeting me in the middle of the storm.  I began to pray and I began to feel that every single storm I've ever experienced in my life would be used by God to bring out something good, that all of the things I've thought of as burdens God would use them to become sources of blessing for me and for others.

This is the God that I know, the God who is not deterred by raging winds and relentless rain.  The God who is not deterred by your past.  The God who is not deterred by your rage.  The God who is not deterred by your unbelief.  This God will meet you in the storm, whatever storm you may be experiencing in your life right now.  God will meet you there and God will use the very things that came into your life to hurt you to bless you.  The God who turns burdens into blessings will meet you in the storm.

And so I say thank you, even for the winds and the rain, even for the challenges and the obstacles, even for the disappointments and the pain.  If I had never shed a tear than I would have never discovered the God who turns tears into dancing.  And so I say thank you, even for the storm, but most of all for the God who's not afraid to meet me there.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Eyes That See