From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.
The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.
But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plow.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
Where the ruined
House once stood.
— Yehuda Amichai, Israeli Poet
This Lent the gospel lessons have invited us to have our faces pressed up against four windows, looking in on encounters between Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and people in his day. Intense, intimate, each distinct, Jesus’ encounters with Nicodemus, the influential Pharisee, the unnamed, socially marginalized woman at the well, the young man born blind, and this coming Sunday, with the entombed Lazarus and his family, have each given us a glimpse of what it might mean for us, wherever and however we find ourselves, to encounter this One who offers light for the world and a spring of spiritual water that can never run dry.
This past Sunday’s gospel, about the sabbath healing of the man born blind, swirled with controversy– the religious leaders, the neighbors, the disciples, the man’s family– all had something to say about it, and none of it good. And yet, at the moment when his life had been both completely transformed for the better and he had been cast out of his social circle and community, Jesus finds and gathers this lamb into his arms.
With all the controversy swirling around these days–violence, threats, strange weather and worse forecasts– it can be easy to miss the still small voice of the One speaking deep inside of us. We talked on Sunday about what gets in the way of our own encounters with Jesus; fear and the certainty that tamps down fear were two of the most common themes mentioned. “Doubts and loves dig up the world.” So does gratitude. Presence. Adventure. Joy. Even silliness.
My prayer for you, beloveds, as we round the corner of Lent and set our face toward Holy Week and Easter, is that you find that soft earth of the present moment, and encounter Jesus, your Good Shepherd, gently waiting for you there.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10.
Deep peace, dear ones.
Amy+
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