Today’s Word from Pastor Tom Kidd…
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
A part of my life of faith at TLC involves meeting with men in discernment groups. Once a month we gather (practicing social distancing, etc.) for sharing and intentional conversation. We have an early morning group as well as an evening group. These monthly gatherings are, for me, a regular appointment with blessing.
Discernment is the very intentional process of seeking the presence, or absence, of God’s Spirit in the midst of our lives. Often that search begs a question. That is, as a group we always work from the premise that God’s joy is in revealing God’s self to us. In the same way God putting on flesh in Jesus revealed to us God’s nature of love, in our groups the asking of a pertinent question often aids in discerning what is encouraging our life of faith. Watching men gather in support and encouragement of one another with critical questions of life and faith is exactly what Paul was seeking with his exhortation to carry each other’s burdens.
For example, “What are you doing with your grief?” Since grief is a universal experience, and without question one of our most important mentors in life, that specific question recently led us into a meaningful faith conversation. Since we make a commitment to one another that what we say there, stays there, I will stop at this, except to say it is a pure gift to be with men whose trust becomes implicit.
Part of my training as a counselor involved learning to think systemically as to how lives are organized and experienced. That’s true as individuals, couples, and as part of larger systems. Here’s an example of a systems principle: “You can only say hello as well as you said goodbye, and you can only say goodbye as well as you said hello.”
Say it over and over again and it will begin to feel intuitively true. Here are some examples:
• How does someone move into a new life stage? Like, leave a career for retirement?
• How has a person struggled to move on from a physical disability?
• How was he able to leave those relationships so easily?
• What keeps her from moving on?
You get the idea of how this works. In our men’s groups sometimes the most helpful thing we can do as we seek to discern the Spirit is to be with one another in the “stuckness” of life. I often find comfort thinking of Jesus who was just so willing to be with us in our “stuckness.” Jesus blesses us with a spirit that empowers us to be in the world, but not of the world. Life is the journey of faith where our challenge in saying “Hello” (Yes) to Jesus will in some measure always be tied to our ability to say “Goodbye” (No) to our human nature. It’s always a struggle.
Some words from Colossians can aid us in our “stuckness:”
“Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14
Thank you for your life of faith and your willingness to be a burden bearer. Without even realizing it you are a source of hope.
Pastor Tom
