Are you free… or have you got some kind of shackles tying you down? Or do you flow in and out of freedom/unfreedom as you meander through your days?
I’ve got a great story for you to jump into, a story that comes from the action-packed Bible book called “The Acts of the Apostles”. My suggestion for getting in deep is to try this: Each time you are introduced to a new character, pause to imagine who this person is and in what state of “shackledness” they are. How is this person bound in chains? What is her/his need for freedom? Then weave in some thoughts about which character(s) you relate to. What kind of chains are you dragging around?
Ok, now head on over to Acts 16:16-34, maybe jotting down your insights as you go... and then come back here for a bit…
When I concentrated on each character’s shackledness, I was most intrigued by the exchange between Paul and the un-named slave girl who could "see" beyond the ordinary.
Here Paul has just had a life-changing encounter with the intriguing Lydia, giving to and receiving from someone so different from himself (see last week's blog and/or Acts 16:1-16). So why is he so annoyed by this other "different" person, this enslaved truth-teller who tells him exactly who he is?
I suppose it would be like passing by someone who’s homeless who looks into your eyes and tells everyone around what your occupation is. It would be a bit creepy. And there’s this barrier between most of us and the street people we encounter. We have a hard time valuing that person. We are afraid. And annoyed. And chained to our prejudiced perceptions. How does God reach out to us to unshackle us from the stereotypes that separate us?
Paul goes on to have this intense interchange with the jailer who’s is most certainly enslaved by the Roman empire, even though he’s got a paid position with them. Paul and Silas save the life of this guy and then end up bringing his whole family into the joy of God’s new way of life in Jesus. Life might not be easy for this family, as they turn their backs on their previous way of making sure there’s bread on the table. But they’re connected to a new family of faith.
So was the same gift of life offered to little girl, who was probably ditched by her masters on the spot? I hope so. I guess I’m left feeling like I want to make this story complete by keeping my eyes open to find someone who is undervalued… and offering that someone some grace.
So those are a few of my reflections after reading this story. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to jot them down here in the “comments”, so others might learn from your journey, too.
This week is a bit different for by the way, since Heidi and I both have unusually eventful schedules. We won’t have a Skype conversation discussing this post, but we’ll be back in action next Thursday (5/20) 7pm EST. If you’re new to by the way and would like to see a more “typical” view of the way we do things, please scroll down to the last blog post and you’ll get a good peek in!
I invite you into a time of prayer… God of little and big people, impoverished and wealthy, visionaries and stick-in-the-muds, those who are free and those who are shackled… In this moment, come into the world of my stresses and fears and set me free. Let me float for a while in your expansive grace. Free me from what enslaves me, so I can look at your world with new eyes, with YOUR eyes… eyes filled with delight and compassion and courage. In your name we pray… amen.
Peace to you,
Kari
drench yourself in words unspoken
live your life with arms wide open
today is where your book begins
the rest is still unwritten
~ from "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield ~
So often I find myself drowning in thoughts of what I should have said or done… or what my life could have been if only I… How different that is from the mood in Natasha Bedingfield’s song, Unwritten, where the listener is drawn into the unwritten-ness of today, the unwritten-ness of me.
staring at the blank page before you
open up the dirty window
let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
It’s an intriguing idea, the thought of living my life as if it’s a book that I’m writing, using words that no one else would write, not letting anyone else define me. To be always stepping forward with aniticipation, seeing all I encounter with new, eager eyes… Yep. I’d like to live that way. Sometimes I even manage to do it.
reaching for something in the distance
so close you can almost taste it…
live your life with arms wide open…
feel the rain on your skin
I’m thinking of this amazing person named Lydia who seems to have lived with her arms and her eyes open wide. She shows up in the Bible in The Acts of the Apostles, which is Luke’s post-Easter sequel to his book about Jesus. Take a moment, if you will, to put yourself into this story: Acts 16:9-15.
Lydia and company meet at the river to pray. Here come these strange sailor-dudes (obviously not from here), but the prayer group continues on, making room for the newcomers. The strangers soon become friends as they pray and as they listen. Lydia’s not stuck in any ruts of how worship should be and who should be present. She receives the presence-of-Jesus that the strangers have brought. She’s ready to jump into the newness and splash around. Her trusting joy is contagious, and soon everyone is in the river, trying out the baptized freshness, writing new pages in their own stories.
Lydia’s not the only one who’s got an open, unwritten book. Paul and his crew have been wandering out on the windy sea, struggling with which way to head. They’ve got an out-of-this-world-story-of-life bubbling inside, and they’re willing to scrap the old rule book if that’s the way the spirit leads. They join the riverbank prayer meeting, chatting away (with women! highly unusual!), swapping stories (with Greeks! yikes!), introducing the Risen Jesus with abandon. As Lydia received their gift, so do they receive hers. Her hospitality, that is. First they say no thanks. But she insists on teaching them a thing or two: You’re not the only one who’s got some spirit to give!
This spirit of freely-flowing receiving-and-giving continues on in many faith communities, who are opening up new windows to let the sunshine—and the world—in. Check out this one, which just happens to be named St. Lydia.
Please consider this by the way riverbank to be a place where you can be freely writing your own story. Leave a comment and come back to see the comments of others. If you have questions about baptism, about becoming baptized or renewing your baptism, please leave me a note, and I’ll give you a call.
Do take a splash around Natasha’s delightful video Unwritten. And the lyrics are worth some prayerful reflection as well. I would love to know what phrase or image catches your attention! We’ll be diving deeper into all this on Thursday, May 6, 7pm EST, on http://www.skype.com/. Look for "bythewaycommunity". All are welcome. No exceptions.
Flowing Spirit, open my eyes to see the unwritten possibilities of today. Drench me in your refreshing rain of new life. Challenge me to revisit my own closed-off notions that keep me from you. Move deeply in me and through me, so I’ll be offering hospitality Lydia-style to all in my reach. In your name I pray… amen.
