In today’s gospel* Jesus challenges a faith that is defined more by adherence to human constructed proprieties than by an ever-expanding heart of love. He calls us to deep inner reflection, to listen and understand where we are coming from in our individual and corporate desires and ways and where God might be calling us beyond what is typical and secure.
The time in which we live seems to me a crucible time. Creation is at a breaking point and humanity off-kilter in how we are doing life and being in relationship with each other. There are big fissures in need of great humility and thinking outside the box. Though aged and weary and far from knowing how and being able, I am nonetheless stirred in prayer to different direction, new levels of compassion, and spirited creativity in myself and in community.
I’m resting and wrestling with the questions…
- Can I believe in the bigness of God’s love inviting an ever-widening table of inclusion?
- Can I allow the faith that has gotten me thus far to grow into new openings?
- Can my faith trust God beyond even my images and understandings of God?
- Can I take a leap of faith into new territory?
- Can I trust the Spirit’s movement in others?
- Can I listen to new voices and imagine with them new possibilities for liberation and thriving together?
The Hebrew prophets were always nudging people to the edge of their faith, assured that God’s faithfulness would meet them there with new life. Jesus continued in that vein, and outliers such as the Canaanite woman in our gospel story, were key to the narrative. Might the Eternal Spirit of Life be inviting us now to broaden our religious sensibilities and recover the prophetic imagination at the root of our faith traditions?
-Trish Stefanik, Overlook Retreat House at Dayspring
For more…
Spend time with offerings from mystic and theologian Howard Thurman in the IO archives:
