Simply Soul Searching
HOW IS GOD LOVING ME – AND WHERE IS GOD LEADING ME?
SERENITY
I pass by this scene as I walk each day,
but this morning I wanted to stop and stay…
(Photo by Karen in Hurricane, WV)
JOURNEY
Each journey is completed one step at a time.
Photo by Karen, Valley Park, Hurricane, WV
(I recently discovered the joys of Instagram! While I currently work on a new blog series, I am sharing my Instagram photos and brief thoughts. My regular posts will begin again in May. You can follow me on Instagram @ soulsearchingkwicker)
GLIMPSES
You are wondrous, God, so far beyond my comprehension.
And yet you give me precious glimpses every morning.
Photo taken by Karen in Hurricane, WV
(I recently discovered the joys of Instagram! While I currently work on a new blog series, I will be sharing my Instagram photos and brief thoughts. My regular posts will begin again in May. You can follow me on Instagram @ soulsearchingkwicker)
CONTRIBUTION
Thank you, autumn splendor, for giving yourself to the ongoing creation of the earth.
(I recently discovered the joys of Instagram! While I currently work on a new blog series, I will be sharing my Instagram photos and brief thoughts. My regular posts will begin again in May. You can follow me on Instagram @ soulsearchingkwicker)
Photo by Karen taken in Eleanor, WV
GROWTH, GRACE, AND GRATITUDE
Ancora imparo. (I am still learning.)
– Michelangelo
Dear Readers,
During Holy Week, I was delighted to learn that I had reached a new milestone – I have written over 500 blog posts! I didn’t want to interrupt the Lenten and Holy Week meditations, but today I would like to thank you for reading, following, and encouraging me. I especially thank God for the grace given in the often surprising inspiration, correction, and creativity as I write. My prayer is always that I will have blessed you with a timely insight, a spirit-led challenge, or a comforting reminder of God’s love.
Looking back to my earlier years, I know I have learned so much along the way – which makes me ever mindful that I will have much to learn in the next 500 writings! Even as this is a milestone to celebrate, I hope this also serves as a starting point for better reflection and writing.
My passion and purpose for writing continues to be a heartfelt longing to listen and watch for God’s loving movement in my life. Although my topics may vary, I hope that my experiences and the insights gleaned from them may help everyone to know that we are greatly beloved by God, and that God is actively present and working in our lives to bring growth and goodness.
My site is free of ads or revenue-making venues, offered freely to any who would like to follow. If you have appreciated my writing and know of someone else who might, will you please share my site with them?
Thank you!
Karen 😀
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
(Little Gidding) ― T.S. Eliot
36. LET US GIVE THANKS! (EASTER)
THE ‘LET’ OF EASTER
Sunday, April 4th
read John 20:1-18.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks,
by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe…
Hebrews 12:28 (NRSV)
Easter is here! Christ has arisen! Yes, we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, so Let us give thanks! This is indeed a day to celebrate, to thank God with all reverence and awe.
Then let’s ask ourselves, “Because of this day, how will I live differently tomorrow?”
On that early Easter morning, no one expected the resurrection. The women were coming to anoint the body. The disciples were fearful and grieving. But when they learned that Jesus was alive, everything changed for them. His close followers would soon begin to share the good news with everyone they could, willing to die for what they knew to be true. What Jesus had said would happen, did! They could trust everything he had taught and lived. They were completely transformed that morning and in the days after.
How does Jesus’s resurrection transform us TODAY?
Our most precious gift is knowing that everything Jesus has promised will come true. There IS life after death, there IS a beautiful, eternal life that will even surpass the life we are privileged to know and experience now. The unshakable kingdom is ours, and so is the peace and hope we have in trusting this.
But the gift of resurrection is not just a future hope for a future time. Because Jesus rose from the dead and gave us his Spirit, we have a guide and companion for our present journey. In the Spirit, we experience daily resurrections for every loss; we receive comfort for our sorrow, healing of our pain, wisdom from our mistakes, hope for our despair, and transformation into new life. We carry deep peace, joy, and hope within us for each new day.
Trusting in these gifts of love, how does our future hope transform our NOW? I have been reflecting on the ways I could be invited to live differently…
~ We have seen how God will always make good from everything – even death – so our bright future is a certainty. Will I live more courageously?
~ We have been given all the truly essential gifts of life through Jesus and his resurrection. Will I live more generously?
~ We have been shown that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Will I live more joyfully?
~ We can trust that every promise Jesus has made is true. Will I live more freely?
~ We will all live together in the glorious eternity of our unshakable kingdom one day, and this kingdom is with us here, now. Will I live more lovingly?
How will today transform your tomorrow?
Happy Easter, dear friends!
~~~~~
“The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.” –Katie McGahan
~~~~~
Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash
Bible verses taken from https://classic.biblegateway.com/
35. LET US LAY ASIDE THE WORKS OF DARKNESS
THE ‘LET’ OF THE EASTER VIGIL
Saturday, April 3rd
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:11-14 (NRSV)
On that Sabbath Saturday, Jesus was buried in the tomb, his friends and followers were grieving, and we can imagine their bewildered sorrow as they wondered just what had happened – to him, to their dreams, to their hopes of a Savior. How could this man who had completely changed their world suddenly be gone forever? Did his words no longer hold true? What would they do now?
We have the privilege of revisiting this story while knowing what happens next. We know that in just a few more hours, these friends of Jesus will find their deep sorrow turned into surprising joy! We know that in the deep fear and uncertainty of this time of darkness, with Jesus is enclosed in the tomb, wonderful transformation is hidden but definitely happening.
I found that this passage from Romans speaks well to this time of liminal waiting space. Paul is writing to the Romans about the second coming of Christ, but his words are appropriate for this Holy Saturday, and for ALL of our liminal, uncertain, fearful waiting times. We can trust that even in our darkest days, “the night is far gone, the day is near,” because resurrection is always guaranteed, for every loss and death that we endure. We can be comforted that “salvation is nearer to us now” than ever before, because new life in Christ is offered to us for each new moment of our lives.
~~~~~
And so we can continue on, trusting that the dawn is only moments away. In the meantime, let us choose to lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us choose to live honorably as in the day. We live in the light of what we now know to be true: resurrection WILL come. Very soon.
~~~~~
Our reading for Easter Sunday will be John 20:1-18.
Photo by Prateek Gautam on Unsplash
Bible verses taken from https://classic.biblegateway.com/
34. LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED
THE ‘LET’ OF JESUS IN HOLY WEEK – GOOD FRIDAY
Friday, April 2nd
Read Matthew 27:20-50.
Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?”
But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
Matthew 27:22-23 (NRSV)
We have come to this terrible day – Good Friday, the day we recall Jesus’s suffering and death by crucifixion. I almost feel as if any of my words are inadequate for reflection. The depth and magnitude of this day are hard to comprehend.
But on this awful day I find two incredible gifts…
Early in Lent, we remembered that Jesus became one with us as a tiny, helpless, human baby (5. LET US GO TO BETHLEHEM). Jesus also became like us when he chose to be baptized (6. LET IT BE SO NOW). And today, most significantly, Jesus became one with criminals as he suffered and died with them. His death wasn’t one superhuman death, his was one terrible death among others who suffered in the same way.
Jesus has experienced everything that we do, and even more; he knows what human life is like, what joys and sorrows we face, and he understands and relates with us completely. Jesus was born in a humble human birth even though he is the Son of God. He was baptized though sinless. He was crucified though innocent. Jesus lived and died doing everything the lowly did. We have this friend who will love, help, understand, forgive, and guide us – because he has done it all, too.
The second gift is the gift of forgiveness that Jesus exemplified on this terrible day. Forgiveness is choosing to stop the hurt instead of returning it with retaliation or revenge. Marty Troyer says it well:
When Pilate asks Jesus if he’s really a king, Jesus replies, “My kingdom is not recognized in this world. If it were from this world, My servants would be fighting for my freedom.” (John 18:36) Instead of entering the expected cycle of violent retribution or choosing to flee, Jesus chooses nonviolent self-sacrifice and forgiveness. Instead of a justifiable war cry, all we hear from Jesus is “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) At the precise moment one would expect divine anger to boil over into a kind of tit for tat, Jesus refuses every form of retribution imaginable.
And when the rubber meets the road and a disciple has wrongly used violence to protect Jesus (Matthew 26:52) he responds, “Put your sword back into its place, for those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” When Jesus first sees his followers who each hid out of empire’s gaze as he dies a painful death, his words are anything but vengeful: “Peace be to you.”
Rather than tit for tat, Jesus absorbs hate, returning good for evil.1
Even as a fully human being, sharing our struggles, feeling our fears, hearing judgment and criticism, bearing pain and suffering, Jesus chose to stop the violence and hatred. Jesus died, absorbing what was inflicted upon him without spreading it further. Jesus asked God to forgive us even while he was slowly suffering and dying on the cross. His was an act of pure and ultimate love.
~~~~~
On this day, let us fully and humbly thank Jesus for becoming one with us all the way from birth to death. And as we try to fathom his terrible suffering and agonizing death, let us kneel in sorrow and gratitude for his incredible forgiveness.
~~~~~
Our reading for tomorrow will be Romans 13:11-14.
1God’s Non-violent response to violence – The Peace Pastor (chron.com) – Marty Troyer
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Bible verses taken from https://classic.biblegateway.com/
33. LET US PERSIST
THE ‘LET’ OF JESUS IN HOLY WEEK
Maundy Thursday, April 1st
Read Mark 14:32-50.
Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.
Mark 14:42 (NRSV)
Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me.
But let the scriptures be fulfilled.
Mark 14:49 (NRSV)
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
John 18:8 (NRSV)
Yesterday we sadly remembered the inner turmoil and anguish that Jesus felt during his last days. Today we again find that, despite his deep fears and grief, he remains determined to continue. Just after Jesus prays in Gethsemane, he awakens his sleeping disciples to say, “Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” And we find Judas is there with the crowd to take him away. Jesus could have easily left the disciples sleeping and slipped away in the darkness. Instead, he chose to stay. With every step, he persisted in moving ever closer to the cross.
When the crowd then arrests Jesus, he tells them, “Day after day I was in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” Jesus knew that terrible pain and suffering were to come, but he persisted in remaining true to his deeper purpose.
In John’s writing of Jesus’s arrest, he includes a brief conversation between Jesus and the soldiers. Jesus asks the crowd whom they are looking for, and when they reply, “Jesus of Nazareth,” Jesus responds, “I am he.” He then admonishes them to let his friends go. Jesus persisted in taking full responsibility and by keeping his words, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me,” in his prayer to God moments earlier (John 17:12).
The Merriam- Webster definition of ‘persist’ includes two interesting perspectives: to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning; (and) to remain unchanged or fixed in a specified character, condition, or position.
It seems to me that Jesus was able to “go on resolutely… in spite of” because he “remained unchanged in character…” Jesus was determined to continue because he could do no less. Jesus was able to remain courageous and faithful, hold true to his purpose and mission, take sole responsibility for the safety of his disciples, and continue this way until his death, because he held fast to his identity in God. To do anything less than remaining who he was, knowing what he stood for, and living (and dying) with integrity of the character of God, was not an option for Jesus.
There have been other faithful martyrs who persisted in living a life of steadfast faith. Even as they faced death, these courageous people never wavered from their integrity and purpose in God. They lost their lives, but they never lost their identity. That is a challenging but worthy invitation for us today. May we become so deeply grounded in God that nothing can shake our foundation. May our lives exemplify our integrity as beloved children of God. May we trust so deeply in God’s loving salvation that we have no need to fear even death.
~~~~~
May we let Christ Jesus become so centered within us that we begin to truly live with his identity, integrity, and persistence.
~~~~~
Our reading for tomorrow (Good Friday) will be Matthew 27:20-50.
Photo by Carolina Pimenta on Unsplash
Bible verses found at https://classic.biblegateway.com/
32. LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME…
THE ‘LET’ OF JESUS IN HOLY WEEK
Wednesday, March 31st
Read Matthew 26:36-39.
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed,
“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”
Matthew 26:39 (NRSV)
Have you had times in life when you had to put on your “brave face”? Those times when you were worried, grieved, or fearful – but you knew it would do no good to let others see that you were?
I have had a few of those moments. I was a resident advisor in my college dormitory during a winter blizzard that left us without heat or water. I tried to display positivity while we manually cleaned out toilets and shivered from the cold. Another time, I smiled and waved to my preschool daughter as she was taken away for minor surgery. And a few years ago, I cheerfully chatted as the infusion nurse started my IV of chemotherapy for the first time. Each time, my outer countenance appeared peaceful, confident, serene. My inner soul? Not so much. In my private moments, personal prayers, and sleepless nights, I let my worries surface, my tears flow, my heart ache, and my fears reign.
Yet none of these moments come close to what Jesus had to face…
In yesterday’s reflection, Jesus’s countenance seemed peaceful and calm as he spoke his loving words of assurance to his disciples. Today, we see a different side to him in the Garden of Gethsemane. His human anguish is very real and raw. I feel SO sad to witness his doubt and agony – to see the inner struggle beneath his brave face. But this moment also deeply impacts and blesses me. For I begin to understand how terrible this was for him, how completely he loved God and all of us, and how he chose to do what would bless the world despite his great inner turmoil.
Our invitation for today is to remember that Jesus was human like us… to try to fathom how desperately he asked God to let this cup pass from him… to be deeply grateful that he endured everything anyway, while trusting God to make good come from it all.
~~~~~
May we never forget and always be grateful for the human suffering and anguish Jesus felt, for we know that in him, God was truly one of us.
~~~~~
Our reading for tomorrow will be Mark 14:32-50.
Photo by Joel Swick on Unsplash
Bible verses taken from BibleGateway.com
Simply Soul Searching 