Matthew 6:22-24 | I John 1:5-10
The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber writes about the human capacity for suffering, comparing it to the circuit breaker in a fuse box that flips off when overloaded by too much electrical current:
I think of that fuse box often these days, because friends, I just do not think our psyches were developed to hold, feel and respond to everything coming at them right now; every tragedy, injustice, sorrow and natural disaster happening to every human across the entire planet, in real time every minute of every day. The human heart and spirit were developed to be able to hold, feel and respond to any tragedy, injustice, sorrow or natural disaster that was happening IN OUR VILLAGE.1
Jesus compares the eye to a lamp, saying it can and should only handle certain things. Of course, Jesus is speaking of an oil lamp, not electrical. But the notion is the same: we must guard what we take in to remain healthy and whole.
No single human alive today on this planet was meant to handle each and every tragedy on earth. We cannot handle it. They are not ours to handle. We shouldn’t try.
The good news is that hope is not dead and we can trust that good things are at work in places we cannot see. And it is a privilege to be bearers of good news right where we are - where we live, congregate, eat, and play. But take care not to let your whole body be riddled with all the pain, grief, and terror that exists in the world.
Matthew 6:22-24
“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
I John 1:5-10
This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong. If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us.
Prayer
God, the world is heavy! If you indeed have the whole thing in your hands, you must be very strong. But I am not. So help me today in discerning the things I can and should take care of, pay attention to, and give my life to. And help me to trust that others will do the same for situations beyond my realm and control. By your Spirit & in Christ, Amen.