May 25, 2022 – When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron

Some Kind of Death

“At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem?No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish just as they did.” Luke 13:1-5

“Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air. There’s no room for something to come in and interrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling our experience. Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later, we’re going to have an experience we can’t control: our house is going to burn down, someone we love is going to die, we’re going to find out we have cancer, a brick is going to fall out of the sky and hit us on the head, somebody’s going to spill tomato juice all over our white suit, or we’re going to arrive at our favorite restaurant and discover that no one ordered produce and seven hundred people are coming for lunch. The essence of life is that it’s challenging.” Chodron, Pema. When Things Fall Apart (Shambhala Classics) (pp. 94-95).

Some Kind of Death

Everyone wants some sense of security. It is often on our minds – something we worry about, perseverate about. It was on the minds of the disciples who were seeking some solace from Jesus regarding their friends who were killed on the steps of the Temple. From Jesus’ response we can infer the real issue for those seeking solace: did they deserve their fate. Were they worse sinners than others? Seeing others suffer was affecting their sense of security in the world.

Pema Chodron writes: “Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later, we’re going to have an experience we can’t control: our house is going to burn down, someone we love is going to die, we’re going to find out we have cancer…the essence of life is that it’s challenging.”

We know that life is challenging. We experience those challenges every day. And we cannot control these experiences. There is no way to predict what is going to happen to us tomorrow. All we can do, as Jesus says is “repent” and stay awake for the coming of the Kingdom. Or as Pema would concur, we need to stay in the moment. No matter what each moment brings, we need to stay in that moment and learn the lessons each moment can teach us – teach us about ourselves, about our faith, about our preparedness, about our love for our neighbor and how these experiences will prepare us to walk with our neighbors when their lives fall apart.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, we do not want our lives to fall apart, but we intuitively know they will. When my life falls apart help me to find my hope, my grace and my center in you and your presence. Amen.

Pastor Dave

May 24, 2022 – When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron

Out of Place

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.” Matthew 13:31

“What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” Luke 13:18-19

“…what we habitually regard as obstacles are not really our enemies, but rather our friends. What we call obstacles are really the way the world and our entire experience teach us where we’re stuck. What may appear to be an arrow or a sword we can actually experience as a flower. Whether we experience what happens to us as obstacle and enemy or as teacher and friend depends entirely on our perception of reality. It depends on our relationship with ourselves.” Chodron, Pema. When Things Fall Apart (Shambhala Classics) (pp. 87-88).

Out of Place

I was talking about the parable of the mustard seed with a friend – explaining how one Gospel places the planting of the seed in a garden and another Gospel has it planted in a field. It is an interesting difference in the accounts of this parable to which I explained that one community would never plant a mustard seed in a garden because it is a weed. She looked at me and shared this wise observation: “A weed is simply a plant out of place.”

So many people feel like a weed in our society today. Too many people feel out of place in our world, in our society, and in our communities. They either believe they have been planted in the wrong place, or have grown out of place.

Pema Chodron gives the observation that one person may see an obstacle as a sword, while someone else may experience it as a flower. The more familiar observation would be one person may be a “glass is half empty” personality while another will be a “glass is half full”. One sees the blessings in all experiences while others see only doom and gloom. She observes that it all depends “…on our relationship with ourselves.”

When Jesus says that the Kingdom of G-d is like a mustard seed, do you perceive he is saying that the Kingdom is exclusive or inclusive? Does the Kingdom weed people out or welcome people in? Will people feel “out of place” or “welcome home?” For me Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the Kingdom of G-d is welcome for the small and the mighty – the outsider and the insider – the welcome and the unwelcome. It is a mystery we struggle to understand – but it is also something we anticipate to experience not as out of place, but as people who are welcome home.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, so much of this world wants to make us feel out of place. Help me to remember that you are preparing a place for all of us, a room for everyone who has the faith to trust and believe that you welcome us all. Amen.

Pastor Dave