GOD’S PRESENCE IN 100 WORDS

AND GOD SAID

We are all familiar with the Genesis creation story in which everything was in utter chaos until God began to speak. As God spoke, order began to emerge out of chaos and meaning began to take shape in life. One of God’s gifts to the human creature was the power of words that enabled us to begin to understand the universe and make sense out of chaos. One of the strongest disciplines of therapy is to listen deeply as someone describes their chaos and then help them revoice that chaos that empowers them to respond with new life and meaning.

A DISCIPLINE FOR CHRISTIANS

When you consider the practice of worship, we again see how Christians have come to use words to give voice to their relationship with God, neighbor, and self. We utter prayers of praise to reaffirm that we are not alone but related to the creator of life. We sing together words that both affirm our faith and our relationship with each other. We confess our sins to both acknowledge our brokenness and our hunger for healed community.

All this and more reflects the power of words to nurture our sense of self and our relationship with neighbors. It invites us to love God and our neighbor and self as a reflection of God who loves each of us. It refuses to submit to the possibility that we are alone and our life is without meaning.

The Hundred Word Story

Recently I heard a webinar that was introducing the discipline of a Hundred Word Story. It caused me to think about the power of story to nurture the depth of our faith and the practice of worship. I’ll explore this further in future blogs, but I want to offer you my first attempt to explore a dimension of worship through story. I invite you to experiment yourself with this discipline as a way of digging deeper into your spiritual life, ethics, and worship. Try to create your own story with no more than one hundred words, that explores some aspect of your faith. In the meantime, I will share my first attempt.

LUCINDA CONFESSES

Lucinda’s head was buzzing from her work conflict as she entered the sanctuary. She came to church out of habit but with little expectation. All she thought about was how she could expose her racist boss and still keep her position.

Her ears burned as she recalled Jesus saying to forgive our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. She tried to confess her sins.  Does God expect her to forgive bigots, she fumed. Would the company be better if her boss felt God’s forgiveness?

Maybe worship was more than a routine habit. She hoped so.

OK, NOW ITS YOUR TURN.

THE VALUE OF THE 100 WORD DISCIPLINE IS THAT YOU CAN EXPERIMENT

EVEN WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE A SHORT MOMENT IN TIME.