Image and Reflection by Pastor Tracey Leslie, Trinity United Methodist Church

In 2019 I had a Lilly sabbatical.  One of my experiences was a five-day stay at Gethsemani Abbey, a Trappist Monastery in Kentucky.  Gethsemani was Thomas Merton’s Abbey.  As a South Central Pennsylvania native, I couldn’t wait to hike in the area around the monastery.  I love to hike and Kentucky’s topography is like my native area… which I affectionately refer to as Pennsyl-tucky! 

As I hiked the woods, it was so quiet and still.  Very rarely, I would pass another monastery hiker.  But we only nodded.  We did not speak.  It was a quiet, prayerful, reflective experience.

One morning as I hiked the trail, I decided to take a turn deeper into the forest.  The brush was thicker and, although it was a sunny day, it seemed rather dark that deep in the forest.  Then, suddenly, as I approached a peak the sun burst through.  I was stunned and mesmerized by its sudden brilliance.  I took a picture (on this page) but, after taking it, I simply stood there for quite sometime until the angle of the sun began to change.  Although I’m an exercise fiend, I just couldn’t bring myself to abandon that spot where the sun was bursting through in such a glorious way.

In the midst of dreary winter days, many of us long for light.  Scripture opens with Genesis, and story of the beginning of life (Gen. 1:3):  “Then God said, ‘let there be light;’ and there was light.”  In the gospel of John, light is one of the most frequent metaphors for Jesus.  In the introduction to John’s gospel, we read that Jesus is God’s Word made flesh and that “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (John 1:4).  Likewise, 1 John 1:5b notes that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”  In John’s gospel, Jesus proclaims himself the light of the world, saying “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

The good news of Lent is that Jesus came to show us God.  Or, as the writer of Hebrews puts it: He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being (Hebrews 1:3a).  Light and life in Jesus Christ.

​​I’ll suggest that recognizing the good work of God in the lives of others is the easier question to answer.  When I open my eyes to what is around me, when I let myself unwind from the rigidity of my own political stance, the divine is truly everywhere.  Some days I’ll read about someone’s generosity or personally see and experience the graciousness of others, and I’m stunned by all of that beauty and power.  The range can be from the smallest acts of compassion to grand gestures.  I’ve so often been on the receiving end of God’s good work, and I know that it comes regardless of whether any of us are deserving.  These moments sometimes feel capricious, arriving in unexpected ways and times.  I know that goodness surrounds me, and I hope as often as possible I can recognize its gift, regardless of its temporality or permanence.

Witnessing my own good work is the harder question for me to answer.  I can let myself get deeply mired in my own mistakes, my sins, the many times I haven’t stepped up to do what needs to be done, what’s being asked of me.  I can easily let those thoughts blur all that God achieves through me, Catherine.  And even when I act in some way that does bring me pride, satisfaction or reassurance that I’m on the right path, feelings of doubt are always at the edges of my feelings.  Did I do that task well enough?  Was that choice congruent with my values, my understanding of what is good, or was I just choosing what was easier, less costly, less challenging to the status quo?

Wandering around and through this question brings me to the need for forgiveness.  To be able to witness the good work of God in our lives, we have to start with forgiving what each of us can’t do or didn’t do, what someone else can’t do or didn’t do.  When we can’t forgive, we become unable to recognize God’s good work.  I recognize that forgiveness requires lots of hard work; it’s so easy to say we forgive someone without also feeling what that means, how that changes one’s very heart.  And that circles right back to the essential question being asked - how can we do this witnessing?  By starting to forgive ourselves, by starting to forgive others.  And then by recognizing the power of God’s grace and love that makes all of this forgiveness - and good work - possible.

I must confess that I don’t get much spiritual nourishment or fulfillment out of reading scripture. Maybe this is because of my upbringing in the United Methodist Church, which proclaims in its “What We Believe” mission that “John Wesley and the early Methodists placed primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action.” I see and feel the love of God the most when I am interacting with others: my faith is a faith that is sustained by people. This is part of what has made the past year of COVID-19 quarantine so difficult: when I can come together in love and service with my siblings in Christ, I am renewed; when I am separated from them, my faith, and my joy, can feel like they are withering.

But even though we are separated physically, we can still emulate God every day through our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. God’s works are still shone in us through our words and our actions; like Roald Dahl says in his quote from one of his children’s books, “a person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.” If we seek to practice goodness, kindness, and mercy in what we do—even, especially in these times of great trouble—we too will have the love of God shining out of our faces “like sunbeams.”

I personally never really liked the practice of “giving something up” for Lent either; and haven’t we given up enough during this past year? Instead of sacrificing sweets or soda, why not add a spiritual practice instead, or find a way to be God’s presence in the world through demonstrating a spiritual gift? I want to challenge you today: what can you do to let God’s work shine through you? Maybe you can tell the ones you live with something that you appreciate about them. Maybe you can show the staff at the supermarket how much you value them, and that you hope they stay safe and healthy. Maybe you can send a note or a small gift to a friend you haven’t heard from in a while. There are still ways to shine the light on Jesus, even when we must stay six feet apart. I hope you try one or two out this week, you lovely people.
 

Image by Lisa Drake, Trinity United Methodist Church