Called to Be Still

For four years I commuted daily to the Queen City.  Ella and Mattie were born in Carolinas Medical Center, they spent 43 days of their life being cared by some of the best doctors and nurses who call Charlotte home.  Our family flies from the Charlotte airport, we make frequent trips to the American Girl store in Charlotte, we have enjoyed many opportunities for entertainment there, we have worshipped in the heart of the city and we have served alongside some who have no home, but still call Charlotte "home."  We live only 20 miles from Charlotte and I have watched this week and I have felt called to "be still."

I think there are two images that stick in my mind that seem to describe all the emotion that is happening in Charlotte,  The first is of a police officer with a tear streaming down his check behind his gas mask and the other is of a very young man kicking and destroying 4 glass windows of a store.  The tear and the kicking both convey hurt, pain, anger, grief, and fear.  The tear and the kick are not just instant response to the current situation, rather they speak to the deeply rooted issues that exist.  The hurt and pain did not come from just one shooting, the anger did not come from just one situation, the grief did not happen overnight, and the fear has been building for years and years.  

Psalm 46 has become my prayer and it has become my call to be still:

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
    though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
³ though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
    God will help it when the morning dawns.
⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord;
    see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations,
    I am exalted in the earth.”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Trouble, tumult, and uproar are present and this Psalm reminds us that"God is present in the midst of the city."  God is VERY present and we are called to "Be Still and Know that I am God."  Yesterday our church staff made the decision to open out prayer room in hopes that people would come and seek God and spend a few moments begin still.   Last night at our Bible Study we engaged in Lectio divina using Psalm 46 as our text in hopes that God will help us focus on our response.  

Today is a new day and yet the pain, hurt, anger, grief, and fear remain.  As a person of faith and as a person of privilege, I know that I am called to respond.  I certainly don't have all the answers, but as a mom when hurt, pain, grief, anger, and fear rear their ugly heads in our house, it does us all good to stop, take a deep breath, and center ourselves.  Now is not the time to point fingers or place blame.  Now is the time start bridging the gap of racism, prejudice, and violence by being still and through our stillness we are called to action.  Perhaps if we will commit to sit and be still with God, our response will look different from the past.  Our judgement might not be so much about blaming someone else and our justice might not look like getting even.  We could be called to radically love our brothers and sisters and to seek peaceful relationships.  Our being still and calm might even enable us to sit and have a conversation with someone who is very different from us, so that together we might be able to bring about God's kingdom.  

And lest you are confused, I don't think we are called to only be still.  We are called to be still and focus on God who is in our midst! 

Darkness and Joy

This week we greet the arrival of Fall.  On September 22, the autumnal equinox will occur and a new season officially begins.  The equinox occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator from north to south and the days and nights are equal in length.  In other words, on September 22, there should be 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness and from that day forward the nights begin to get longer and longer.  In the midst of the long nights, the mountain ranges brighten with vibrant colors of red, yellow and orange.  After the beauty of the leaves, they land on ground bringing the need for raking and the fun of jumping in large piles.  Football season kicks into high gear and a new school year is well under the way.  Temperatures begin to drop and the first frost may even occur.  Fall is certainly a time when much is changing.  

Fall happens to be my favorite season of the year.  I love the seeing all the colors, decorating my house with mums and pumpkins, wearing long sleeves, and feeling the cool crisp air in the mornings and evenings.  While, I love the season, I know that it is met with much anxiety from others who dread the longer nights and limited daylight.   I must admit the early evening and morning darkness is my least favorite aspect of the season. 

As a mother of 3 girls, I know that things seem much worse in the middle of darkness and that the evening hours are the most difficult time of the day.  At my house, the dinner time hour is met with tired and cranky kids and parents who have worked all day and everyone has expended all our positive energy and darkness is greeted with terrible attitudes.  A fever in the night is often higher than during the day and a sickness seems to be more intense or painful when darkness covers the house.  A strange noise in the middle of the night is louder and more suspicious.  Long nights are challenging and there has been sleepless nights that I never thought would end.  

Theologically speaking, darkness has been characterized as time of loneliness and pain.  God is seemingly absent in the darkness and sin come to be associated with darkness.  Thus, it seems normal that humanity would struggle with darkness.  Depression seems to grow more prevalent during the seasons where there is more darkness, so for many fall is greeted with dread and uncertainty.  People’s moods mimic the long dark nights and they find themselves lonely and without hope.  I pray that as we head into the darkness of fall and winter, that the church would proclaim to folks that, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).  The dark days of fall and winter will gradually be replaced with more and more glimpses of light.

As we approach the autumnal equinox, it seems important for the church to remember, Jesus was born as the light of the world and that his light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not and cannot overcome it (John 1:5).  As the night grows longer and the days grow shorter, God incarnate shines brightly and followers of Jesus bring forth joy to all they encounter.