In my prayers and meditations recently I have been giving careful reflection to much of the news we have seen in Egypt and the Middle East. Also the news, from Nigeria in the Church press, has been filled with accounts of the terrible violence against Christians- reportedly at least nine have been murdered in the last few days in the Plateau State, Nigeria.

As the Rector of an Episcopal Parish and one among many leaders of varied communities of faith, I continually remind my heart of my role and our common and collaborative responsibilities as citizens of this world and the next.  We are all held accountable for our leadership- and rightly so. I ask each of you who read our e-news to pray with me for peace and to work for greater understanding and appreciation for our diverse communities even in this immense City of the Angels.

Taking our leadership roles seriously and prayerfully helps us to understand that it is not about 'being in control.' Miraculously, and by God's good grace, it is about our common vision and the fulfillment of our Mission Statement- Christ invites us to be partners with Him- what a challenge!

"Called by God to be a holy place where love is found, where all are named and where hearts are freed to change the world."

This responsibility and leadership (or 'witness' might be a slightly old-fashioned word for it) is about being in partnership with one another, participating in our many communities, being 'open' to vision, and remaining faithful to the journey while also listening, discerning and being emotionally and spiritually open to the persistent voice of Christ Who is always beckoning us into a deeper fellowship and mystical Communion with Him and with each other.

 

As many of you know, for me, I spend time meditating on art, the mystical 'resonances' of harmony in music, prose and poetry, the depths of Holy Scripture. RS Thomas, Barth, Bonhoeffer are alongside Eliot, Beethoven, Bach as well as Caravaggio. Many of these wise predecessors (and not always wise but at least insightful!) can help us gain a 'foot-hold' in our Christian pilgrimage. As Lent approaches please take time to "stop" to pray, meditate and discern- as an exceptionally wise and respected 'faith-leader' told me last week. I recently found this poem inspired by S. Teresa of Avila, the sixteenth century mystic.

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today

He has no feet but our feet to lead men in the way

He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He died

He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read,

We are the sinner's gospel; we are the scoffer's creed;

We are the Lord's last message, given in word and deed;

What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?

What if our feet are walking where sin's allurement is?

What if our tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn?

How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?

-poem by Annie Johnston Flint

It is told that during the last World War, a church in Strasbourg was destroyed. Nothing remained except a heap of rubble and broken glass, or so the people thought until they began clearing away the smashed masonry. Then they found a statue of Christ still standing erect. In spite of all the bombing it was unharmed except that both hands were missing. Eventually rebuilding of the church began.

One day a sculptor saw the figure of Christ, and offered to carve new hands. The church officials met to consider the sculptor's friendly gesture-and decided not to accept the offer. Why? Because the members of that church said: "Our broken statue touches the spirits of men, but that He has no hands to minister to the needy or feed the hungry or enrich the poor-except our hands. He inspires. We perform."

As I reflect on these events, I can't help but pray about the changing landscape that is occurring around the globe as we hold political leaders accountable for the positions to which they are elected- to lead their nations and to work for the well-being of humanity.