Where God Shows Up Part 2

 

We all need safe, sacred spaces.  Even before Maslow offered his hierarchy of needs, Scripture shares with us places where God’s comfort and care made all the difference.  From a Garden of Eden given to our ancestors, to wrestling with Jacob beside a river, to even a foreign land when Egypt became a place of security in a time of lack during the life of Joseph.  Scripture is also clear about moments when the places we find ourselves don’t seem safe and secure from all alarms.  We hear about the crying out in Egypt when the Pharaoh didn’t learn his history and oppressed the people.  We hear about Exile when the people of God found the promised land in rubble and ruin.  We hear about the Roman occupation in the time of Jesus.  In fact, so much Scripture is written for and by oppressed people.  The Psalmist describes this as Sheol, or a pit.  Jesus called it Ghanna, or a burning garbage heap.  And, Scripture proclaims, even God is there.  As you look back on the places that have left soil in your soul, where are those Sheol, Gahanna, places?  Or maybe you were living in paradise, but it felt in your life was shattered and scattered because of oppression or grief or pain you couldn’t process?  Look back over the places you’ve lived/named in previous weeks as well as the corresponding lowlights.  Was there a tension?  I know that well, living in a place where people come to vacation, and yet, here in the tourist mecca of Florida, people struggle to make ends meet; we do not care for our unhoused neighbors, and our immigrant friends live in fear.  People are grieving and hurting.  We pass laws discriminating against our LGBTQ+ siblings and those whose skin tone is not white (even though we still share 99% of the same DNA).  Prayerfully ask in those moments where you felt far from Eden: Where was God?  For some, you felt God show up in hugs and love, even in the pit.  For others, you felt alone, confused, and angry that God didn’t swoop in and save you instantly.  Today, just notice the threads and themes that tether and tie your life together.  We don’t always have answers for what God is doing or how God shows up.  The mystery that both fascinates and frustrates is that God is not predictable or plays by the script we want God to write.  Yet, with the Psalmist we can say, “Even if I make my bed in Sheol, You (O God) are there.”  (Psalm 139:8).  Or with Jacob we can profess, “God is in this place – truly.  And I didn’t even know it.”  (Genesis 28:16).  Let us sit with our lives, not as math problems to be solved, but mysteries that are unfolding before us and within us.  Amen.