Letting go and letting God

I flirted with death about 25 years ago. Hovering somewhere between here and there, I recall musing, “so this is what it feels like to die. Wouldn't this be a good time to see an angel or Jesus?” Suspended between realities, I forced myself to open my eyes and there stood my angels! Two of my most eccentric/wacky, very fallible, earthy friends! Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it, and it might not be what you expect!

We romanticize and   our spiritual experiences and encounters wanting to seeing angelic beings, Jesus, the Virgin Mary. Something in us wants to set up shrines and to worship visions rather than learning the lesson such experiences intend to teach us. My angels were definitely grounded in this world. They dramatically reminded me that if I am to experience the divine it will be in my daily encounters with both friends and enemies. Angels with clay feet? Oh yes! And this is precisely why this particular experience remains the most profound and grounding of my life, continuing to shape my day to day living. Having been restored to life my job is not to judge or criticize, but to be more accepting of others with all their foibles and quirks. My life work is practicing gratitude in and for all things, and all persons.

Yet, I confess that I am easily jaded. Our current political climate reminds me that pettiness, selfishness, cruelty, and ugliness is everywhere. Fear and hate permeates our very atmosphere. I am too often ready to give up hope... which is why I am so committed to deliberately, thoughtfully, practicing gratitude. Just by being grateful for my morning coffee, a warm house, something to wear grounds me to wonder, anticipation, hope.

We recently attended a church retreat in which we heard about the unrelenting love some Palestinian Christians are lavishing on their Jewish neighbors. What a powerful reminder that no matter what situation we find ourselves in we still have options as to how one responds to life's challenges. Easter's approach reminds me that my response to a hate filled world must never be about revenge but rather loving both friends and enemies. Saying no to the  myth of redemptive violence.

Each day brings opportunities to be a good neighbor, to start over (resurrection), to learn the lessons of life. For me, The Cross is that ultimate example of redemptive non-violence. When Jesus chose death on the Cross he demonstrated a completely different response than war and violence. By going to the cross he said “violence stops here!”

God neither wants nor needs our defense. In spite of our illusions of power and grandeur, we are not in control. God, Allah, whatever we call our Higher Power, calls us to be good neighbor, to be less me-oriented and more forgiving, compassionate, gentler with ourselves and others. Whatever that energy is that shapes the universe, it calls us to let go of our fears and move out in gratitude, love and trust. All religions insist that love is stronger than hate, which is simply another way of saying when we practice decency, gratitude, acceptance, forgiveness, a transformative energy is released into the universe allowing our Higher Power to do the rest. Pie in the sky? I don't think so.

Joyce Shutt is pastor emeritus of the Fairfield Mennonite Church.