I woke up with theodicy (the question of why evil exists in the world) and brokenness on my mind this morning. As I stumbled from the edge of the bed to the coffee pot, realizing that there probably wasn't enough coffee in the world to help me sort thru these thoughts in their entirety, the list kept growing:

Sick children who are confined to hospital beds, people who are attacked for simply being who they are, the homeless and jobless who roam the streets and highways begging for change so they can merely survive the day, the brokenhearted who have longed to be loved but who are only met with disappointment and rejection, those who struggle with mental illness and do their best to relate what they're feeling to a world that just doesn't understand.

I often find myself subconsciously asking God "Why?" in the midst of these situations and others when, really, I think the better question might be to ask "Where? Where are you calling me to go and use my life to ease the suffering of others with the power of your Spirit?"

And then, of course, as I'm running thru all these questions like a hamster on a wheel, I get to the gospel reading for today. It's one of my favorites. John 20:19-22. Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection and said to them, "'Peace be with you. As God has sent me so I am sending you.' Then he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

God has not left us alone in the grief of this life. God walks alongside us, comforting us when we hurt and empowering us when we don't, encouraging us to offer words and acts of love to those who suffer so that they may know God's love and presence has not abandoned them.

We have been breathed into being by the God of Creation. And that same God breathes God's Spirit into us so that we may go into the world, see the brokenness, and do something about it out of the unconditional love that is given for all just as Jesus did so long ago. 

We cannot stand idly by when we witness suffering in the world. We must go where the Spirit leads us so that God's will of healing, wholeness, and right relationship with all people may begin to be revealed in the here and now.
-----------
Prayer makes a difference.
Writing notes of encouragement makes a difference.
Making donations to people directly or organizations that seek to help people makes a difference.
Being present with someone in their suffering makes a difference.
Listening, not talking, makes a difference.

Putting God's will before our own makes a difference. 

What will we do to let others know they are not alone in their suffering today? Will we notice the Spirit abiding with and guiding us? May it be so, O Lord, and may we honor you as we seek to spread your love and compassion to the ends of the earth.

Rain and gloom on Holy Thursday.

Normally, I would be content that a similar darkness to what I've always imagined is settling in around Jesus and the disciples on Maundy Thursday is also evident around me as I read about and remember the happenings on the night before Jesus' death (John 13: 1-17; 31-35). Scripture tells us this night was full of honest moments, of truth-telling, of charging the disciples with their responsibility to carry on without Jesus' physical presence in the weeks and months and years ahead as they continue spreading far and wide their new-found knowledge of God's unequivocal and unconditional love for all God's people.

Today the rain and thunder make me a little uneasy as I survey it from my in-laws' pier in Louisiana.  It occurs to me that the rain is probably inducing everything but contentment in the people of this state. The rain has caused so much damage here lately that I watch in both amazement at its beautiful eeriness and fear that the water will continue to rise and again put people's lives in danger.

I wonder if the disciples didn't feel similar emotions (on a much grander scale) that Maundy Thursday night as Jesus said all of these profound and earth-shattering truths to them...could these things Jesus is telling us really be true? Do we have what it takes to follow this call without him here?

As one of his final acts in showing the disciples how they were to live their lives in service to God and to others, he washes their feet. They're hesitant at first. Sort of like, "Whoa, Jesus, you're kiiiind of a big deal. Maybe washing my feet isn't such a good idea..." to which Jesus replies, "I'm doing this so you'll know how this is gonna roll. I've called you to humbly lead and walk alongside people in their faith with God as your guide. This makes you no better than them. This call is not about who's better. It is everything about right relationship: with God and with people. I have been sent by God and now I am sending you out into the world to continue teaching about and living out God's love for all people."

It can be a lot, right? This whole being sent by God to be the church in the world business. It's especially heavy on this, Holy Week, as we come face to face with, nowhere to hide from the ways that we have failed to acknowledge our shortcomings in the call we have been given as Christians to care for others and the ways we have turned blind eye after blind eye to those who are hungry, thirsty, sick, lost, lonely, without shelter, without loved ones, without community, without knowledge of God's love for them.

Easter is not yet here. Now is the time that we contemplate our humanity.  Now is the time that we acknowledge our own brokenness and the brokenness of the world in which we live. Will we chalk it up to being human that we do not always care for others as God has called us or will we follow the example of the One whose Spirit lives within our own, who showed us the way to live our lives so that all may know of and experience God's goodness, abundance, and love?

The choice, as we know, is up to us.