Moved in our guts

Yesterday I woke up to find three emails in my inbox: one announcing a death, one requesting prayer for chemo that isn't working, one cutting straight to the punch line with "In short: I'm dying, folks, and I wanted you to know." In the meantime, two other relatives are struggling with terminal illness, and the mom of one of my best friends has days to live after a long, drawn-out battle with disease.

I struggle to take in these individual stories, to feel the sadness and despair and courage, and also to keep putting one foot in front of the other as I go about my day.

Yesterday "Tintern Abbey" offered a draught of cool water. Today, this sermon titled "Moved in our Guts," by Pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin, does the same.

Here are some words I'm holding to today:

And Jesus said what perhaps the lawyer is least wanting to hear--Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” Let your guts explode with compassion, let the eternal life that is within you burst forth. Go and do likewise. Move from this system of sacrifice to one of mercy.

This is a difficult thing that Jesus is asking. This is a painful transformation that Jesus is expecting. Because the more we love, the more our heart becomes fleshy; the more our heart becomes fleshy, the more alive we become. The more alive we become, the more raw and painful the world seems, even if we also find that the world is more rich and interesting in the process.

Sacrifice is easier than mercy. Sacrifice has rules and boundaries. Sacrifice has a beginning and an end. Mercy has no boundaries, no limits.

I hope these words encourage you, too, whatever today brings.