Image Description: Four people are standing together side by side. Each is wearing a number: 8-0-0-0. They’re all lifting their hands, and curving them to make a rounded circle. Public Domain image.
This week, I’m pondering the word metanoia, the ancient Greek word often translated as ‘repent.’ Among other things, it means a turn, an expansion of the mind, an opening of new possibilities.
Yesterday, I had another lovely conversation over coffee (connection changes things; so does coffee!). This conversation was with a very wise young adult who is in her last semester of undergrad.
We were talking about how people these days are living quite frequently with big questions and fears of societal upheaval, and that young adults often feel the brunt of these questions and fears very closely and particularly. Questions swirl within people about the climate crisis (in the midst of this, some young adults are questioning whether or not to have children) our economic system, and the future of democracy.
These questions and fears can begin to feel very casual in their frequency, so much so, that we forget how much stress they are adding to our lives. I like to call this experience Casual Existential Threat Thinking.
And when we think of metanoia,
How do we make a turn?
How do we expand our thinking?
How do we cultivate new possibilities?
There are many answers to these questions, of course, but I’ll offer something from our conversation yesterday.
In my time with my friend, I shared a statistic that I find myself thinking about every once and a while. I’ve written about it here before, and I find it to be hopeful.
On average, each person on the planet consistently impacts 8,000 people every day.
This number comes from a book entitled, Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How they Shape Our Lives.The authors, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, explore the power of connection and social embeddedness. As they did sociological research, they discovered that people consistently impact and are impacted by their friend’s-friend’s-friends. Often this is invisible to us, but these three circles of contact have influence for our wellness, relationships, and decisions.
So how did they come up with the number 8,000?
Christakis and Fowler have discovered that on average, each person knows twenty people well enough to invite them to a dinner party. If those friends then know twenty people to the same degree, and then those friends know twenty people to the same degree, we are talking about 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000 people.
And moving beyond the individual, this indicates that small groups of people can have an enormous positive impact on larger society.
Metanoia — transformation — has big impact even if it starts small.
Image Description: A latte in a cup on top of a brown plate on top of a brown table. The foam in the cup is shaped like a flower.
This week, I’m pondering the word metanoia, the ancient Greek word often translated as ‘repent.’ Among other things, it means a turn, an expansion of the mind, an opening of new possibilities.
There are times when life seems to rhyme.
Two Saturdays ago, I gathered with people at Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea in Ypsilanti, Michigan. We pushed tables together in the back of the space, and we sat there together, sipping coffee, eating scones, and sharing in conversation. We had just passed into a new year, so we explored the topic of newness and the ways that is developing in our lives.
This is the same coffee shop, the same tables, and the same conversation topic that launched the Michigan Nones and Dones community in January of 2016.
Now we were here four years later with the same community vision, doing it all over again. One of our participants had been in both conversations. The others were new.
These are the questions we asked together in conversation:
— What newness do you seek? What newness seems to be seeking you?
These are questions of metanoia — transformation and possibility.
And so I offer those questions to you as well:
What newness do you seek? What newness seems to be seeking you?
What is goodness is growing in your heart and mind?
What is summoning you toward wholeness?
What calling is emerging?
This week, I’m pondering the word metanoia, the ancient Greek word often translated as ‘repent.’ Among other things, it means a turn, an expansion of the mind, an opening of new possibilities.
I was in the zone at work yesterday, and it felt really tremendous.
In my role at the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan, I am tasked with addressing isolation and expanding connection between people. I care deeply about this, and it’s very meaningful for me to work in this direction.
Isolation is sadly a frequent difficulty for people in the epilepsy community. Social stigma is strong, and at times, there is secrecy around the illness. Many people in our community are also unable to drive, and that places additional challenges for social connection. Individuals and families sometimes have this internal feeling of being ‘the only one’ they know going through this, simply because they don’t have others with epilepsy in their immediate circle. (Or they might not know that they do. Epilepsy is remarkably prevalent. 1 in 26 people will have this condition at some point in their lives. That’s a lot of people!)
Yesterday, I found myself having a number of personal conversations with people over the phone, and more than once, I had the occasion to introduce people to each other, knowing that their experiences are similar. And each time there were occasions to connect, I saw change happen.
This is personal conviction that drives me: Connection changes everything.
This is true in our epilepsy community, but this is true… in all situations. I’m convinced of this. Human connection changes every situation.
It doesn’t fix every situation.
But it always changes it.
And I believe, most frequently, it changes things for the better. Want to transform a situation, a need, or an area for growth? Connect.
Image Description: The front entrance to Canterbury House, a blue building with white trim.
“Maybe repentance gets a bad rap,” my friend and colleague Matthew said. He’s the Chaplain at Canterbury House, the Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Michigan. We were having a discussion about this with a group of students during Compline, a candlelight service at the end of the evening.
We tend to associate the word “repent!” with fire and brimstone preachers, so it might not be our favorite. But it’s actually a lovely invitation. The Greek root word is metanoia. Meta gives a nod to change; we might think of words like metamorphosis and metabolism. Noia is associated with the mind.
Metanoia… repent… a change of mind…
Meta literally means ‘after’ or ‘beyond’ — we we might think of expansion… the mind expanding beyond… recognizing new possibilities.
And sometimes this word metanoia has been used with the imagery of literally turning around. This might be a dramatic 180. Or it might just be a simple turn, stopping still, without yet taking a step. We look in a new direction or a previous direction with bigger expansion, insight, and possibility. Sometimes, it might just involve looking over our shoulder to see that there are other pathways.
So where are we called to go? What is expanding for us? What might reveal new possibilities? Which directions are healthy and flourishing for us? How can we transform, grow, and change? Dramatically or gradually?
Image Description: Water with circular ripples. Public domain.
This sermon was preached at Northside Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan and was focused upon the story told in Matthew 3:1-13. An audio recording is above and a written manuscript is below.
I’d also like to dedicate this sermon to Blake and Ethan Grunden, toddler twins in my Family of Choice who were baptized today. Noozle loves you!
Author Frederick Buechner has written a quote that I so appreciate and enjoy. It comes from his book Whistling in the Dark, and I have read this quote a number of times at very special occasions in the lives of people that I love. And it’s this:
“In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there will never be another just like it again. Today is the point to which all your yesterdays have been leading since the hour of your birth. It is the point from which all your tomorrows will proceed until the hour of your death. If you were aware of how precious today is, you could hardly live through it. Unless you are aware of how precious it is, you can hardly be said to be living at all.”
Isn’t that an incredible quote and a beautiful invitation? I first heard that quote read to me at my ordination service, and it’s a quote I bring into almost every wedding I officiate.
I found myself thinking about it again when I considered this passage this week — this story, this pivotal moment of Jesus coming to John in the wilderness to be baptized. It seems as though this moment set the stage for much to come. And yet there were many moments before it, countless moments unknown to us, which led to this baptism. And there were powerful and pivotal moments that moved from it.
This baptism seems to be an occasion where past and future come together in one present moment. John discovers his calling more deeply, and Jesus discovers more of his. He has what we might call an epiphany, a transformative experience. It makes me wonder if he might have returned to it in his mind and heart again and again. This experience seemed to lay a foundation.
And so the story begins with these words: “Jesus came from Galilee to John in the Jordan.” Jesus came from the place where he had grown up, the context of all those preceding moments, to meet John who was doing something revolutionary at the Jordan River, a place so important to the larger history and identity of their people.
Jesus comes with this request to be baptized, and John, who has been doing all this baptizing suddenly seems a be a bit flummoxed. “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” He seems stunned at this.
But Jesus puts himself in the place and position to receive.
And I find this to be beautiful. So often in our own culture, we hold independence to be some high value — some way of existing on our own, maybe even over and against others. And yet, we have this vision of Jesus, who will soon be called Son of God, who reveals what it means to receive. The Word made flesh, God with us… Jesus reveals that God exists continually in relationship, and God calls us into an interdependent vision.
Jesus is baptized, and it’s as if everything opens up. He comes up from the water. He sees this vision: The heavens are opened to him, and he sees the Spirit of God descending like a dove, alighting on him. And suddenly, there is a voice from heaven. Was it audible and collective, or was it internal? — either way so deeply true to the moment… “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Spirit is present.
Jesus is named as Son. God, creator of that water, has a voice that resounds beyond and within.
This is a foundational moment — a pivotal moment for Jesus who will go forward from this place with this Belovedness, proclaiming it upon others, including those who have been pushed out of community and into the margins of society.
And this vision opens up so much for us. God — Creator, Son, Spirit — is in relationship, and this God calls us into relationships. God names us as Beloved too and sends us forward with an interdependent vision for living, called to be people who receive, inviting love from others, and to be people who give, inviting the receiving of others.
Perhaps this story can become a pivotal moment for us too.
We have all stepped into this sanctuary, this time of community and relationship today, carrying a host of previous moments into this room. Some took place long ago and formed who we are, what we care about, and what sort of questions swirl within us. These moments are so integral to who we are. We also bring moments from the last week — concerns about things in our personal lives and relationships, pain and fear about potential war in Iran and Iraq, and the enormous needs in Puerto Rico after earthquakes this week. We also bring concerns about what 2020 will reveal, both personally and collectively.
We also know that this moment we’re living will inform other moments. This experience and invitation to know God in relationship impacts how we live our days — how we will live this week, how we will live this year, and how we will live for years to come.
Maybe this story and this moment can become pivotal for us too.
When I share that wonderful Frederick Buecnher quote with couples during their wedding ceremony, I always follow it by saying that Frederick Buecnher was not talking about the most memorable moments and events of our lives. He was talking about every day, and in fact, sometimes this quote is simply called “Today.”
So I want to speak it again and invite us to hear it, knowing that this present moment and these deep convictions about who God is in relationship can inform what comes next in our lives. So hear this quote one more time about a today as simple and mundane as this one:
“In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there will never be another just like it again. Today is the point to which all your yesterdays have been leading since the hour of your birth. It is the point from which all your tomorrows will proceed until the hour of your death. If you were aware of how precious today is, you could hardly live through it. Unless you are aware of how precious it is, you can hardly be said to be living at all.”
So hear this again, on this particular today:
You are Beloved.
We are Beloved.
By God, By one another, By this world in which we live.
We are included in the Belovedness that Jesus experienced in this moment and throughout his life, both beyond him and internal to him.
We are called on this today — this mundane day — to proclaim Belovedness beyond this place. We are called to go forward among those who are fearful, lonely, or marginalized and be people who carry a God of Relationship forward. We are called to enter relationships ourselves, receiving from them and giving within them, building a culture of interdependence where we all belong and where we all give embodiment and community to a word like Beloved.
Today, I’d like to share a quote and an image from @the_open_space_ — an account I so appreciate on Instagram. What do these question call to mind for you when we think about need, difference, calling, belonging, and community?
The image reads…
me to me:
have you considered that your absence of a skill set, your experience of living without a particular perspective or insight, your lack of some identified trait or feature or way of being is *not* a deficit
— but rather a mark, a signal, a call to the collective that you belong to some interdependent whole on which you rely?
have you considered that differences, variance & multi-faceted being sustain our ability to survive?
Image Description: This is an image of Spiral Galaxy ESO-137-001 as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
In a couple weeks, I’m going to be speaking on a beautiful passage from the Hebrew Bible. The poetic text of Isaiah includes this vision:
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— God says,
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’ (Isaiah 49:5-6)
An unexpected vision… one that might be hard to believe? Nearly impossible to believe?
These words were originally spoken to captives — people who had been forcibly removed from their homeland with no obvious likelihood of return. They were stripped of their culture and humiliated. They were traumatized, separated from layers and layers of their identity, and treated as the lowest people. Why should they believe in any form of expansiveness? For their lives? For their community’s lives? For the world?
It is too light a thing…
It makes me wonder how a vision can catch us, unexpectedly, in ways that are hard to believe right when we’re traumatized and feeling broken. Maybe it is also too light a thing to lose vision.
Returning to ourselves
Returning to each other
Returning to hope
Returning to possibility
Expanding ourselves
Expanding each other
Expanding hope
Expanding possibility.
Image Description: On a brown piece of paper, the words “Thank you!” are written in black writing with a red heart underneath.
Hello, Dear Friends,
I want to take a moment to thank you personally for following my writing on Smuggling Grace. Each week, I enjoy connecting with you here. I greatly appreciate the ways you add yourselves and initiate conversations within these pieces. Thank you so much.
Twice per year, I offer an invitation for people to give a gift to support this work. Donations large and small allow me to keep writing free of charge, and that support also contributes toward the larger vision of what I am doing in Southeast Michigan as well.
If these pieces have been meaningful to you, and you are able to give, would you like to contribute? No gift is too small, and every bit is appreciated!
Image Description: Rays of sunlight shine through trees of a forrest. Public domain image.
My friend recently wrote this poem, and with her permission, I’d like to share it with you.
Light
Stop hiding
Stop pretending
Stop fearing
Their response
Stop waiting
For the perfect time
Yet
Led by the
Holy
Speak
It’s time
Love words
Of freedom
Into the dark
That those in shadow
Can enter the light
Oh lamp-carriers
Stars in the night
You were not lit
To hide the light
Image Description: A bitmoji of Renee, riding a unicorn! Above is a rainbow, and within it, the text says, “Have a Magical Birthday!”
Yesterday was my birthday, and wow — I mean, WOW — community came through in such an expression of love and connection. With a lot of gratitude, I have been so moved by it.
Social media birthdays are fun because they allow you to have a full day of connection with people from the many chapters of your life. Knowing this birthday was around the corner, the day before, I asked people in the social media-sphere if they would share with me a memory we have together, either meaningful or funny. And all day long on my birthday, both privately and publicly, I received the gift of kind words and memories. Some made me teary, and some made me laugh. They all made me smile.
Then… picking up on it, I was completely surprised to discover that my colleagues across the country started a thread within Young PC(USA) Leaders, the Facebook group I help administer, to give me the exact same gift. You know how you can be so floored by something that you feel a little shy? I skimmed this thread yesterday because I was so overwhelmed (in a good sense); today, will read it closely and meaningfully.
Everyone should deserve to feel this celebrated. I will pay it forward for sure.
And in person, the day was great too!
I made myself aloo matar, one of my very favorite dishes.
Smuggling Grace 