Born Anew

The lectionary today includes this verse from 1 Peter 1: You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

I start this day reading a little bit of Henry Nouwen  who writes about how we are needy.  We need attention, we need to know we are valued, we need to achieve, to be noticed.

AND he further says that this is related to our woundedness,  There is this part of us that does not feel valued or loved or accepted. 

He says that Jesus comes to reveal the first love.  And in the morning as I sit in prayer and with scripture and my journal I know that following Jesus helps me to get in touch with that love.  Nouwen writes that long before we talk about original sin, we need to recognize the original love of God.  We need to get in touch with the reality that we are totally loved without condition or limits.,

And I believe that as we engage in that spiritual life - we are born anew.  Remembering we are loved.

As I sit in this and read the scripture on my phone - (in comes daily in an email) - I get a notification from CNN about a woman who is being accused by conspiracy theorists that she brought the corona virus into the US.  It is ugly and hateful. and really - typical of what is in the news.  Lots of blaming, shaming, lying, hating and then reactions to same.

So, I can't get away from it, but I can choose to live out my Christian identity.  To follow Jesus means that I spend time like this:  emptying and opening myself to the loving spirit that is present within and without.   I acknowledge the wounds I carry and trust God's gradual healing. I can seek to find beauty and to create.  I can keep looking for signs of new life and God's presence.

 This is how - again today - I am born anew. 

I think I have shared this prayer by Maxine Shonk before - but it is so fitting today with these ruminations.

May the God of HEALING be with you
blinding and soothing your every wound, moving you gracefully in a dance of nurturing love and lulling you back to wholeness and health
May you be gifted with a healing gentleness and compassion with which you might touch the lives of others.
May the God of HEALING be with you.