In two recent gatherings on a contemplative way of life, we were asked the question, “What breaks your heart?”
For me, what breaks my heart is that anyone does not realize that they are beloved of God. Perhaps that is why I feel such joy at Overlook where we offer hospitable space for people to come away and rest awhile and be restored in the quiet presence of the Holy One. Perhaps that is why I write for Inward Outward and work for Shalem, whose mission is to nurture contemplative living and leadership. And why I am a part of a Dayspring church where a small, committed community encourages each other to be authentically who we are and live our lives in love. And why I am spending time and energy of late nurturing new life at the Wellspring Conference Center at Dayspring to welcome God’s grace within and between our communities in healing and creative ways.
Reading this Sunday’s gospel, the Beatitudes, I can feel Jesus’ heartbreak for the crowd hungry for “good news.”* What I hear him say about God’s kingdom at hand turns the way of the world most of us are familiar with upside-down. It is balm for a creation hurting, people excluded by systems of privilege and power, and souls who recognize our need for God’s grace. Jesus says I see you. I love you. You belong. You are blessed.
You, the poor in spirit, the brokenhearted, the powerless, and who humbly seek God; you, the merciful and open-hearted, the peacebuilder; you, who are persecuted for truth-telling and unveiling injustice. I am with you, Jesus says. How remarkable that it is through our vulnerability and dependence on each other, not self-made mastery and self-containment, that God enters into our lives and transforms us for the good of God’s world.
For reflection:
- What are the values that undergird your daily life?
- Where are you showing up as Christ to another?
- How is your spiritual community, family, and friends supporting and encouraging your heart to break open in love?
-Trish Stefanik, Overlook Retreat House at Dayspring
