From the Rector
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today we had one of those mornings as a family. One kid got poor sleep. He acted out with a vengeance. One parent got frustrated. Then the other got frustrated, too, because, as they say in the south: “If momma isn’t happy no one is happy.” Then the other kid got frustrated. Before you know it, things were in what one might call “a heightened state.”
It happens all the time, doesn’t it? Things ripple out from seemingly small things until, before you know it, everything seems unworkable and you’re planning on what salt mine to which you will sell your children.
It happens in every part of our lives. We let the mood around us get us worked up. We get on autopilot and react rather than acting with deliberation or thoughtfulness. Our lizard brain takes over when we get triggered by someone or something.
We see it happen in churches, too. Some stress or change or challenge happens and we react. Then our reaction creates a chain or ripple of reactions that echo or magnify the initial stress response. So something seemingly small becomes a trigger for wider conflict.
The converse is also true, though. A calm reaction can become its own catalyst for other calm reactions. A kind response can become the first domino in a chain of kindness. We see this all the time, too. A smile in a room becomes a small spark of warmth amidst a chill. It thaws what might have been an icy situation.
How we are in the world generally dictates how we find the world. People who are angry or reacting experience the world as angry or reactive. They look for reasons to be upset or outraged. People who are manipulative expect the world to be manipulative. People who look for conspiracies find them everywhere.
But people who work from a place of joy find reasons to be joyful. People who look to new experiences as a chance for some welcome surprise are surprised by hope. People who lead with love find loving responses and reasons to share that love. People who welcome the new find excitement there. People who dread it will find justification for their dread.
It plays out everywhere and in everything. Whether in our personal relationships or our school or work or church or in our wider culture, the way we go is the way we’ll go. The wonderful thing about that is that we have choice and agency. We get to choose what kind of world we live in because, so often, the world we live in is shaped by our view of it.
Christ gives us every reason for hope. We are told, 366 times in Scripture, not to be afraid. We are given the path, the way, of love which leads to love. Again and again we are called to live with faith, hope, and love. We are given cause for deepest joy in Christ’s love. When we say, “Thy Kingdom come,” we are part of that work. Living with the Kingdom value of loving-kindness helps bring that loving-kindness into the world.
What we choose to find and who we choose to be are what we will find and who we will be. The heart of a Kingdom-mindset is for those choices to begin and end with our hope in Christ.
Each and every day we are given the chance and choice to be at the heart of a different way of being. Out of our actions and reactions will ripple out what we choose. When we choose joy, that is the outcome. When we choose love, that is the outcome. When we choose hope, that is the outcome.
So maybe I’ll make another choice today, too. Or maybe I’ll keep looking for just the right salt mine! The good news is that the choice is mine.
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Robert