Dcn Anne Strong

My dear Sisters and Brothers,

GOD IS A SURPRISE
Surprise,surprise
God is a surprise, right before our eyes
It is baffling to the wise
Surprise,surprise, God is a surprise.
Open up your eyes and come and see.
—The Very Rev’d Harry Prickett

The word “incarnate comes from the Latin “in carne" or “in flesh.” Beginning with Christmas we celebrate the season of Christmas, the incarnation: God’s decision to fuse with humanity and Mary’s decision to say “yes” to becoming a God bearer or Theotokus.

Over time I have opened myself to God as a surprise. I look for signs, words and symbols of God everywhere. I am surprised at where I find these nuggets. Mary’s surprise is meaningful to me. Could she have said “no?” What would have happened? I encounter God in nature; while dancing in my home; in music and art; children; the homeless, the ill. I am able to connect God in and with the ordinary as I search for people, animals, places and moments which illuminate the illusion that we are separate from God. 

My recent conversations with God center around one question: “Who am I?”

I heard a voice pointing me to turn inward. At my center (and yours) there is a mystical spark. Who knew I would find my Beloved there?? SURPRISE! How can I not live in a state of wonder? My previous years, the dark and the light, make up my “patchwork quilt” or “mosaic of Anne.” I finally love me, all the pieces, I love my soul.

While focusing on the inner Anne I felt a new yearning: I want to live from the inside out and to surround myself with those who believe in and practice this mode of living. Again, I hear a voice deep within me, whispering to me, commanding me to serve; speak a dialect of love, see the unseen and lift up the lost and forgotten.

Recently, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry expressed his yearning that the "church not be formed in the ‘way of the world,’ but in the way of Jesus and his love. No longer centered upon empire or hierarchy; upon the preservation of white supremacy or working in collusion with anything or person which hurts or harms.”

May we steadfastly return to wonder, awe, and joy, even if it means we have to pry the door open and light a homemade candle to see the path. Wonder, awe, and joy bring us to the liberating way of love.

Wishing all of you Christ’s love,

—Deacon Anne