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"...All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." - St. Julian of Norwich
Every Sunday we conclude our service with a collective prayer which ends with the words, "all is well."
How is it that we can justify such an over arching statement of well being as a community affirmation? Are we ignorant, or in strict denial, of the human suffering in our midst?
Neither is true. We are not immune from the travails of the human life. Among us are many who have suffered loss, small and great. Some have lost small fortunes, others face life-threatening illness, and some of us grieve the death of loved ones.
How then, given our losses, can we express such a collective appraisal of well being? The answer is not in the circumstances of our lives, but in the context in which they arise.
We believe in a greater reality beyond form that holds us in its loving embrace. We hold to knowing that despite the powerful winds that tear across the landscape of our human lives, there remains an underlying Presence and Power within us that ensures our well-being. Beyond appearances of limitation and loss, our true essence remains undisturbed, and imperturbable through it all.
We do not deny appearances but neither should we let them blind us to a deeper reality. Our faith urges us on to see reality as it truly is;, and inspires us to awaken to God's irrefutable presence in the midst of our challenges now rather than waiting for preferential existence in an afterlife. We can do this with feet planted solidly on the ground of the present moment, standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow human beings, sharing human vulnerability and spiritual strength. Girded by inexorable truths and fellow believers, we can muster the resolve to look courageously into the face of our human dramas and affirm together:
"There is only one Presence and one Power in the universe and in my life, God the good, omnipotent."
Every Sunday we conclude our service with a collective prayer which ends with the words, "all is well."
How is it that we can justify such an over arching statement of well being as a community affirmation? Are we ignorant, or in strict denial, of the human suffering in our midst?
Neither is true. We are not immune from the travails of the human life. Among us are many who have suffered loss, small and great. Some have lost small fortunes, others face life-threatening illness, and some of us grieve the death of loved ones.
How then, given our losses, can we express such a collective appraisal of well being? The answer is not in the circumstances of our lives, but in the context in which they arise.
We believe in a greater reality beyond form that holds us in its loving embrace. We hold to knowing that despite the powerful winds that tear across the landscape of our human lives, there remains an underlying Presence and Power within us that ensures our well-being. Beyond appearances of limitation and loss, our true essence remains undisturbed, and imperturbable through it all.
We do not deny appearances but neither should we let them blind us to a deeper reality. Our faith urges us on to see reality as it truly is;, and inspires us to awaken to God's irrefutable presence in the midst of our challenges now rather than waiting for preferential existence in an afterlife. We can do this with feet planted solidly on the ground of the present moment, standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow human beings, sharing human vulnerability and spiritual strength. Girded by inexorable truths and fellow believers, we can muster the resolve to look courageously into the face of our human dramas and affirm together:
"There is only one Presence and one Power in the universe and in my life, God the good, omnipotent."
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