Newsletter Message (September, 2022)
... I am excited to write my second message to share with you in this Newsletter. I truly consider it a “letter.” When we write a letter, especially when we write it in handwriting (pen and paper, ink and card) and send it to our beloved family or friends in an envelope, we press love and care into each word and close it with our affection as the glue. I try to embrace the same practice — at least the love part —, as I write a letter for you now.
Today, I learned that when I encounter the holy — something admirable, wholesome, deep, quiet and yet at the same time intensive (Each individual can find and define the holy in their own unique terms and experience) — I am willing to make adjustments.
“Adjusting oneself to the holy” — the holy as a challenging, encouraging, true and spiritually solid aspect of life and the universe — would mean to me that I can practice what I say and do in a better way, in a way that truly honours and respects relationships. Instead of taking the road of convenience, I become willing to take the road of truth-sharing and going slow, in order to find and create a space of authenticity.
This month, we have, during worship, been sharing the story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well. In the story, Jesus says to the woman, “God is Spirit, and only by the power of God’s Spirit can people worship authentically.” (John 4:24) Every time I read and reflect on this text, and encounter the word, “authentically”, I ponder… How can I allow this word to come to life and inspire me? How can I honour the Creator and the relationships that continue to shape my life, more authentically? In the way that authentic engagement can create the sense and the space of the holy in-between? What adjustment will I make to uphold and respect the holy today?
With these questions I close my letter to BVU, and add the benediction as glue.
“Authenticity, then, is found only in a stretch,
between what we know
and what we have yet to discover.”
Yours,
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